The future is hemp? Healthy Hemp Products’ founder on what’s next

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

Cannabis Health speaks to Jas Nottay, founder of Healthy Hemp Products Ltd – and creator of CBD chewing gum – about his journey so far.

Jas Nottay got his start in the industry after using cannabinoids for his own health reasons. He switched to a fully plant-based diet as well as starting to take CBD supplements, which he says helped him to address his health.

“I’ve been involved with cannabis for several years, as have my family back in India. It’s always been around in my life,” he said.

“I decided to look at cannabis as a profession about seven or eight years ago, after using CBD for personal health reasons and from there, the rest is history.”

Jas said: “I saw some poignant results myself. I thought more people should be using cannabinoids and learning more about their own endocannabinoid system. That was the driving factor in wanting to set up a company involved in this area. I wanted to develop something for the wider market.”

Loveburgh, a Healthy Hemp Products brand, was established in 2015 after “trials, errors and many sampling sessions with friends and family”. It is now one of the fastest-growing European cannabis brands with products stocked across the UK, Netherlands, Denmark, Spain, Portugal, Poland and even South East Asia.

The company is based in Edinburgh, but also has a facility in Holland. As well as manufacturing CBD products, it works with high profile brands and produces its own line of cosmetics, oils and edibles. 

The main ethos of the company is simple: to improve the health and performance of over one million people worldwide.

The company originally launched with a healthy beverage but has gone on to create a diverse portfolio of products. The company undertook a lot of research and development before deciding which products they wanted to include in the range.

“We did a fair amount of market research, conducted surveys and spoke to a lot of our family and friends. Equally, our research on what was happening in other countries led us to develop a precise and in-demand range of products including oils, cosmetics and even vapes. We launched with a fresh healthy juice which was a huge innovation in respect of what was already out there,” Jas said.

“Oils and tinctures were dominating at that time so we were the first to bring that type of beverage to market. The research led us to that point where we determined what would work best and what was suited to the market.”

Unusually, the brand decided to release a CBD chewing gum. Despite CBD becoming an ingredient in a lot of products, there are very few brands offering chewing gum as an option. Jas explained that while it was one of the more difficult items to produce, it has gone on to become one of the products they are most proud of.

“It’s been three years in the making! We have had so many hurdles to overcome and are one of the very few companies to have CBD gum, which especially with novel foods is great,” he said. 

“It was a challenging project. We had to select the correct gum bases, examine how the various elements and ingredients reacted together and what the maximum bioavailability could be, which presented a lot of challenges and a lot of testing!”

He added: “We wanted the gum to be on par with the leading brands. We didn’t want a gum that people felt was completely different from what was already out there and we wanted to show the market what type of player we are.”

It has been a difficult time for CBD brands in the current climate. Stock issues, novel food regulations, increased testing, Brexit and Covid have not made it an easy two years for those in the industry. 

Despite this, Healthy Hemp Products has gone from strength to strength. Jas listed his personal highlights as achieving official approval following audits from the British Standards Institute (BSI).

“One of our proudest moments was achieving BRCGs (Brand Reputation Compliance Global Standard) approval in the UK. We were one of the first in the UK to receive a BRCG audit and gain approval as a CBD manufacturer. We went through an intense and rigorous audit by their team and got a pass with a distinction,” he said. 

“Another proud moment was completing our novel food status in house and submitting our complex dossier ahead of schedule for over 125 products and formulations. We recently had that accepted too so it’s been another milestone for our company.”

With the public list due to be released later this year, the novel foods regulations have presented a challenge for a lot of brands. Jas highlighted it as one of the most difficult things the company has undertaken as a small team, but been a huge achievement. 

Jas said: “The novel foods process has been one of the most challenging and uncertain tasks we’ve undertaken as a company. It’s a two-year process where we spent months upon months developing our dossier and systems to ensure we are compliant in all areas.”

The start of a new year has meant a lot of speculation around where the industry may go. Especially as regulations around CBD and medical cannabis begin to tighten. It may result in the CBD industry becoming a completely different space by the end of the year. 

Where does Jas see the market heading?

“I see the cannabis industry as a whole being segmented off, where CBD may end up being focused around consumable products, fast-moving consumer goods and chocolates. I think the marketplace will move that way for scientific reasons which is why we have developed products of that nature,” he said.

“Equally, the medical side is going to really take shape in the UK where we may see more focused products like tinctures or oils with improved delivery methods across products. I feel products of a focused, highly therapeutic nature may end up being reserved towards the medical arena as they are heading in that direction already. 

“There may also be a rise in innovative consumer products and consumables as a result such as chocolates, chewing gum and beverages. It will move towards easier consumption and access of cannabinoids, and with certain trails taking place across the UK, we may even see the potential of a recreational market emerging.”

Jas feels this will make it easier for people to start using cannabinoids in their everyday lives and as part of their diet.

“People won’t have to worry about taking tinctures or drops of oil when they can pick up a chocolate bar or grab a drink. CBD will become a normal ingredient of foodstuff,” he said.

The brand has a busy year ahead. When it comes to their own labels, the team will be focusing on expanding their own range of products with particular health areas in mind, as well as developing white label products for clients. 

“We are focusing on our private label work by developing really exciting products for our

clients. Some are really well known already and can be found in over 3,000 stores,” added Jas.

“We also have our own brands where we will be releasing some focused products such as one range targeted towards women’s health. We are developing some really exciting products with innovative, patented technologies over this year. So watch this space!”

Find out more at www.healthyhemp.uk