Supermodel-turned-entrepreneur and philanthropist Kathy Ireland launched her long-awaited line of CBD infused wellness products. Ireland said she hopes the line of serums, butters, and rubs will offer consumers some much-needed self-care amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
"Our products, while they're beauty products, we really look at them as health care," Ireland told Cheddar. "In the time of COVID, what people are calling beauty, we consider this really to be personal care."
The kathy ireland Health & Wellness CBD Solutions line, announced in May 2020, launched in mid-January as a partnership between Ireland's namesake brand kathy ireland Worldwide and hemp and CBD company Vertical Wellness. The initial launch includes five wellness-focused products and five infused skincare products. The body butters, serums, cleansers, and creams contain anywhere from 20 milligrams of CBD to 500 milligrams of CBD, and items on the website range in price from $29.99 to $69.99.
"We're all indoors a lot. We really want to take care of our skin and take care of ourselves," she said.
Ireland is no stranger to CBD. Level Brands, a marketing company for which Ireland served as chairman emeritus and chief brand strategist, partnered on three different CBD brands with Canadian hemp grower and producer Isodiol, according to Fast Company. One of them was a line of kathy ireland Health & Wellness-branded tinctures and supplements.
"CBD is something that we've been interested in for years," Ireland said. "I was always kind of surprised by the controversy around CBD. Our products don't contain THC...and it's like we give our children grapes but not wine."
Prior to 2018, when the Farm Bill officially removed CBD from the Controlled Substances Act, it was still relatively novel for celebrities to endorse CBD and cannabis products. In 2021, that's no longer the case. Celebrities from actress Nicole Kidman to model Gigi Hadid have endorsed CBD. Others, including lifestyle maven Martha Stewart and athlete Megan Rapinoe, have launched their own brands.
What was once a mark of differentiation in the crowded CBD market has become par for the course, as celebrities scramble to cash in on the hemp-derived CBD market, which Nielsen estimates could generate $6.9 billion by 2025, according to Hemp Industry Daily. But not all celebrity endorsements are created equally, Ireland said, and a savvy consumer can tell the difference.
"Celebrity brands are great, however, that's never been our DNA. That's not what we are. It takes more than an autographed photo to really build a business and bring these great products to market," she said. "I get accused of being a control freak. I prefer to think of it as passionate."
Alongside Ireland's product line, Vertical Wellness launched 10 other CBD and wellness brands in January, betting big on the CBD space at a time when regulation is still in flux for the industry. The USDA issued a final rule governing hemp cultivation at the start of 2021, but a memo from former Food and Drug Administration commissioner, Dr. Stephen Hahn, in early January suggested it may still be some time until the agency, which oversees CBD, crafts regulations governing the popular cannabinoid.
The Rev. Al Sharpton is set to lead a protest march on Wall Street to urge corporate America to resist the Trump administration’s campaign to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The New York civil rights leader will join clergy, labor and community leaders Thursday in a demonstration through Manhattan’s Financial District that’s timed with the anniversary of the Civil Rights-era March on Washington in 1963. Sharpton called DEI the “civil rights fight of our generation." He and other Black leaders have called for boycotting American retailers that scaled backed policies and programs aimed at bolstering diversity and reducing discrimination in their ranks.
President Donald Trump's administration last month awarded a $1.2 billion contract to build and operate what's expected to become the nation’s largest immigration detention complex to a tiny Virginia firm with no experience running correction facilities.
Chipmaker Nvidia is poised to release a quarterly report that could provide a better sense of whether the stock market has been riding an overhyped artificial intelligence bubble or is being propelled by a technological boom that’s still gathering momentum.
Cracker Barrel said late Tuesday it’s returning to its old logo after critics — including President Donald Trump — protested the company’s plan to modernize.
Low-value imports are losing their duty-free status in the U.S. this week as part of President Donald Trump's agenda for making the nation less dependent on foreign goods. A widely used customs exemption for international shipments worth $800 or less is set to end starting on Friday. Trump already ended the “de minimis” rule for inexpensive items sent from China and Hong Kong, but having to pay import taxes on small parcels from everywhere else likely will be a big change for some small businesses and online shoppers. Purchases that previously entered the U.S. without needing to clear customs will be subject to the origin country’s tariff rate, which can range from 10% to 50%.
Southwest Airlines will soon require plus-size travelers to pay for an extra seat in advance if they can't fit within the armrests of one seat. This change is part of several updates the airline is making. The new rule starts on Jan. 27, the same day Southwest begins assigning seats. Currently, plus-size passengers can pay for an extra seat in advance and later get a refund, or request a free extra seat at the airport. Under the new policy, refunds are still possible but not guaranteed. Southwest said in a statement it is updating policies to prepare for assigned seating next year.
Cracker Barrel is sticking with its new logo. For now. But the chain is also apologizing to fans who were angered when the change was announced last week.
Elon Musk on Monday targeted Apple and OpenAI in an antitrust lawsuit alleging that the iPhone maker and the ChatGPT maker are teaming up to thwart competition in artificial intelligence.
