Comprehensive Guide to White Label CBD Business Success

In this article, we’ll cover everything you need to know about white label CBD- what it is, the benefits of sourcing your CBD products from a white label manufacturer, how to spot a good supplier, and a few ways to help your brand stand out while selling CBD from a white label supplier.

Introduction

While it can seem like anyone and everyone with knowledge of hemp and CBD is deciding to start a business in the cannabis sector lately, the difference between the failures and successes within the industry is primarily determined by the adaptability, previous experience, and research acumen of CBD business owners. This is especially true in the world of white label CBD.

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If you’re looking to make a quick profit with white label CBD, think again- it takes a lot of dedication and knowledge to compete in the ever-growing, ever-developing CBD industry, which is ever-growing.

In such a large (and in some ways oversaturated) industry, your CBD brand must be unique, trustworthy, and adhere to legal guidelines. With the right white label CBD supplier, your CBD brand can hit the ground running with a reliable supply chain, tried-and-tested products, and all the paperwork necessary to back you up.

With that being said, the main points we will talk you through today are:

Discussing what white label CBD is, and what it’s benefits are for your business.
How to find the right white-label CBD supplier for your brand, which suits the products you want to sell and provides you with all the support your business needs to succeed.
How to ensure your products are up-to-standard and appeal to your audience.
How to make sure your CBD brand stands out through creative marketing and careful target market research.

Provided you face challenges head-on, in a way that benefits your target market, your CBD brand is likely to succeed.

The demand for CBD isn’t likely to die down anytime soon, with many consumers using it for symptoms of common ailments such as anxiety, pain, sleep issues, and inflammation. As such, the time to start a premium CBD brand has never been better- and white label CBD might just be the best option out there to help you source the best CBD products out there.

If you’re looking to start your own CBD brand, a white label CBD programme is a great place to start. Essentially, white label CBD means that a manufacturer will do all the hard work growing/sourcing and refinding the product for you, and provide you with the final product that you can label and sell under your brand name. While there are other ways brands can source CBD, such as via private labelling methods (more on this later), white label CBD is what we’re focusing on today.

An example of how the white label method of sourcing CBD works is:

A hemp farm (or manufacturer) grows their industrial hemp plant and refines it into a CBD product, such as an oil or topical.
This product is sold to a CBD brand, which officially brands the product with their logo, tagline, sells it via their website, etc.
The product is sold to customers through a retail store or online website. From the perspective of the consumer, the product and the brand have never been separate.

Simple, right?

When it comes to white label CBD, you outsource the cultivation and production of your products to outside forces- which leaves a lot of time for your internal team to come up with a well-researched, strong marketing strategy. As we will discuss later, a unique selling point for your products is vital in order to stand out within the ever-growing CBD industry- and a great marketing strategy is the key to getting this across to your target audience. Since most white label CBD products are sold by multiple brands (the only difference between products being their packaging), the main brunt of the work for you lies in creating the best possible marketing strategy that sets your business apart from the crowd.

To summarise- while other brands may be selling the same products as your business, the emphasis is on you to make your branding stronger than that of your competitors.

There are three parts of the CBD manufacturing process which most white label businesses will deal with on behalf of your brand:

The creation of the CBD product itself
The label design and branding (while this is largely up to you, many manufacturers will offer their support)
They may also help you with product distribution

Most white label CBD manufacturers are happy to work with brands of any size, background, or target market. So, regardless of how fresh or established your CBD brand is, you can take advantage of white label CBD opportunities. The best white label programmes will include:

Premium CBD products with seed-to-sale tracking (with all products derived from industrial hemp, of course)
Customised labels (some partnerships even offer you help with marketing and design via their in-house teams)
Assistance with legal understanding, contracts, and other business minutiae.
A transparent budget breakdown, so you know what you’re paying for.

Private Label and White Label CBD: A Comparison

While white and private labelling CBD may sound similar on a surface level, their differences are still significant enough to be worth considering. We’ve discussed what white label CBD is above, but how do we define private label CBD?

