When a mission makes you start a journey or a quest, chances are high that you will make it to where you want to go. This is true to Charlotte’s Web, one of the renowned CBD brands we had the privilege to review. Although we could not tell when the company was launched, we learned through its investor page that in 2011, the two Stanley brothers discovered a proprietary CBD strain, and when the Farm Bill was passed in 2018 to legalize the medical use of hemp, the brothers used the same strain to create Charlotte’s Web. As it is, the company is fairly young in the CBD arena, but that has not hindered it from offering its consumers the very best. Some of the brand’s specs include free ground shipping for orders worth $74 and above to all over the USA, 15% for first-time buyers, two CBD extraction methods, organic farming practices, and several means of contacting the company. If you want to know about Charlotte’s Web and its product, take your time to read our full review for 2022.
About the Company
Surfing through Charlotte’s Web official website, you will not find an ‘About Us’ page that details how the company started. However, we navigated the site and found the investor page, which explained that the Stanley brothers who created the company discovered a proprietary CBD strain in 2011, and when the Farm Bill was passed in 2018 legalizing hemp for medical uses, they used the same strain to put up the company. Therefore, while it might be a young player in the CBD arena, the brand has a history that dates back to a decade.
According to the website, the seven brothers were on a mission to help Charlotte Figi, a five-year-old girl, manage her epileptic condition; hence the company started as a mission and not as a business. Charlotte had a long history of epilepsy, and her mother, Paige, was striving to help her daughter using the plant-based cannabidiol (CBD) compound to manage her condition with non-psychoactive effects. Meanwhile, the seven brothers had already discovered a CBD strain and were working towards clearing THC to make it non-psychoactive. Paige reached out to the brothers for help, hoping to try their products on the epileptic daughter. Therefore, the company was named Charlotte’s Web, honoring the then five-year-old Charlotte, who was the first person to try the products.
The website does not say much about its history, especially because it lacks the About Us section. Nonetheless, we found the above information. We appreciated how organized the FAQ page was since it was arranged in such a manner that it addressed many questions, categorized as general, CBD and hemp, reward program, shipping, handling, and return policies. Although the site is generally not easy to navigate, any page is comprehensive and details every piece of information.
Charlotte’s Web conducts third-party testing and uploads the data online through its website. However, you cannot view any lab reports without a batch number, implying that you must buy their products, have a batch number(s), and key it in to view lab reports. The brand is reputable in the CBD arena and beyond because it has multiple programs for giving back to the community. They include the Women Bean’s Project to empower women and boost their quality of life, support needy children and families, farming practices that uphold sustainability, and first-time buyers. In addition, it has a 30-day money-back guarantee that allows clients 30 days to report dissatisfaction, return the items, and wait for full refunds. Moreover, if your orders arrive damaged, you have up to 48 hours from the delivery time to report to the customer care desk.
Specs
The CBD market has many brands, where some are small, and others are big. Charlotte’s Web is one of the CBD giants defined by the following specs;
- Pending USDA certification
- Non-GMO, organic farming practices
- Extract consumption methods include capsules, cooling gels, gummies, pet items, tinctures, and topicals
- US-sourced hemp
- Ethanol and CO 2 extraction techniques employed to strip CBD off the plant fibers
- Scannable QR codes on product labels
- Thorough soil and plant testing to produce high-quality premium CBD products
- A wide range of products in isolate, broad-, and full-spectrum formulations
- Discount for military veterans, fast responders, and first-time buyers
- Automated chat feature
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- Free shipping to all the 50 states of the USA for orders worth $74 and above
- Orders take up to 7 days at most to be delivered
- Products prices range between $14.99 and $274.99
- All items are contaminants and THC-free
Manufacturing Process
The website does not say a lot about the brand’s manufacturing process. However, the Explore page, especially towards its end, briefly addresses the company’s growing practices. The hemp farms are working toward being USDA-certified but are operating within the frameworks of cGMP guidelines. Besides, they are organic, although not certified-organic, and practice sustainable farming to keep the environment safe while still producing the highest-quality hemp for premium CBD products.
Moreover, Charlotte’s Web official website states that the farm professionals test the soils and plants to ensure that they have the appropriate characteristics needed to produce high-quality hemp. Besides, it has experts who monitor all processes from the start to the end. Once the hemp reaches the FDA-registered facilities, two extraction methods, i.e., ethanol and CO2 techniques, are employed to strip off CBD from the hemp fibers. These methods are deemed the safest in the CBD industry. For instance, the supercritical CO2 extraction employs low thermodynamic thresholds, allowing contaminants to settle, hence why all Charlotte’s Web CBD products are contaminant-free. The extracts are then formulated with the appropriate essential oils, including MCT, for more bioavailability.
