TRIP co-founder, Olivia Ferdi, on destigmatising CBD, health and wellness

As part of Bdaily’s feature week investigating entrepreneurship, I hear from Olivia Ferdi who co-founded the up and coming CBD brand, TRIP, with her husband Dan.

The two founders discovered the benefits of CBD weeks before their wedding when a football injury meant Dan mightn’t be able to walk down the aisle. Within 7 weeks he made a miraculous recovery in time for the wedding and was dancing, crutches-free all weekend long!

TRIP was founded out of a love for the results of CBD oils, however products which tasted nice where few and far between.

When CBD was first legalized back in 2018, the public perception of the chemical compound was largely connected to its illegal counterpart in cannabis, THC. I asked Olivia if this stigma made it difficult to forge an attractive brand in a landscape where very few people associated CBD with health and wellness.

“We’ve always aimed to destigmatise CBD and conversations around mental wellbeing - we believe that there is no true health without good mental health. We understand that CBD can be confusing for many, so we’re focussed on sharing our mission and highest quality products to help people navigate this space and find relief with CBD in their everyday lives,” said Olivia.

“Working as a lawyer in the City, I was struggling with burnout and anxiety and looking for a solution, I began using CBD everyday. It was totally transformational for my everyday stress but back in 2018 there were very few products available. So moved by our experience, Dan and I pooled our savings and left our careers in finance and law dedicating ourselves to creating the TRIP range.

“The only products out there had confusing product information, unappealing formats or flavours and packaging that I didn’t feel comfortable having out on my desk at work. Facing the problem ourselves we knew that we could help so many more people benefit from the stress-relieving benefits we’d experienced if we could create something high quality and relevant for today’s consumers.

“Since then, we’ve introduced tens of millions of people to their first CBD experience and today represents a new, functional consumer category that did not exist previously, supporting everyday health, wellbeing and stress relief.

“TRIP is the UK’s #1 CBD brand (Nielsen), was recently named the UK’s fastest growing soft drinks brand and is the 4th fastest growing company in the UK, published in the Sunday Times 100 list for 2023. “

This growth is no surprise given that more and more Britons are swapping alcohol for healthier alternatives. An estimated nine million British adults took part in this year’s Dry January according to a recent study (Alcohol Change UK).

Olivia commented that, “Although Dry January is often thought of as a month of sacrifice, TRIP has worked tirelessly to prove that not drinking doesn’t have to be boring - whether that be in January or every month of the year!”

As TRIP has carved out a spot for itself as a brand, I was keen to find out what Olivia thinks has set the company apart from its competition. She said, “starting TRIP due to an incredible personal experience with CBD, in parallel with creating something that never previously existed, catering to a huge nationwide need for stress relief TRIP is a unique product developed at a unique time, out of a totally unplanned experience.

“This authenticity and passion is visible and felt across every touch point of the TRIP product and business. The entire TRIP team takes great pride in the TRIP community, a group of millions of people who have enjoyed a TRIP product and shared their very personal stress or anxiety journey.”

With the CBD industry still in its infancy, it’s safe to say that TRIP has been leading the way on this new frontier of health and wellness. It is unclear where the industry will go next, but TRIP seems as if it’s here to stay.

By Mark Adair – Correspondent, Bdaily

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