For much of the CBD industry’s early growth, oils dominated the market. Gummies followed, offering a simpler format for consumers who did not want to measure drops or deal with the taste of hemp extracts.
Topicals occupied a smaller corner of the category.
That is changing.
CBD companies are expanding their ranges of creams, salves, gels, sticks and roll-ons, with some brands moving towards considerably higher concentrations than would have been typical only a few years ago.
The shift reflects a broader change in the way CBD products are being sold. Instead of treating CBD as one large category, companies are increasingly developing products around how and where consumers intend to use them.
A bottle of CBD oil may be designed as an all-purpose product. A topical has a much more obvious job: it is applied directly to a particular area.
That distinction has given manufacturers considerably more room to develop specialised products.
Cooling gels can be marketed differently from heavier balms. Roll-ons suit people who want something that can be applied without getting product on their hands. Creams can be formulated for larger areas, while balm sticks offer a portable option.
Strength has become another way for brands to differentiate themselves.
The result is a market in which shoppers can encounter products containing a few hundred milligrams of CBD alongside creams and salves containing several thousand milligrams in the same-sized container.
That can make comparisons difficult.
A larger milligram number does not necessarily mean a larger container, and consumers increasingly have to look at both the total amount of CBD and the amount of product they are buying.
Some specialist CBD businesses have leaned heavily into this part of the market.
US-based Quiet Monk CBD, for example, now offers a broad range of CBD creams for pain, including products at several different strengths rather than relying on a single general-purpose cream.
The approach is part of a wider trend towards giving consumers more choice within individual CBD formats.
It is similar to what has happened in established skincare categories, where shoppers have become accustomed to choosing products by ingredients, texture, concentration and intended use rather than simply buying a generic moisturiser.
For CBD businesses, that creates both an opportunity and a problem.
More choice makes it possible to serve different types of customers, but it also increases the amount of information a brand needs to communicate clearly.
A consumer faced with 1,000mg, 5,000mg and 10,000mg creams needs to understand what those figures actually describe. Container size matters, as does the formulation surrounding the CBD.
Simply placing a large number on the front of the jar may attract attention, but it does little to help customers compare products properly.
That is particularly important online, where shoppers can move between competing brands in seconds.
Product pages increasingly have to do more than display a photograph and price. Consumers can check ingredient lists, laboratory reports, container sizes and concentrations before deciding whether two apparently similar products are actually comparable.
That transparency is likely to become more important as the topical market becomes crowded.
There is also a commercial reason for brands to take the category seriously.
Topicals give CBD companies an opportunity to build product ranges around different formats without asking customers to change the way they consume CBD internally.
Someone who has little interest in an oil or gummy may still be comfortable with a cream or balm because the format is already familiar from skincare and sports products.
That makes topicals an accessible entry point into the category.
The same familiarity also means CBD brands are competing for attention outside the traditional cannabis market. Their products sit alongside conventional creams, massage balms, cooling gels and other wellness products that consumers have been buying for years.
Packaging and positioning therefore matter.
Brands that once relied heavily on cannabis imagery have increasingly adopted the visual language of mainstream skincare and wellness businesses. Clean packaging, clearly stated ingredients and easy-to-understand product differences are becoming more important than simply emphasising that a product contains CBD.
The businesses that do this well are also becoming more specific about who each product is intended for.
A cooling roll-on can be positioned for use after exercise. A balm stick can be designed for people who want a small product to keep in a gym bag or desk drawer. A cream may appeal to customers who prefer to apply a product over a wider area.
None of those ideas is particularly complicated, but together they represent a more mature approach to product development.
CBD is no longer a category in which every new format is novel simply because it contains cannabidiol.
Consumers have seen oils, gummies and creams before. The next stage of competition is increasingly about making those products easier to compare and giving shoppers a clear reason to choose one formulation over another.
For manufacturers, that is likely to mean more specialised ranges rather than fewer products.
The companies that benefit may not necessarily be those offering the highest number on a label. They will be the ones that can explain what they have made, why it is different and where it fits within the increasingly crowded wellness market.
