By Olivia Davis
The cannabis business is big news not only for consumers but also for businesses. But what are the current perspectives of the CBD business in Florida? Let’s check them out in the following.
Business Overview
A CBD business manufactures and/or sells cannabis products to its consumers. It can also be a distributor of these products or sell cannabis related services. A business can sell either in stores, online and/or both.
However, some of these businesses aren’t also operating a retail business in a specific location where selling CBD is allowed.
On the other hand, some businesses sell CBD for general purposes and treatments for conditions, such as chronic pain, anxiety or back pain, but some are selling the concentrates only for cosmetic uses.
More often than not, this business is pursued by people with a genuine interest in ways that cannabis plant can help more people. They also strive hard to understand the plant’s complexities along with the strains that can treat some conditions.
There is also no typical day in the business.
An owner may not only be managing an inventory, dealing with new laws or doing lab reports but also do other things related to their CBD business. Cannabis business owners also have to deal with trends and changes in the industry, as there can be new updates every day.
Marijuana Laws and Regulations in Florida
A CBD business also has to understand the regulations and laws in the Sunshine state. For instance, they must be well aware of the approved consumption methods in accordance to the Medical Marijuana Act of 2017.
Oral products, including ingestible oils, edibles (food and drinks with cannabis) and tinctures are approved methods to consume cannabis.
Topicals, which are applied to localized body areas, are also law-approved. Here, the cannabinoids are absorbed through one’s skin before it enters the bloodstream.
Vaporization can be done through a vape pen and/or a vaporizer to heat the concentrate, including wax or oil, to a high enough temperature in order to extract the CBD or THC without the harmful toxins released through smoking/combustion.
However, it isn’t allowed to inhale medical marijuana under the Senate Bill 8A, so it only means smoking is against the law.
The Costs of Opening a CBD Business
There is no definite answer as to how much a cannabis business would cost. For example, if you would grow hemp and then later make CBD oil out of it, your startup cost will be generally low.
In fact, you can start selling the CBD oil online through a website along with commercial liability insurance. On the other hand, you might also want to work with a local cannabis farmer to grow your plant if you cannot do it yourself.
Promotion and Marketing
In terms of marijuana marketing and promotion, businesses go beyond traditional PPC and SEO practices and approaches.
For example, many of them are now also taking advantage of influencer marketing. They pay influencers in relation to their verticals in order to mention their content to a specific target audience for their brand.
Many of them pay high profile people, including celebrities, because they want to gain exposure and become more visible to their audience.
By using this method, they’re able to get approval strategically to a wider audience because these influencers have already grown their following.
On the other hand, local SEO is another technique for many cannabis entrepreneurs to gain exposure to their market. These strategies include local landing pages, citation campaigns, link building and review campaigns, to name some.
The Growth Potential
According to this source, the state’s $250 million medical marijuana market is predicted to grow and open its doors to more startup companies in the coming months, having the potential to reshape the landscape of the industry this year.
There will be more competitors in the young and dynamic cannabis market in the state where there is currently half a dozen of vertically integrated operators.
It goes to show that the cannabis industry is a red-hot market in Florida. In fact, the number of dispensaries has grown to 78 in 2017.
On the other hand, the number of patients has also almost tripled from56, 537 to 159,107 (Dec. 1, 2017 – Dec. 7, 2018)
In addition, sales from medical marijuana are predicted to reach $200 to $300 million (2018).
However, the state has only approved 14 licenses. Currently, the licensing cap is the most critical from a business’ point of view.
Seven cannabis businesses are dominating the MMJ market in the state, and some of them include the Liberty Health Sciences and Knox Medical. And for the operators, the cannabis industry is very enticing and lucrative.
Growth is even more promising due to potential medical marijuana reciprocity. According to some sources, both the Senate and the House have filed proposals allowing medical marijuana patients to get MMJ in the state if they are a cardholder approved to use medical marijuana in the state where they live.
There you have the latest about CBD business perspectives in Florida. Definitely, the cannabis market’s future in the Sunshine state is looking good with these developments. Stay tuned for the next updates on this story.
Olivia Davis is an enthusiastic, creative author and the Communications Assistant at Dr.Green Relief – Medical Marijuana Doctors. Our mission is to aid patients with qualifying conditions to get their MMJ Card so they can use, possess and cultivate medical marijuana legally.
CBD stock photo by ElRoi/Shutterstock
