Prior to the launch of its private label offering, Socati's core business had been supplying bulk products such as broad spectrum CBD with non-detectable amounts of THC to established brands. Over the last year, however, Socati has switched gears.
"What we began developing over the course of this year was the ability to provide products that were high in specific minor cannabinoids, and the ability to customize minor cannabinoids, which is increasingly important," Socati chief revenue officer, Mark Elfenbein, told FoodNavigator-USA.
"If you look at the marketplace today, 95% of all the products are probably a full spectrum product or even a CBD isolate with effectively non-detectable minor cannabinoids."
'We’ve been getting lots of requests for finished products'
With Socati's proprietary processing technology, the company is able to provide a full ‘concept-to-market’ partnership for both established brands looking to develop new lines of hemp-infused products and entities looking to launch new and innovative brands in the growing CBD market.
"We’ve been getting lots of requests for finished products. A lot of brands really need you to do the entire product for them, where they’re really just on the marketing and distribution side," said Elfenbein.
"As a result, we’ve jumped in now with the capability to produce a host of different products."
Socati's fully-customizable private label products include: gummies available in four natural fruit flavors, tinctures, softgels, pressed tablets, two-piece capsules, and lastly, and what Elfenbein believes will be the "evolution of the tincture" , is a crystalized flavored powder (a fine, water soluble, flavored crystalline powder available in stick packs or in bulk to precise specification and potency).
“We're really advancing the consumer experience over what’s been deployed over the last couple of years over the evolution of CBD," said Elfenbein.
Trending cannabinoids and potency levels
According to Elfenbein, 2019 was a hot year for the minor cannabinoid cannabigerol or 'CBG', which consumers have begun linking to cognitive functions and on the product development side, Socati has seen incorporated it into morning-oriented products.
"What was just starting to become popular, and I think will be big in 2020 are products that are rich in CBN for more of a nighttime routine," noted Elfenbein.
But what sort of potency levels is the market demanding and what do consumers expect out of products containing minor cannabinoids such as CBG or CBN?
According to Elfenbein, most of the products on the market today contain less than one-tenth of percent, or sometimes less than one-hundredth of a percent, of any given cannabinoid (even if those products' label claim to contain those cannabinoids)
For Socati's products, the potency levels of its cannabinoids measure around 4%.
"First of all, you want it to show up on a certificate of analysis for it to have the effect the consumer is looking for," noted Elfenbein.
Elfenbein is working roughly half of the top 20 brands in the CBD market as well as number of smaller, less established brands to produce high-end products with customized cannabinoids levels.
"Instead of providing a very generic, me too product, we think there’s a lot of value in providing products that our brands can have the ability to customize minor cannabinoid ratios," he added.