Private label CBD occurs when the product in question is made exclusively for your business- no other CBD brand will be selling something similar from the same manufacturer. Custom-made blends can be more appealing from a marketing perspective, as your brand can be perceived as more overtly unique by the average consumer. Private label CBD also puts the ball in your court in terms of designing the label, flavour, strength, ingredients, and packaging of the product.

Both ways of sourcing your brand’s CBD products offer varying degrees of creative input and support for your team. Likewise, both should provide you with products that are third-party tested and up to industry standard- with the bespoke manner of the products themselves varying according to which method you pick. Most reliable manufacturers will provide products of such a high status that you’re likely to achieve repeat customers simply via implementing solid marketing practices.

Essentially, private labelling is a slightly more exclusive deal where no other CBD brands will sell the same product as you, whereas with white label CBD other brands may well be selling the exact same product, from the same supplier, under a different name and marketing strategy.

One primary benefit of white label CBD when comparing it to private labelling programmes is that, with white label, you are working with a product that typically has a proven track record of turning a profit for other brands.

With this being said, why else should you choose white label CBD?

What are the Benefits of White Label CBD?

Many benefits come alongside choosing to work with a white label CBD manufacturer, such as:

Many white label CBD manufacturers will manufacture a range of products- for instance, if you want to open a line of CBD oil at first and then decide down the line to expand into CBD topicals, this won’t be a problem with many manufacturers. All white label CBD products from reputable suppliers will come with third-party lab testing, comply with legal guidelines, and be free of any toxins or unwanted ingredients. This can save you a lot of trouble when it comes to having to source these tests yourself, as you would if you were manufacturing your own line of CBD.

Source CBD- your way

White label CBD can generally be sourced from wherever you like- countries such as Switzerland have excellent reputations when it comes to growing industrial hemp. At the same time, many consumers choose to value more locally-grown CBD products over imports. When selecting a white label CBD manufacturer, it’s worth factoring in how you may focus on where your CBD is coming from within your marketing strategy. There are white label CBD options from all over the world, so your options are quite generous- and it’s worth doing the research!

Please note: while CBD is legal in the UK (as well as much of the US and EU), it’s always worth double-checking that your CBD product is not only legal where your products are sold, but also where it’s sourced.

Guaranteed premium CBD products

While the CBD industry is fairly well-established at this point, it’s still true that many brands who manufacture their own products (even via private label methods) must undergo a certain level of trial-and-error before they land on a product that sells well and turns a consistent profit. With white label CBD, the product is almost guaranteed to sell well, since other brands are already profiting from it!

Even if your brand is more niche- for example, if you only want to sell CBD drinks or CBD for pets, there is likely a manufacturer out there ready to provide you with products with a proven track record for success in that field. As such, your brand simply has to worry about branding and marketing, as well as potentially designing the label to go on an already-premium product.

Saves time and allows you to focus on what’s really important- marketing!

In such a competitive industry, it’s vital to differentiate your brand from the others on the market- we have a whole section on this later, so won’t labour the point here. For now, what you need to keep in mind is that white label CBD manufacturers really do take on most of the heavy lifting for your brand- some even handle distribution to retail stores, or drop-ship directly to clients on your behalf! This opens you up to the possibility of quicker deliveries than brands manufacturing their own CBD or using a private label method.

With a white label CBD supplier, you don’t have to worry about:

Formulating and manufacturing your products
Measuring, accurately labelling, and packaging each product
Sourcing a third party lab test for each product batch

This gives you and your team more time to focus on marketing, product expansion, branding, and how best to reach your target market- all of which are vital for the long-term success and survival of your business.

Wider range of business opportunities and product expansion possibilities

In addition to faster shipping times, being able to test your potential target markets with low-risk investments in your products, and low minimum requirements before you order your products, many white label CBD manufacturers also offer package deals that make it easy for you to expand from selling oils to topicals, or more niche products such as CBD for pets, etc.

The CBD industry is built with transparency on all levels- if you can’t trust where your CBD is being sourced from, then how can your customers trust your product? With a transparent white label CBD supplier who has a stellar industry reputation, your odds of success are far more significant. Such suppliers make a point of letting you know what the main ingredients of their CBD are, as well as where it’s cultivated, what legal guidelines it meets, and anything else that could affect your brand and marketing strategies.

