Hemp Industry Poised for Growth

The hemp industry is expected to increase threefold in the next five years, from $1.9 billion in 2020 to $6.9 billion in 2025, according to Nielsen Global Direct data featured in the new 2021 Hemp and CBD Industry Factbook.

While Nielsen’s sales forecast is based on a number of factors, including favorable U.S. Food and Drug Administration guidance and/or legislation approving CBD in ingestible products in early 2021, which would support widespread distribution of CBD products in traditional brick-and-mortar retail, the hemp industry seems poised for considerable growth.

“CBD has driven the hemp boom for a decade now, and that trend is expected to continue for years to come,” said Kristen Nichol, editor of Hemp Industry Daily, pointing to analytics from Nielsen Global Connect, a division of The Nielsen Co. that focuses on data for manufacturers and retailers.

“The rise is driven by increasing acceptance of CBD as a dietary supplement, especially as a global pandemic and economic stressors have consumers reaching for products thought to boost wellness and immunity and enhance relaxation,” finds the Factbook.

The new report from Hemp Industry Daily also examines the “full supply chain, from the fields where growers decide which varieties of hemp to grow, to the manufacturers turning hemp biomass into a dizzying variety of products, to the retailers who bring home hemp’s promise by showing global consumers how hemp and its products can improve their lives.”

“The hemp industry may be young, but the niche crop still contributed at least $4 billion to the U.S. economy last year and could contribute nearly $16 billion by 2025,” projects the new 2021 Hemp and CBD Industry Factbook.

Using the latest data collected from similar industries, Hemp Industry Daily set the standard multiplier for hemp at 1 to 9. “This means that for every $10 that consumers and patients spend on hemp products, an additional $9 will be injected into the economy, much of it at the local level,” Nichols said. “Based on this metric, as sales increase, the hemp industry had an economic impact of $4 billion to $4.8 billion in the United States in 2020 and up to $15.8 billion in 2025.”

Intended as a “guide to the often confusing and fast-moving hemp industry,” according to Hemp Industry Daily, the new factbook includes 51 charts showing insights into the market, as well as reporting with market data from agriculture regulators Nielsen Global Connect. It also examines how the COVID-19 affected numerous different aspects of the industry, national trends, capital investments, states and tribes, employment estimates, global outlooks and markets to watch in 2021.