While the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) continues to evaluate cannabidiol (CBD) to determine a new regulatory pathway for CBD in foods and supplements, customers are nonetheless still purchasing CBD-containing products.

Ready-to-drink tea and coffee that contain CBD saw a 3.3% increase in dollar sales at convenience stores for the 52 weeks ending April 23, 2023, while bottled juices containing CBD saw a 17.8% increase in dollar sales for that same period, according to Circana Total U.S. Convenience data.

“Since 2018, CBD has been a high-growth channel for convenience stores and gas stations, as well as CBD stores, and remains a growing category,” said Leah Heise, constellation advisor to global strategy and management consultancy firm Kearney. “Between 2018 and 2020, stores saw greater than a 39% increase in the sales of CBD. In the past few years, that growth has slowed to 2.2%, but consumers continue to demand it.”

Other CBD products that have been trending upward include gummies, vapes and tinctures, noted Heise.

“Delta 8, 9 and 10 products have also seen an increase in consumption as consumers seek products with easier access and lower costs than tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) products,” said Heise. “Beverages, in particular, are seeing a spike in consumption because this form of consumption is familiar, and with California Sobriety (abstinence from all alcohol and drugs except cannabis) and Sober January (avoiding alcohol in the month of January)…