LB Equity Forms $50 Million Fund For Cannabis Beauty & Wellness Products

LB Equity has raised $50 million for a portfolio titled LB Equity Emerging Growth Fund, which will be concentrating its investments in cannabis companies that are involved in beauty, health, and wellness. The company’s first investment is with the platform Standard Dose, which is dedicated to selling hemp-based CBD products as well as educating consumers on these new products. The company did not announce how much of an investment it made into Standard Dose.

The retail platform will provide content to educate consumers on the emerging CBD market, plus current industry research and information about CBD products. This information will include dosage and regulatory updates.

The market has been exploding with CBD products since the 2018 Farm Bill was passed legalizing hemp and products made from hemp-derived CBD. The problem is that not all hemp CBD is created equally and there is quite a bit of inferior product on the market. Standard Dose is starting with 37 distinct beauty and lifestyle products that it has vetted and tested.

The company’s ingestible products include vape pens, tinctures, olive oil, honey, and beverages. Consumers should be aware though that the FDA must approve of any foods containing hemp-derived CBD. In a statement issued in December, the FDA said, “Congress explicitly preserved the agency’s current authority to regulate products containing cannabis or cannabis-derived compounds under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) and section 351 of the Public Health Service Act.” The FDA went on to add, “The FDA requires a cannabis product (hemp-derived or otherwise) that is marketed with a claim of therapeutic benefit, or with any other disease claim, to be approved by the FDA for its intended use before it may be introduced into interstate commerce.”

“Our goal at Standard Dose is to facilitate an honest conversation about CBD and to help consumers gain clarity of an industry that, until now, has been confusing and unregulated,” said Anthony Saniger, Founder and CEO of Standard Dose. “We take the time to vet all of our products and share information so that consumers can choose CBD products with confidence. With the very recent legalization of CBD, we know that interest in the industry and its products will skyrocket.”

LB Equity is led by Jay Lucas, a former partner at Bain & Company, Karen Ballou, a highly experienced beauty industry professional (Redken and Elizabeth Arden) and Jim Morrison, who served as President of L’Oreal U.S. for nearly 10 years. The extended team consists of strategy and investment professionals along with an advisory group of veteran industry executives across core value creation disciplines.  Prior to Standard Dose and the latest Fund, LBE has completed investments in ten additional beauty and personal care brands, including MD Complete, Marula Pure Oil, Immunocologie and Blamtastic among others.

“LBE is targeting the massive opportunity available at the intersection of the rapidly growing cannabis industry and the many emerging brands within the skincare, beauty and related personal care sectors,” said Jay Lucas, Managing Partner of LB Equity. “With experienced executives from both the finance and beauty industries, LBE is perfectly positioned to leverage the transformational impact that these newly legalized cannabis-based products will have on the beauty industry.”