Health and wellness space makes an entrepreneur like Badal Shah, CEO of Anthos, turn to CBD
Healthcare and wellness trends change constantly. One trend that seems to be spreading across both industries is CBD and Hemp. Commonly known as cannabidiol, CBD has been a debatable topic for years now. Once restricted by outdated legal laws, the spread has reached beauty, skincare, food, supplements, and more. In 2018, Badal Shah, Shan Umer and an all Indian American team, launched the Anthos Group, a vertically integrated consumer products goods company. Acknowledging the power and science of CBD (cannabidiol), sales skyrocketed and Anthos quickly became the leader in the growing CBD industry. I decided to find out what CBD is, and how the Anthos Group took over the market in such little time. What is CBD? CBD stands for cannabidiol, which is a cannabinoid found in the hemp (cannabis sativa) plant. It is a naturally occurring cannabinoid shown to provide numerous medical and health benefits. What is the industry scoop on CBD? In the United States, it is booming. The market size was estimated to hit 7.1 billion in 2019 and 9.3 billion in 2020. While the concept is quite new to the Indian market, it's interesting to see how companies like Body Shop, Ayurvedic Essentials, Boheco Life, Juicy Chemistry, The Hemp Couture, and Be Hemp enter the CBD space. Ratan Tata and Google India's managing director Rajan Anandan are among the investors in India's first startup Bombay Hemp Company (Boheco) in the country to study the medical use of cannabis.