BARCELONA – The World CBD B2B expo conference, gala and awards ceremony for 2022 took place from 18 – 21 October in Barcelona.
The event was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic and was originally scheduled to return in July of this year. However, due to airline strikes and airport chaos with many flight cancellations, the decision was taken to postpone it until now.
The World CBD Awards is an annual event created to highlight safe, compliant & effective CBD/Hemp products, devices & services on a global scale!
The Awards are designed to recognise & reward those who go the “extra mile”. Thus, making the industry a safe & respected marketplace; showing they operate with integrity, transparency & ethical business practices.
The theme of the 2022 Awards continued to be “we can do better”. Furthermore, the objective was to pull together all the industry pioneers from around the world. Indeed, over 500 people attended the 4-day event.
The objective
The event organisers implemented an objective to define a unique judging process that does not exist anywhere else across the industry. Therefore, an independent group of judges made up of scientists, physicians, & professionals in the CBD/Hemp industry were key.
Why are the World CBD Awards relevant?
- the CBD industry is exploding in growth in a highly unregulated global market
- forecasted growth of 32% CAGR year on year (Compound Annual Growth Rate)
- $20 Billion dollars over the next 5 years
- new countries are emerging monthly
A “blueprint” must be put in place to set global standard
- having like-minded professionals all under one event
- using the collective years of experience and knowledge in the industry to increase standards
- promoting the ‘We can do better’ theme to bring awareness to the awards and goal of increasing global standards of trade with CBD products.
“We can do better”
- companies and people are not making changes on their own … this is fact
- the CBD industry must make changes NOW, to protect the public
- by working together with a global team and collaborating with like-minded industry professionals the theme “We can do better” is necessary
The event
The first day was the main set up day, but also a chance for everyone involved to network. Wednesday was the Business-2-Business opportunity.
On Thursday, during the day, a series of industry guest speakers took to the stage including a research panel.
However, Thursday evening was what everyone was waiting for. The red carpet was rolled out, and the Gala dinner was followed by the World CBD Awards ceremony.
The final day was another chance to network with connections made during the event, and formal meeting rooms were made available to allow for business to continue.
The ceremony
The ceremony was rounded off with a moving tribute to the World CBD Awards founder and former CEO, Michael Patterson. Michael sadly passed away earlier this year. Therefore, his twin brother Mark took his place to host the ceremony. Their sister Jill presented the newly named Michael Patterson Award for industry pioneer. This went to Ed Collins of Kinloch Wellness.
2022 World CBD awards winners
- Best European Retailer – Holland & Barrett
- Best International Retailer – Just CBD
- Best European Distributor – Simply Green
- Best International Distributor – GenCanna Europe
- Best CBD Laboratory – Triverity Labs
- Best CBD White Label – Taylor Mammon & Nathan Limited
- Best Hemp Farmer – Greentech Holdings
- Best Raw Material Supplier – GenCanna Europe
- CBD Influencer – Kannavape S.R.O
- Industry Newcomer – Kanndela Labs
- Product Innovation – Greentech Holdings
- Best Social Media Campaign – Magic King Brussels
- Most Charitable – Reakiro
- Best CBD Magazine – Cannabis Health magazine
- Best CBD Book – Walter the Wizard and the Magic Seed
- Best Packaging Company – Duallok
- Best CBD Device – CCell
- Best CBD Flower – Marry Jane AG
- Best CBD Vape – Third Eye Cannabinoids
- Best CBD Cosmetic – Medicanna Ltd
- Best Pet Range – Sky Wellness
- Best CBD Sexual Wellness Product – Quanna
- Best CBD Topical – Living Legends CBD
- Best CBD (SUBLINGUAL) Edible – iX Biopharma
- Best CBD (INGESTIBLE) Edible – Kinloch Naturals
- Best CBD (HOT) Beverage – MAXX4 Life
- Best CBD (COLD) Beverage – MYND Drinks
- Best CBD (ALCOHOL) Beverage – Aqua Sativa
- Most loved Brand – Orange County CBD
- Best Isolate Based Tincture – Taylor Mammon & Nathan Limited
- Best Extract Based Tincture – Reakiro
- Pioneer of the Year – Edward Collins
- Industry Recognition – Tommy Chong
Congratulations to all of the 2022 award winners. 2023 looks set to be a year of growth for the CBD industry.
