Goldsmith already has experience infusing candy as co-founder of Smith & Sinclair, who have been producing alcoholic confectionery since setting up a market stall in London’s Berwick Street Market five years ago and turning it into a million-pound company before been bought by Canadian cannabis business Tilray in the summer.
The takeover comes at a time of exceptional interest in edibile CBDs and the medicinal potential of the crop, leading to interest in City cannabis fundraisings.
Goldsmith said CBD will not get you high - not even a little bit. “It supports your everyday health and wellbeing by interacting with our endocannabinoid system (ECS).”
The ECS is a complex system found in every human body that’s instrumental in maintaining our health, she says. “It was only discovered around 30 years ago, so the full extent of its functions is still being studied, but research has linked the ECS to maintaining balance in the body and promoting general daily wellbeing.”
Pollen's vegan gummies have been infused with 10mg CBD from broad spectrum hemp oil. This pioneering infusion technique helps to ensure consistency of dosage every time, Goldsmith said. "Instead of spraying or coating the CBD onto our gummies, we use a proprietary recipe which infuses the CBD into the gummy itself, ensuring an equal distribution of CBD across each gummy – similar to how we created our award-winning Alcoholic Cocktail Gummies for Smith & Sinclair," she said.
Each gummy is complemented by a wide range of ingredients from grapefruit and turmeric to cherry and cacao - which delivers a complex flavour profile without a trace of the distinctive aftertaste often associated with CBD edibles.
Goldsmith said the brand uses Broad Spectrum CBD hemp oil derived from EU compliant hemp strains with non-detectable THC levels in its products. "This is a legal requirement set by the Home Office, where a product cannot contain any more than 1mg/kg. On top of that, our supply chain has provided written confirmation that the strains within our products are on the EU approved list. We also use natural flavourings, balancing combinations from Pear + Turmeric to Grapefruit + Honey, ensuring our products taste great too," said Goldsmith.
She told ConfectioneryNews that one if the biggest challenge has been, and continues to be, navigating the evolving regulatory landscape around CBD. "Our aim with Pollen is to drive innovation, credibility + build a community around what we are doing and what CBD actually is, which involves being consistently up to date with third party testing requirements, language that is demystified without making any medical claims which are of course not allowed. We have dedicated time and resource into both research and legal guidance to ensure our brand has longevity in a fledgling industry projected to undergo explosive growth," she said.
Pollen’s Gummies are currently available online at withpollen.com and in-store at TheDrug.Store, London, priced £35 ($45.19 ) for 30 gummies.