The next stage in the manufacturing process is the control and safety process through third-party testing. It ensures that the actual CBD and THC contents match what is indicated in the labels. Besides, the step ensures that the products are free of microbes, solvents, heavy metals, and other contaminants. The test results are then uploaded online, but you must have batch numbers to view them. We examined the 10 mg CBD sleep gummies for CBD and THC and found that the total CBD was 12 mg (20% variance) while THC was 0.01%, meaning that the brand needs to improve its CBD potency accuracies. Other products deviated by as much as 60%.
Range of Products
Charlotte’s Web has a wide assortment of products, including;
i. Charlotte’s Web CBD Oils
The brand offers a variety of full-spectrum oils, all of which are made from CO2 extracted CBD (except for Original Formula, whose CBD is ethanol extracted) and are MCT oil-formulated for enhanced bioavailability. The oils feature various flavors, including mint and chocolate, with total CBD contents varying from 210 mg to 1800 mg per 30 ml packages, revealing a potency range of 7 mg/ml to 60 mg/ml.
ii. Charlotte’s Web CBD Isolate
Charlotte’s Web has an isolate product line that deals in oils ideal for people who often take drug tests and prefer THC-free products. The site states that the oil’s extraction method is proprietary, hence remains unknown to the public domain. The oils are unflavored and are packed in 30 ml bottles whose total CBD content is 20 mg.
iii. Charlotte’s Web Gummies
Charlotte’s Web offers six types of gummies, the Calm, Recovery, and Sleep packed in 15 servings (30 gummies) or 30 servings (60 gummies). They are all full-spectrum and made from CO2 extracted CBD. Moreover, they are vegan-friendly, gluten-free, artificial flavors and colors-free, and are MCT oil-formulated for enhanced bioavailability. Each gummy has 5 mg CBD.
iv. Charlotte’s Web Capsules
Charlotte’s Web capsules feature two potencies, 25 mg or 15 mg per capsule 1 mg liquid. They are made with CO2 extracted CBD and come in 30, 60, and 90 counts packages. Like other products, they are MCT oil-formulated and are vegetarian and vegan-friendly.
v. Charlotte’s Web Topicals
The brand has an extensive product line for seven topical items, all of which are full-spectrum formulations and made from CO2 extracted CBD. Besides, they have 300 mg CBD per oz and include hemp-infused balm stick, hemp balm, roll-ons, cooling gel, and hemp-infused cream. Their potencies vary between 3.75 mg/ml and 10.63 mg/ ml, while the prices range from $14.99 to $39.99.
vi. Charlotte’s Web Pet Items
The brand offers pet products, especially for dogs, in the form of chews and drops. You can choose between the unflavored or chicken flavored drops, both of which feature two capacities, 30 ml, and 100 ml. The chews come in packages of 3of 30, 60, or 90, and each has 2.5 mg CBD.
What We Like About the Company
While reviewing Charlotte’s Web, we found many aspects we liked about the brand, including;
- The brand offers free shipping for orders worth $74 and above
- There is a 30-day money-back guarantee that gives dissatisfied clients full refunds
- It offers a wide assortment of products, including pet items, tinctures, gummies, topicals, oils, and capsules
- A variety of potency and flavors are available for you to choose from
- Every page on the site was detailed, addressing its topic in-depth
- The FAQ link takes you to a page that’s detailed and answers many questions relevant to the CBD arena
- The brand’s price points are well within the market range, allowing the company to play along with its competitors
- The farms in which the brand’s hemp is grown practice sustainable organic farming practices
- The brand is working tirelessly to be USDA-certified
- Growing, manufacturing, extraction, and handling process observe cGMP guidelines
- The clean ethanol and CO2 extraction methods are used
- The wide price range of $14.99 to $274.99 allows consumers with different financial capabilities to find something within their budget
- The brand offers multiple discounts for veterans, subscribers, first-time buyers, and fast-responders
- The reviews found on the website indicate satisfaction from consumers
- All the products were contaminants and THC-free
What We Do Not Like About the Company
Despite the many picks we loved and appreciated about Charlotte’s Web, we had issues with the following;
- The website is generally hard to navigate to find particular information
- It does not detail its extraction methods
- The $74 lower limit for free shipping is a bit expensive and would not benefit consumers whose orders do not reach that threshold
- The chat feature was automated and would send pre-defined answers, making it challenging to get responses for specific questions not captured in the system
- The brand says nothing about its team
- It lacks an About Us page, although there is a link to an Our Story page
- The products exceeded the 10% acceptable variance limit and deviated by 20%-60%
Our Overall Verdict
Charlotte’s Web is a renowned CBD brand started by the seven Stanley brothers, who had a mission of producing non-psychoactive CBD products. It had a wide assortment of products, including topicals, oils, gummies, pet items, and capsules. The formulations are either isolate, broad-, and full-spectrum CBD to cater to all consumers with different needs. The brand has a 30-day money-back guarantee and a free shipping arrangement for orders worth $74 and above. Its website offers elaborate information on specific topics but is not easy to navigate. Besides, it needs a bit of ironing to detail how the brand started.
