If there is a way to describe Bluebird Botanicals it’s a company with heart. This family-owned company’s mission has been to make happy and healthy lifestyles radically accessible to all. In doing so, it has embraced key tenets that go well beyond sales, such as making products affordable so that everyone can tap into the power of CBD. The company has long recognized that there’s a greater purpose to doing business than just
making sales. This belief goes well beyond lip service, as Bluebird Botanicals made becoming B Corp certified a priority. “We became a better company through this process,” notes Michael Harinen, chief brand officer of Bluebird Botanicals, who says they learned where—and how—they could do better.
Being a responsible steward has been the driver behind the company’s philanthropic contributions to communities in crisis, as well as its environmental and wildlife conservation efforts. In addition to using the highest quality ingredients, including sustainably sourced domestically grown hemp, the company is dedicated to regenerative agriculture. Bluebird Botanicals works closely with its farmers, making it a priority to provide frameworks, resources and incentives for farmers to maintain a healthy growing environment for plants, while also regenerating topsoil and promoting the sequestration of carbon in the soil.
Promoting happy and healthy lifestyles for all also means the company is not scared to be transparent. “We believe our customers have the right to know exactly what they’re putting into or onto their bodies,” says Beatty. The company maintains an industry-leading batch database that allows customers to view third-party lab tests for every single batch of Bluebird product. In addition, the company was the first CBD company to be certified Glyphosate Residue Free by The Detox Project.
An optimistic outlook for hemp’s future
In moving the industry forward, Beatty says Bluebird would like to see further education around testing, regulatory and supply chain issues. In a crowded marketplace, education for customers around testing would help them understand how to read third-party test results and know which questions to ask companies to ensure they are getting a quality product. Education on the legality of hemp and CBD is also needed, as public perception is still somewhat misguided. “Many consumers still believe hemp is the same thing as marijuana. Since the industry is still relatively new, there remains a great deal of stigma around cannabis as a healthy, normal thing,” says Beatty. Even consumers who are up to speed on the differences can still be apprehensive about purchasing CBD because of concerns over quality and transparency around companies ruling the industry.
This is where industry education is also needed. Education for suppliers and manufacturers would help these parties to understand the necessity and importance of testing, how to test products, reputable labs to use and how to share those results to build further trust in the industry as a whole. Providing more information around regulatory issues and enforcement would also shine a light on companies that are not abiding by state laws, who can and will put consumers at risk in those states. “Bad players will only serve to create further distrust from policymakers, law enforcement agencies and consumers alike,” says Beatty.
Supply chain education could also help farmers to understand the marketplace and demand. Hemp is on its way to becoming an agricultural commodity, but it’s not at the status of wheat, corn or soy at this point. “Too often there are stories of farmers that plant hemp thinking there will be abundant buyers for their crop and instead find themselves sitting on a warehouse full of plant material with a heavy burden of debt,” says Beatty. “Personal relationships and contracts are of utmost importance,” he adds.
Ultimately, hemp industry stakeholders can help collectively improve and elevate the industry through sharing best practices for quality control. They can do so by creating programs and guidelines to help govern hemp companies and indicate quality to customers and by committing to industry-wide sustainable practices.
Of course, Beatty adds, more scientific studies and research regarding efficacy of the many constituents of hemp are also needed. Being able to prove hemp’s positive impacts on health and wellness with sound research will help the industry gain much needed credibility.
Hemp Hero: Bluebird Botanicals
Making happy and healthy lifestyles
radically accessible to all
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We became a better company through [the B Corp] process.”
Michael Harinen,
chief brand officer, Bluebird Botanicals
According to Bluebird, hemp industry stakeholders can help collectively improve and elevate the industry through sharing best practices for quality control.”
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Bluebird Botanicals
Bluebird Botanicals is a proud partner of the Hemp Collective—a New Hope Network and Natural Products Insider initiative dedicated to supporting quality and transparency in the hemp industry.
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Brandon Beatty,
CEO and founder, Bluebird Botanicals
Mike Tktk
Michael Harinen,
chief brand officer, Bluebird Botanicals