Nutraceutical Growth Helped By CBD Popularity

According to a recent article by Jim Chrzan in Packaging World, many nutraceutical companies "view CBD as the biggest innovation in the nutraceuticals market." Of course, this innovation has been helped in large part by relaxed regulations and laws surrounding cannabis. In addition, any number of other products can be infused with CBD, from edibles like gummie candies to personal care products like shampoos and body creams. Add to this the list of potential or possible positive effects of CBD and it is no surprise that CBD has likely given a boost to many different industries.

But what does this mean for Liquid Packaging Solutions as a packaging machinery manufacturer? This answer is also touched on in the article. Currently, the producers of many CBD products are creating smaller batches of product, though there are exceptions. Start up companies may be producing unique or small batch CBD oils or infused products, similar to craft distillers in the spirits industry. Well-established companies may be testing the market to see what kind of demand exists for oils or infused products. But as Chrzan points out in his article, more packagers of CBD products are looking for tabletop or small footprint packaging solutions, for smaller batch runs.

At the Las Vegas PACK EXPO, LPS representatives noted that, of all the industries represented by PACK EXPO attendees, there were as many or more requests for information on packaging CBD oils and CBD infused goods. However, the solutions varied more than one might expect, simply because the reach of CBD crosses many other markets. From simple CBD oils to foods and beverages to thicker body lotions and creams, the filling machines used for different products could take on many different forms. And while eye dropper closures are almost always a part of a CBD oil packaging solutions, LPS representatives were also asked about pump caps, spray caps, flip tops and even simple flat caps for infused items. Again, the solutions that drew the most interest were semi-automatic and operator driven machines that would require labor for smaller batches. Other packagers were intereseted in semi-automatic equipment that could be upgraded for higher production demands and greater automation in the future, as well as monoblock systems which provide limited speed to automatically fill, cap and otherwise package smaller containers, such as the tincture bottles.

With deregulation still new, and more to come, CBD oils and cannabis infused products can be thought of as a relatively young industry, and growth seems almost a certainty. While tabletop equipment and other semi-automatic machinery drew a lot of interest from the industry at PACK EXPO 2019, no one at LPS would be surprised if future shows bring back some of these same packagers and others looking for more automation for their oils and infused goods.