Shared interest and CBD industry experience

It’s in the supplier’s best interest to see your CBD brand succeed. After all, if it does, then you’ll soon become a repeat customer of theirs in the long-term! As such, many white label CBD manufacturers may offer more than just CBD products- they’ll offer support services, certifications, and legal help when it comes to understanding the latest CBD guidelines.

You don’t have to be a CBD brand to partake in white label CBD opportunities

White label CBD manufacturers make it possible for small-time business owners without the time to focus on every detail of building a separate business from the ground up. Indeed, some types of businesses that can naturally find a niche in the CBD market are:

Yoga studios
Meditation studios
Local pharmacies
Local supermarkets and corner stores
Small-time retailers
Restaurants that specialise in vegan, vegetarian, or organic cuisine
Pet stores
Spas and other self-care establishments

Of course, such business owners will still have to research the legalities and regulations surrounding CBD (such as MHRA guidelines in the UK, for example, which detail how CBD can be advertised). However, white label CBD suppliers can even help with this via their pre-established support systems, meaning the primary duty of the small business owners in this case would be to brand the white label CBD they receive effectively, and ensure their business practices stay within the confines of the law. For example, depending on where their business is located, they may need to acquire a specific license.

With all of the above benefits of white label CBD in mind, let’s have a look at the four components which truly make or break your business:

Choosing the right supplier
Selling the right products for your brand
Appealing correctly to your audience
Making your brand unique (even if the products you’re selling are not)

The Best CBD Suppliers and Lab Testing Standards

By now, you’ve probably realised that white label CBD is the key to avoiding all the start-up costs associated with manufacturing (like paying for equipment, training your employees, testing every batch of product, not to mention owning a full-scale laboratory to host everything).

The best white label CBD suppliers are experts in manufacturing organic products free of toxins, GMOs, and other undesired ingredients that could ruin your brand’s reputation. They’re responsible for the products from seed to shelf, which means they also handle the often tricky growing process and harvesting all the industrial hemp from which CBD is derived.

After harvesting, their state-of-the-art facilities will turn the raw hemp into CBD extract and, eventually, a product of your choosing. Many of the best CBD manufacturers will ensure multiple types of products are available for you to choose from.

With the above basics all covered, what should you look for in a white label CBD supplier?

Years of experience and a solid reputation in the industry

While these often go hand in hand (for better or worse), the main thing to look for in any source of white label CBD is stability, as the product they provide you with will become the foundation of your brand’s success (after all, no CBD brand can make a name for themselves without selling any products!) As such, you should always ask:

How long have you been working within the CBD industry?
Can we talk to other brands you work with?

They should provide you with the right products to suit your brand (and show you why those products are better than other white label suppliers)

Always be sure to ascertain what CBD products this white label supplier is willing to manufacture for you, and be sure they fit in with your brand’s ultimate vision (more on this later).

As a premium CBD brand, you want to be as certain as possible regarding where your CBD comes from. We’ve already mentioned seed-to-sale tracking, but it bears repeating: where is your chosen white label CBD supplier sourcing their hemp from? Do their growing practices align with your outlook as a brand? Some things to look out for regarding where your hemp is sourced from include:

Is it sourced from the EU or the US? Many sources imply that hemp grown outside of these places may not be up to standard.
Is it grown to the best organic standard?
How are the hemp plants harvested, and how is the CBD manufactured?

Flexibility and support (when it comes to CBD products and services)

With over 700 CBD companies in the UK alone, it’s more vital than ever to stand out from the crowd. While one could quickly call the market over-saturated and decide to move their business ambitions elsewhere, a successful ‘cannapreneur’ will recognise that there are infinite ways to appeal to their target market. If a brand can suit the tastes of an individual better than any other, then it is simple enough for them to garner repeat customers.

The best white label CBD suppliers understand the intense competition that comes with this, and are eager to offer you a wide range of products.

