Why Trips is moving beyond the CBD is astute brand diversification

The news that CBD category leader Trip is launching a new range of functional drinks without the substance is a major development, but it should come as no surprise.

Functional beverages continue to drive overall growth in the soft drinks category, contributing four times the value of their non-functional counterparts. [Circana 12 we 9 September].

The sub-segment has grown since the pandemic, with shoppers not only looking for guilt-free fizzy drinks, but also those with added benefits like prebiotics, vitamins, adaptogens and nootropics to boost their physical and mental well-being.

And Trip has been at the forefront of this functional revolution. Founded by husband and wife duo Olivia Ferdi and Daniel Khoury in 2019, the brand has done more than any other to bring CBD into the mainstream.

With 30,000 distribution points, from national grocers to health stores, pub groups and takeaways, Trip is now the fastest growing privately owned soft drink in the UK. [Circana 4 w/e 27 January 2024, all brands over 500k]and this week topped the Alantra Food & Beverage Fast 50, also becoming the fastest growing privately owned fmcg company in the UK.

The combination of Ferdi and Khourys’ force of personality and Trips’ elegant and engaging designs have helped transform CBD from an abstract medicinal product to an aspirational lifestyle choice. The pair have introduced millions of consumers to the substance and reaped considerable rewards.

How will the CBD category grow?

However, Trips’ remarkable rise has coincided with regulatory inertia that has, at times, threatened to eclipse even its own meteoric growth.

The classification of CBD as a new food means that all products containing the substance must first meet rigorous safety tests and be authorized for sale by the Food Standards Authority (FSA). But despite having almost two years to do so, the FSA has not approved a single new CBD food application, leaving brands stuck in limbo.

To avoid killing the category, the FSA has allowed existing CBD brands to sell existing products if they have a new food application with the FSA linked to them. But innovation has been a no-go, meaning the fast-growing Trip has stuck with the same products and flavors since February 2020.

If that wasn’t problematic enough, the FSA last October changed its guidance, reducing its recommended acceptable daily intake of CBD from 70mg to 10mg less than a single can of Trips drink.

Chaos ensued at first, with Holland & Barrett announcing that it was withdrawing some CBD products, including Trip, from sale in its stores.

Fortunately for Trip, the retailer quickly reversed its decision, and as Circana data shows, the brand has not suffered any lasting negative impact on sales. But it will have served as a warning to Ferdi and Khoury of the risks inherent in putting all their eggs in the CBD basket, especially as UK regulation continues to catch up.

Framed in the above context, Trips’ new range of Mindful Blend drinks containing lion’s mane, magnesium, ashwagandha and L-theanine, but no CBD, is starting to look like a good future proof for a multi-million pound brand.

When will the FSA move to the CBD?

It allows Trip to remain a brand synonymous with wellness, innovates to take advantage of new social media trends (magnesium and ashwagandha hashtags have a combined 2.9 million views on TikTok), and reduces its exposure to more hits in the way as the FSA crawls to authorize the sale of CBD products.

The founders of Trips want to downplay that narrative. They insist that the development of the Mindful Blend range predates the FSA’s revised guidance and point out that they are launching the products in global markets where their CBD drinks are kept within safe level guidance.

We will be launching this range at national retailers in four different countries and it will be one of the biggest drinks launches in recent years, Khoury told The Grocer this week. They were very excited and it was not related to the FSA.

But in the long term, it wouldn’t be a surprise, especially if the FSA continues to drag its heels to see the brand look to further disassociate itself from CBD and establish itself as an all-round drinks brand, with multiple functional ranges to satisfy the different needs of consumers. .

Ferdis’ comments on Trips NPD hint at this much: it’s very important for us to be able to evolve and cater to whatever needs the customer may have when they need a moment of calm.

And if the innovation is successful, more CBD brands may look to follow suit.