As cannabidiol, or CBD, has become increasingly popular and accepted as a wellness product, a new Chicago startup is looking to capitalize on the trend.
Half Day CBD, launched in January by Dave DiCosola and Kameron Norwood, makes and sells CBD-based oils, gummies and creams. Half Day’s products, which use oils extracted from hemp plants that don't get people high, are designed to ease pain and anxiety, and aid with sleep, DiCosola said.
“It’s very calming because it decreases inflammation across the board,” DiCosola said.
Half Day sells its products on its website and in select locations, like CBD shops and chiropractor offices. The startup currently sources hemp from farmers in Kentucky, but manufactures the products here in Chicago, an aspect DiCosola says differentiates Half Day from other CBD brands sold in Chicago.
Half Day makes their products at Kitchen Chicago, a shared-use kitchen for food entrepreneurs, and the startup’s order fulfillment is handled by Chicago logistics startup Shipbob.
“Chicago is our home,” DiCosola said. “Chicago is where we want to build this business and my hope is that we become the Goose Island of [craft CBD] in Chicago.”
Over the last few years, CBD has become more widely accepted, and in Illinois, retailers are now allowed to sell CBD products as long as they are derived from hemp and have less than 0.3 percent of THC in them. CBD products have been available for some time in smaller boutiques and vape shops. But in March, drug store giants like Walgreens and CVS announced they would also begin selling CBD products in Illinois.
Additionally, Chicago’s cannabis industry has been booming this year. Chicago-based marijuana retailer Cresco Labs announced earlier this month that it is acquiring Origin House, a California cannabis distributor for $850 million. In March, Grassroots Cannabis raised $90 million in venture capital funding, bringing its total amount raised to $165 million since it launched in 2014. And Verano Holdings was acquired last month for $850 million after raising $120 million in financing.
“It’s definitely a paradigm shift,” DiCosola said. “There’s a lot changing.”
As part of that shift, Half Day became the first CBD company to advertise on Chicago Transit Authority trains and busses when its ads debuted on April 5, according to CTA spokesperson Jon Kaplan.
Other than advertising on the CTA, Half Day is reaching consumers through affiliate marketing, and it also plans to promote its products at street festivals in Chicago this summer.
Going forward, DiCosola said he is looking for ways to expand Half Day’s product offerings by partnering with local startups to create other kinds of hemp-based products.
“CBD is great, but we’re also keen on what we can do with hemp across the board,” DiCosola said. “It’s a very dynamic industry right now and that’s what makes it fun.”