As part of running a flexible, competitive business, many white label CBD suppliers will offer support through multiple aspects of the creative and marketing process, despite their primary duty being to keep your shelves stocked with physical products. Common services include:

Label design
Packaging and label printing (as a well as application)

While many CBD advertising laws and other production regulations throughout the UK, US, and EU are continuing to relax, there are still many legal guidelines to keep in mind on all levels of the industry. In the majority of places, you can only legally grow the cannabis Sativa (hemp) variety of the plant, and the final CBD product must contain less than 0.2% THC (the intoxicating compound found in cannabis).

The importance of trust and transparency on all levels of the CBD industry can’t be understated. What goes hand-in-hand with this? Lab-tested products, of course! Whether your chosen white-label CBD manufacturer has in-house testing facilities or not, it’s essential that your products are also tested by an independent, third-party laboratory, as this will ensure a degree of impartiality on your product labels. Such tests ensure that your products:

Are free of GMOs
Are free of any potential toxins, heavy metals, impurities, pesticides, and contaminants from the soil
Contain the correct dosage of CBD
Contain the legal amount of THC

It’s also often cheaper to test your products via a white-label CBD manufacturer than independently.

The ball is also in your court to research and ensure any white label supplier you work with is qualified and possesses all the necessary certifications to be selling products as they are- for instance, a Novel Food certification in the EU, or an organic certification where they grow their hemp crops. Proper paperwork and certificates are essential regardless of what your niche in the industry happens to be. However, customers tend to value it, particularly when they’re shopping for CBD edibles and skincare products.

Showcase the best CBD production facilities with top-notch equipment and stellar manufacturing processes

The manufacturing process for your CBD should be nothing less than cutting-edge. As such, you should be sure to look into (and question) the internal processes of how your chosen white label CBD supplier actually creates your product.

How do they ensure their hemp is grown to the latest organic standards?
Do they use supercritical CO2 extraction methods?
Are their methods compliant with the latest standards where your CBD will be sold?
What third party laboratories are responsible for testing their finished products?
How do they store your products before, during, and potentially after shipping (as in the case of those suppliers who sell direct to retailers on your behalf)?

They should suit your budget

While you don’t want to compromise on the quality of your CBD oil and other products, you should still ensure the price you’re paying for your white label CBD is fair. While transparency is the number one rule of a successful CBD business, competitive pricing is a close second. The best white label CBD manufacturers will be upfront with you about what exactly they’re charging you for, such as shipping costs, testing, and growth costs.

Remember, if your customers can’t trust their products, no matter how affordable they are, it isn’t worth the investment from your brand.

Low minimum order quantities allow you to invest in a product, see if it works for you and your CBD brand, and scrap it from your business plan if it doesn’t. These allow for minimal risk investments and a healthy air of business experimentation.

Awareness of CBD Laws

As a CBD brand, it’s likely that one of your main priorities is keeping your finger on the pulse of the industry, listening to the latest trends, and (most importantly) supervising the latest CBD laws and regulations.

While part of how white label CBD experts may support you is by providing legal advice, they should also demonstrate an awareness beyond their work with you.

This should also include an acknowledgement of:

The exact ingredients and concentrations of what’s inside your CBD products
The potential effects, benefits, and side effects of your products
Local, state, and country-specific CBD laws
Laws that may affect the type of product you’re selling- for instance, the different legal issues which may affect the sale of anything from CBD dog treats to CBD skincare for humans.

An awareness of CBD advertising laws (see the MHRA regulations in the UK) can also help you decide what should be mentioned on your labels, as well as the specific wording of any marketing material you use to promote your products.

Additionally, it’s your duty to ensure who is liable for any faulty products, as well as examine any possible risks your business may be taking when working with the individual supplier, according to their recall policies and other internal guidelines. Your brand’s reputation will be in large part decided by the quality of the manufacturer’s CBD, so it may be worth having a lawyer go over any contracts before making things official.

What to Look for in White Label CBD Products

Now that you know what to look for in a supplier, it’s time to make a longlist of white label CBD suppliers who you think might be a good fit for your brand. Once you have a vague idea of the qualities you’re looking for in a manufacturer, you can then create a shortlist by looking at what really matters: the products.

