National retailer The Vitamin Shoppe putting new emphasis on CBD

One of the nation’s largest chained retailers of health supplements, The Vitamin Shoppe, is leaning into its CBD experiment with expanded plans to carry more ingestibles and topicals.

The retailer says that strong demand prompted a move to ratchet up CBD displays in some 572 locations in 39 states, plus Washington DC and Puerto Rico.

The new “CBD HQ” sections come a year after the retailer started selling edible CBD supplements and drops despite repeated warnings from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that such products are illegal.

The retailer did not share exact sales figures but told Hemp Industry Daily that the CBD category has been a strong performer and that the chain now carries more than 20 brands.