Case Study:

Building the Perfect CBD Gummy with
True North Labs


You don’t often see ‘artisanal’ and ‘global distribution’ working together, but when a CBD supplement brand approached us looking for a way to massively scale up their craft CBD gummies, we rose to the challenge.

The Problem

No high MOQs!

The brand in question wanted to create world-class CBD gummies in small batches. This isn’t something many production facilities will do, but True North Labs are always prepared to troubleshoot and figure out a commitment that works for your brand.

Novel Foods compliance.

Keeping in line with evolving cannabis regulations across the globe is a challenge all CBD brands face. The target market for this gummy line being the U.K., it was vital that the products had a Novel Foods dossier. True North Labs is able to ensure stringent compliance for all products, and we were successful in adding this product line to our Novel Foods application.

Complex recipe, lots of flavours.

When scaling up and wanting to manufacture products at a commercial level, consistency is key. This can be particularly tough when the products have been produced by hand in small batches, with a lack of documentation on the production process – as was the case for these gummies. In order to assess the product's feasibility in an industrial confectionary manufacturer, True North Labs' team of food scientists worked with the brand to redevelop the product.

Our Approach

We’ll stick to your budget.

We realise the cost of product redevelopment and manufacturing can be daunting, so we discussed this at length with the CBD brand before beginning the process. We also provided a recommended development budget to investigate the recipe and industrialise product manufacturing.

Minimize risk for our client.

Product development inevitably comes with risks, but these risks can largely be mitigated through a disciplined, staged approach that breaks these risks down into manageable chunks. In this scenario, these included a feasibility assessment, delivery of hand samples, raw ingredient testing, quality documentation and finally, scaled manufacturing.

Product specification.

When you’re working with us, you’re in safe hands every step of the way. Given our broad range of expertise in the cannabis sector, we were able to help with everything this CBD brand needed, from curating the best packaging to ensuring the final product is kept in line with all specifications and regulations.

The Results

Commercial product improvement.

As the original gummies were handmade in a small kitchen, redevelopment was essential to ensure standardisation, consistency, shelf life and stability. While this seemed like a big overhaul, it ended up improving the gummies in many respects. The brand wanted a large, soft pectin CBD gummy in multiple flavour and True North Labs delivered.

Scalability on international level achieved.

Through redevelopment of the original product, we were able to manufacture to a rigid product specification at scale, making the products compliant across European markets and, vitally, offer the brand the option to reorder the product with 10 week’s notice. This high level of quality and service will, ultimately, enable the brand to reach international markets successfully.

Regulatory and product specifications achieved.

By collaborating with True North Labs, the brand can apply the world-renowned ‘Swiss Made’ certification to their products, which is synonymous with exceptional quality. Crucially, Novel Foods certification was also achieved with ease, thanks to vastly improved consistency and precision CBD dosing.

Our Takeaway:

Creating a high quality CBD gummy that ticks all the boxes, from meeting regulations to producing great flavours, is harder than making a CBD pill! But True North Labs will deliver on your vision, whatever the challenges.