It’s a simple principle: if you sell the best CBD products, you’ll have no issue finding repeat customers who are a veritable marketing team all on their own. Your brand can continue to grow, and the world will be rosy. It should also be noted that the opposite- selling unverified and low-quality products- isn’t likely to work in your favour.

There are a few basic things you should look for in any CBD product ( many are the same things a knowledgeable consumer would look for):

Third-party testing and a certificate of analysis
The legal concentrations of THC and other ingredients
The right kinds of products
What are your options when it comes to label and package design?
Do the products have any unique selling points (USPs) that your internal marketing team can leverage to help your brand stand out?
What kinds of CBD products are available? While your business may wish to focus on one sector in the beginning (CBD oils, for example), you may wish to expand into topicals or edibles in the future- it may be worth finding a CBD supplier who can meet your future needs as well as your current ones.

Once you find those suppliers offering products that suit your brand, you can create a shortlist and decide who you’d like to work with the most from there.

However, there are still two different things that often differentiate the best white label partnerships from those who are less successful. These are often far more entwined with your CBD brand on an internal level than with the white label suppliers themselves:

Your audience and target market as a brand
The factors that make your brand unique and appealing

Find Your Target Market

While some may think of CBD as a passing fancy for health-obsessed members of the public, brand loyalists, scientists, and business owners alike know the truth: CBD may work, and it’s here to stay. Many studies are increasingly supporting CBD’s potential to help with symptoms of:

However, while the potential applications of CBD are quite versatile, it’s essential to focus on one or two niches in particular when it comes to your products, and to decide early on the target market you want to reach.

As the CBD industry matures and the market ‘evens out’ in size, it will become easier to dominate a niche than to market your CBD as a ‘cure-all’ (as non-premium companies often use this tactic).

As the market becomes increasingly well-known and in many ways oversaturated, it is leading CBD brands to get creative when it comes to how they target their potential markets. As a brand, you should aim to:

Be unique, and yet recognisable- don’t confuse your target market, make things easy for them!
Aim for a specific target market, for instance, people who live with symptoms of anxiety or people who often experience issues in their sleep patterns. While you may eventually widen your niche, it’s best to start with a focused idea of who your ideal customer is, what issues they’re experiencing, and how you can help them.
Find out some useful statistics and basic information about your target audience, for instance, their age, interests, gender, and where they hang out online. Gen Z may be more likely to use platforms like TikTok, while Millennials prefer Instagram and the older generations stick to FaceBook. Once you know where you can reach your target audience, you can devise marketing strategies that target them using Native advertisements.

Make Your CBD Brand Unique

Even if you select the best white label CBD supplier with the perfect products for you, and even if you target the most interested target audience for your business, if your brand isn’t memorable and differentiated from the thousands of other CBD companies out there, you’re going to run into a harder time finding repeat customers.

By now, we’ve mentioned the importance of standing out from the rest of the CBD market several times over- but how can you achieve this?

Sell many different kinds of CBD products– there are statistics about what kinds of people enjoy which types of CBD, and once you know what kinds of products your target audience prefers, you can ensure your business can meet their desires- whether that’s for CBD oil, tinctures, edibles, or skincare.
Ensure you have all the right paperwork and are operating well within the law– while this won’t necessarily help you stand out as a CBD brand, it’s still a must! After one damaging study into high street CBD found that many products are inaccurately labelled, many consumers and governing bodies alike voiced their concern for the efficacy of the CBD industry. As a result, there’s more pressure than ever for brands to prove themselves to the public and to officials as a trustworthy source of all things CBD.
Go beyond CBD– offering premium CBD products is one thing; what about your customer service? Do you make each customer feel ‘heard’ and promote feedback on all levels of their journey? What do you do to honour their individual experiences? Sometimes, an excellent customer service strategy is just as important as the product.
Make your marketing stand out– one of the many benefits of working with white label CBD is the bonus time you have to work on your marketing strategies, so make them count! Whether you’re focusing on email marketing, social media, influencers, or blogging with an eye for SEO, you should be aiming to educate customers not just about your CBD products and brand, but about CBD as a whole. Many potential consumers still ask questions like ‘is CBD legal?’ and ‘what are the benefits of CBD?’ part of your job as a reliable business to help educate them. Answer their most frequently asked questions, talk them through the latest CBD studies, and walk them through how your products can best be used.
Keep your brand’s tone consistent– imagine your brand as a person (likely someone similar to your ideal customer, with a little more expertise). Ensure that all blog/marketing copy, labelling, imagery and other elements of your brand ‘match’- aesthetically and tonally. This will go a long way towards making your brand more memorable and cohesive. Just remember to do your own market research in order to ensure you don’t sound like other CBD brands.

