Edible Arrangements parent launches hemp marketplace Edibles.com
The homepage for Edibles.com, the hemp marketplace from the parent company of Edible Arrangements
Source: Edible Brands
The parent company of Edible Arrangements is moving into a different kind of edible.
Edible Brands is launching Edibles.com, an e-commerce marketplace for hemp products, such as Cann drinks and Wana gummies.
The 2018 Farm Bill legalized hemp, which is legally defined as a plant that contains 0.3% or less tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the primary intoxicant in cannabis. The federal law paved the way for companies to sell products with THC derived from hemp rather than marijuana across most states, even if those areas haven’t legalized marijuana.
A handful of states, like Connecticut, have placed restrictions on how much THC a hemp product can contain. But in much of the country, hemp legalization has led to a veritable Wild West.
“There’s a lot of demand for hemp products out there right now, but what people are looking for is that safe and trusted place to buy it,” Edible Brands CEO Somia Farid Silber told CNBC.
The website launches Friday, starting with Texas. The company is planning to roll out the platform nationwide quickly, with Florida, Georgia and other Southeastern markets following soon after Texas.
Edibles.com also has a lease for a brick-and-mortar location in Inman Park in Atlanta and said it plans to add physical locations in other states as well.
“This is a defining moment for the hemp industry,” Cann CEO and co-founder Jake Bullock said in a statement. “A trusted, high-quality marketplace like Edibles.com has the power to reshape the future of THC products and drive the long-term industry growth we’ve all been working toward.”
As a private company, Edible Brands does not have to disclose its quarterly financial results. The business, best known for its fruit baskets inspired by floral bouquets, had nearly 800 locations as of the end of 2023.
While cannabis remains illegal at the federal level, 24 states have legalized it for recreational use. Legal retail sales were projected to surpass $32 billion in 2024, with roughly 14% — or $4.5 billion — coming from edibles, according to a study from cannabis-focused software company Leaflink.
Growing a new business
Silber said the idea of selling edibles has been percolating “for a while.”
A year ago, the company acquired the edibles.com domain name after settling a yearslong lawsuit against World Media Group for “cybersquatting,” or registering a well-known domain name in the hope of reselling it for a profit.
By July, Edible Brands hired cannabis executive Thomas Winstanley as executive vice president of Edibles.com. And in October, Silber took the reins as CEO after eight years at the company.
“We positioned it as a way to be able to create that connection for people who may be looking for permission to try these things, who have been hearing about them,” Winstanley said. “But it’s different when you walk in and see these products at a gas station, instead of seeing a collection…
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