At American Hemp Distributor, our top priority is to represent exceptional, American-made CBD brands that go above and beyond to produce innovative products at the highest possible quality standards. 

The CBD industry has been compared to the Wild West many times, and for good reason. Although the industry is booming and constantly evolving, we have observed companies practicing in ways that don’t work for us. 

Issues we’ve witnessed in our industry...

• Extensive white-labeling and private labeling practices. Anyone with enough money can purchase bulk CBD oil, put their brand label on it, then sell those products online.
• Copycat CBD companies with empty claims. New companies pop up constantly--each claiming they have the best CBD available on the market.
• Companies proclaiming they’re “different” and “innovative”. In reality, they’re using tactics designed to overwhelm their buyers with a ton of “expert” information...none of which is actually helpful, understandable, or informative. 
• Terrible news coverage of the CBD industry. News stories regularly break about poor-quality CBD products that don’t have the proper amount of CBD, or toxic products that have made people sick. This undermines consumer trust of CBD companies in general...even the ones doing everything right. 

All those issues piled on top of the everyday concerns in our industry--like purity, quality, and efficacy--make the CBD world a noisy place to be.

All that noise makes it hard for buyers to know which CBD companies to trust, and whether they’re getting top value for the cost of the product.

That’s why we started American Hemp Distributor. 

We wanted to provide a safe, one-stop shop where businesses can find reliable, effective, wholesale CBD products that have been carefully vetted for exceptional quality. Beyond vetted products, we also wanted to create a convenient experience for our buyers. 

At American Hemp Distributor, you can shop multiple industry-leading brands, place one order, and receive everything they need in one shipment, on one receipt. That way, when it’s time to restock your shelves, you can get everything you need from one place.

It was important that we create a space where our customers can find top-notch products, knowing that each brand has been scrutinized down to the last detail for safety, quality, efficacy, purity, and more. Let’s take a deeper dive into how we vet our featured brands.

How American Hemp Distributor Vets Its Brands

At American Hemp Distributor, one of the most important things we want to acquaint our customers with is our Commitment to CBD Excellence. (You can find more details on our About page.) A major part of our commitment is to carefully vet every CBD brand we feature here on our site. 

We’ve developed a rigorous, in-depth process we follow to hand-select every brand and product we stock. Let’s take a look at how we make that happen. 

We Research Brands and Products In-Depth

During our vetting process’s initial research phase, we gather as much publicly available information about the brand as possible. We’re looking for details on a number of factors, including: 

• Information about the brand’s CBD extraction process
• Supply chain details, such as the source of the brand’s hemp
• Prominently displayed product details, including ingredients and CBD content
• Accurate, FDA-compliant labeling practices 
• FDA-compliant copy that does not make unverified health claims
• Easy-to-access COAs for each available product
• Product pricing 
• Details about the brand’s executive team 
• The brand’s key differentiators 
• Information regarding the brand’s innovation, advocacy, and customer education 
• Any additional relevant information that helps the brand and products stand out 

This process gives us a tremendous amount of information to work with, but we don’t stop there. 

We Go Beyond Websites, Digital Marketing, and Brand Aesthetics 

We understand that anyone can hide behind a pretty website with well-written copy. Brand aesthetics don’t tell the true story behind the scenes of a brand. That’s why the next step in our vetting process is to make an in-person visit to a brand’s facilities.

During our visit, we perform the rest of our due diligence, digging deeper than the average consumer is able to do from their home. We ask the brand’s executive team for a full tour of their operations and strive to meet as many of the team members as possible to get a feel for the company culture. 

Then, we sit down with the executive team to ask them about the company’s: 

• Safety Practices 
• Quality Assurance 
• Compliance Standards
• Innovation 
• Culture 
• Charitable Giving 

Safety Practices

When we meet with a company’s executive team about a distribution partnership, safety is our main area of concern. It’s vital that specific procedures are in place to ensure the highest safety standards for the company’s production team and end-product consumers. 

We prefer to partner with companies that follow Current Good Manufacturing Practice (CGMP) regulations throughout their manufacturing process. These are regulations enforced by the FDA that assure proper design, monitoring, and control of manufacturing processes and facilities. 

It may come as a surprise, but many companies that claim to be safe and clean still fill their tincture bottles by hand, without wearing gloves or hair nets. We have even seen instances where pets were allowed to roam the facility. Companies that allow lax safety practices don’t meet our standards, and do not pass our vetting requirements for partnership. 