Many white label CBD manufacturers will be able to help you differentiate your brand both aesthetically and via the ability to set your own prices for your products (with reason, of course).

There’s something of a cliche within the cannapreneur niche that the challenges of the CBD industry can be turned into a golden opportunity through sheer force of will. While this is partly true, the main difference between the successful and unsuccessful cannabis entrepreneur is a fair amount of research, business instinct, and- of course- external factors such as marketing, products, and those they partner with (such as choosing the right white label CBD suppliers to suit their needs).

By carefully examining what makes your brand unique, you can make good use of the USPs of your products and differentiate your marketing material from what’s already out there.

CBD Marketing and Business Tips

Now that you’re all set up with the white label CBD manufacturer of your dreams, as well as an awareness of how your brand and products combine to suit the needs of your target market, we’re going to leave you with a bonus: our favourite CBD marketing tips to really make your brand stand out, even if you are using white label CBD.

Create a plan for your business that caters to your individual needs, and make sure the white label partnership you choose is suited to your brand.
Keep adapting to the needs of the market– one advantage of white label CBD is that you can change relatively easily between selling different types of products. If your oil isn’t selling particularly well and the supplier you’re working with also manufactures edibles, why not try your hand at those, if they fit your brand better? Switching suppliers, removing, tweaking, and replacing product lines that work better for you are all part of the flexibility that can keep your brand competitive.
Lean away from CBD being a mere cannabis constituent– the stigma that has surrounded recreational cannabis is still only just beginning to lift when it comes to CBD, and as such, brands should aim to come across as scientifically-backed professionals within the wellbeing sector. Integrate ethical operations into your business practices as a point of pride within your branding.
Get creative– brands who may seem the most ‘unique’ on the market are often not that different from others in their niche- but they are more creative in how they present themselves. Whatever makes your brand unique- whether your logo has outlandish colours, your CBD is grown in the best Swiss soils, or something as simple as stellar customer service, make sure your USPs clearly come across throughout your marketing material.
Think about the future– try your best to anticipate coming trends, or even aim to create them within your niche. Make sure your business stays in the best position to deal with future challenges as the industry continues to develop.
Invest in a varied marketing strategy– including influencer marketing, SEO blogging via your brand’s website, social media marketing (though it is best to note that Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook each have different guidelines when it comes to CBD), email marketing, and PPC advertising. Part of these investments may include consultations with experts, like us at NuOptima.

Final Thoughts

White label CBD leaves you with the space to do the things that really help you get ahead in the competitive CBD industry- get creative with your marketing and appeal to your target market like no other brand they’ve ever seen before. The fact that white label CBD products from the best suppliers come with seed-to-sale tracking, product testing, and a proven track record of sales in the hands of other brands.

White label CBD is a great option for those who don’t have the time or funds to begin their new product lines from scratch, and most labels keep transactions as convenient as possible while you work with them. Smart CBD entrepreneurs will use this extra time and convenience to hone their industry knowledge and marketing strategy.

Anastasiia Myronenko

Anastasiia Myronenko is a Medical Physicist actively practicing in one of the leading cancer centers in Kyiv, Ukraine. She received her master’s degree in Medical Physics at Karazin Kharkiv National University and completed Biological Physics internship at GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research, Germany. Anastasiia Myronenko specializes in radiation therapy and is a fellow of Ukrainian Association of Medical Physicists.

A Complete Guide to White Label CBD – Alphagreen Academy