Photo credit: Connoils
Since 2007, Waukesha-based Connoils has provided bulk oils, oil powders and specialty ingredients like flaxseed or grape seed oil for human and pet nutrition, sport nutrition, dietary supplements and cosmetic products, so adding cannabidiol (CBD) to their offerings was a natural next step, says founder and CEO Stacy Peterson.
“We have been playing in the CBD arena for about four years now,” says Peterson, who’s also on the board of directors for the Wisconsin Independent Learning College, a nonprofit college that serves adults with autism. “Autistic children suffer from seizures and other issues, and CBD is a very good remedy for them.”
Peterson also expressed disgust over the opioid crisis and feels that CBD could be an answer for people coming off of heroin to manage pain and decrease addiction. In efforts to help people, she and her Connoils team began educating themselves about CBD, which she feels put them ahead of the game. Connoils has the capabilities to formulate CBD in customized oils or powder formats based on a customer’s needs. They also provide private labeling and packaging solutions.
Connoils contracts with 27 Wisconsin hemp farmers for their CBD wholesale offerings and for the Abby Christopher products. They’ve recently built a 25,000 square-foot facility in Big Bend that will use green technology, including rooftop solar. They’ll turn their current space in Waukesha into an indoor hemp growing facility. They recently hired two chemists and two food scientists to further explore the medicinal aspects of cannabis and how people can introduce it in different formats for the beer or food industries.
Connoils’ own line of CBD tinctures and balms is sold under Abby Christopher—Abby being a nod to Peterson’s daughter, and Christopher in honor of her friend and mentor, Christopher Mann, founder of the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute. Mann taught Peterson about hemp and how Wisconsin could benefit from growing hemp again.
The Abby Christopher tinctures line is called Balance. “It creates a balance in the body between omega 3, 6 and 9 and provides what the body’s endocannabinoid system needs to reduce inflammation,” Peterson explains. The tincture is available in regular, Lemonolgy, Mocha Matte or Berry Bliss flavors in 600 milligrams (ml) of CBD per 30 ml bottle (20mg of CBD per serving), or 1,500 mg of CBD per bottle (50 mg of CBD per serving). They will soon add pain balms and other ailment-specific products. They even have a have a nurse on staff that specializes in CBD to answer customer questions.
Peterson says a research and development challenge has been producing cannabis that’s less than the federal legal limit of 0.3% tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive cannabinoid in the cannabis plant. Cannabis seeds can run up to $1 a piece, she notes, but if mature plants test above the 0.3% THC limit, the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, the state agency that issues licenses to hemp growers, requires they be destroyed. Male and female plants can also cross-pollinate, thus increasing THC levels. “It’s all about the nutrients, genetics of plants, and seed experimentation to get just the right variety or strain. It’s a lot of scientific chemistry.”
Although many people are launching CBD products, Peterson believes there’s enough space for everyone to play in the sandbox together, but she emphasizes that people look for quality. “There’s a lot of snake oil out there and you should always ask for certificates of analysis. If the seller can’t prove it is batch specific to that analysis, you should be cautious. And if it’s not working for you, you should also be cautious.”
For more information visit connoils.com or abbychristopher.com.