Quality Assurance 

Quality assurance is paramount in the hemp industry. That’s because a CBD product’s quality begins with the hemp it’s extracted from. We look for partner companies that take care of the entire process, from seed to shelf. If a company uses hemp grown through organic farming practices, even better. 

One reason why hemp quality is so important is because of a process called phytoremediation. Phytoremediation means that when the hemp plant grows, it cleans the soil it’s grown in. In some cases, this is a great process. But when it comes to producing CBD, it can be a problem.

When hemp is specifically grown to clean up areas of soil that may have been exposed to harmful chemicals, heavy metals, or even radiation, the plant pulls those toxins from the soil...and into the plant. Using hemp grown in toxic soil can be harmful for a consumer because the toxins can be transferred to end products. Therefore, it’s very important to consider the source of a company’s hemp and make sure it’s being grown using organic farming practices.

In addition to looking at the hemp a company is using, we scrutinize the quality of other additives and ingredients present in the finished product. 

Compliance Standards 

Next, we look into a brand’s compliance standards. In the hemp industry, the definition of compliance--and what it means to be compliant--changes frequently. It is of utmost importance that companies stay ahead of these changes. 

As the FDA issues further guidance surrounding hemp and CBD products, we choose to partner with companies that stay ahead of the curve and can meet regulatory changes swiftly and accurately. When the government issues sweeping changes in relation to CBD, we want to work with companies that are ready to make the changes immediately, with top-notch results. 

Additionally, we look into a company’s use of unverified claims surrounding CBD. The FDA carefully monitors the language hemp and CBD companies use in regard to their products, and there’s no shortage of examples of companies that have received FDA warning letters because of noncompliance in their language. For this reason, we review every company’s labels, packaging, and marketing copy to ensure they don’t fall under FDA scrutiny. 

Innovation 

Innovation can be hard to come by in the CBD industry, but it’s an issue that is near and dear to us at American Hemp Distributor. Most brands sell very similar products through white-labeling or private labeling practices. But we look for companies and brands that innovate.

Innovation can mean a number of different things. A company’s innovation may be through their delivery method, the ingredients they use in their products, or the science and reasoning behind their finished formulations. 

We’re not looking for companies that just combine MCT oil with CBD and call it a day. Instead, we’re seeking brands that truly move the industry forward and help customers in a variety of unique ways. 

Culture 

A strong company culture is a critical component of a brand that’s built to last. When we look into company culture, we pay attention to employee turnover. If a company struggles to retain employees for longer than six to twelve months, that means there’s something awry with the company culture. 

On the other hand, companies that have a lot to offer their employees are promising candidates for partnerships. We take note of special programs and incentives, including company trips, free yoga classes, paid maternity and paternity leave, vacation policies, and other similar features. That information tells us we’re dealing with a company that values their employees--and those are exactly the sort of companies we want to partner with. 

Charitable Giving 

Although charitable giving is the final aspect we pay attention to, it’s an important part of what we look for in a strong CBD brand. When charitable contributions are part of a company’s business plan, this shows us the company exists in our industry for the right reasons.

Many companies just exist to help the owners make money. While there’s nothing inherently wrong with that, we’re looking for CBD companies that exist to help as many people as possible and make the world a better place. 

At American Hemp Distributor, we want our partner brands to truly put people before profit--not just use the concept as marketing leverage. 

 

The Best CBD Brands, All in One Place 

When it comes to our vetting process, these are just the highlights. Once a company has been fully vetted and brought into partnership with American Hemp Distributor, they receive our exclusive brand certification so our community can trust they’re buying products from trustworthy, reputable companies that are dedicated to excellence and built to last.

 

Our Brands at a Glance

All of our brands share similarities in ways that qualify them as high-quality and trustworthy brands. Every brand is required to have a Batch/Lot tracking system, expiration dates, UPCs, and their products must be produced in a GMP-certified lab. We also try to curate a wide array of products that are manufactured using different source materials so that our customers can find exactly what they want and what works best for them. 

We also look for brands that go above and beyond what is required of them. Brands that seek out ways to stand out of the crowd and get certified proof that they do things the right way. Any one of the certifications below is a very rigorous process to achieve, so to have multiple is truly impressive!

Navigating Our Featured Products

We include a list of important icons with each product we feature on our site. These icons are in place to help you easily identify key factors that may be important to you or your customers when you place your order. 

 

USA Hemp

European Hemp

Need more information? 

We’re so excited to offer you this unique experience in wholesale CBD shopping. For more information, check out our FAQ section or contact us at support@americanhempdistributor.com.