Announced last week, the €11.9m (£10.2m) deal would see Yooma Wellness acquire Vitality CBD via its wholly owned subsidiary Yooma Europe Limited, taking on Vitality CBD’s entire portfolio of CBD oils, sprays, skin care and edibles – all available in mainstream UK retailers like Boots, Tesco, Asda and Lloyds Pharmacy.
Lorne Abony, chairman of Yooma, said the acquisition formed part of a wider strategy to “buy and build” companies globally.
“This acquisition will help accelerate our growth by exporting these branded products to other Yooma jurisdictions and integrating with our MYO Plant Nutrition operations and distribution,” Abony said.
CBD beauty acquisitions amidst growing market interest
Speaking to CosmeticsDesign-Europe, Jordan Greenberg, CEO of Yooma Wellness, said it was an “ideal” acquisition that aligned well with the re-launch of Yooma’s Blossom CBD skin care brand – acquired from EMMAC Life Sciences Group in March this year.
“Beauty products represent a significant segment of the overall CBD industry and it’s only going to get bigger,” Greenberg said.
The acquisition of Vitality CBD was therefore important, given its “extensive cosmetics line” spanning body moisturisers, exfoliators, serums and anti-ageing products, he said.
“Although effective for all skin types, CBD is considered particularly useful for people who struggle with sensitivity, inflammatory conditions, and dryness due to its anti-inflammatory properties. With our own skin care brand Blossom, and now with the acquisition of Vitality CBD, we are very well positioned to leverage the market’s interest in CBD beauty products.”
Asked when CBD products might hit mainstream beauty aisles, Greenberg suggested it already had. “With celebrities like Beyoncé not only using CBD but also getting involved in the business, I think CBD has definitely moved into the mainstream. I am very happy to see this because its potential benefits are plentiful and should be available to everyone.”
Stretching Vitality CBD retail reach over next 3-5 years
Discussing business plans for the next three to five years, Greenberg said Yooma Wellness planned to continue Vitality CBD’s “stellar trajectory” and build on its existing success.
The company’s market penetration was already “unparalleled”, he said, with its products sold in more than 3,500 retail locations in the UK and via several big e-commerce platforms, including Amazon. Yooma therefore planned to work closely with the Vitality management team to increase UK sales and expand this online and offline retail reach even further, on an international level.
A CBD beauty boom?
Many experts in the cannabis and beauty fields continue to define CBD beauty as an exciting space set to continue growing, with some suggesting it would start to stretch beyond its traditional skin care placing and into areas like makeup in the near future.
Industry would also inevitably start to look beyond cannabidiol (CBD) and into the potential of the other 100+ cannabinoids available, of which any could be a ‘rock star’ beauty active.
But as beauty brands, manufacturers and suppliers continued to innovate and expand into the CBD beauty space, regulatory experts said industry had to exercise caution because not all regulations had yet been ‘mastered’, particularly around ingredient sourcing and toxicology.
