Love Hemp: MMA legend Georges St-Pierre touts CBD product use in his miraculous recovery

2021.03.12

Earlier in the year, one of the leading investment firms in the global CBD industry announced that it is changing its name to better reflect the company’s most recognized brand.

That name change has recently taken effect, and the company formerly known as World High Life PLC will now be called Love Hemp Group PLC (AQSE: LIFE) (OTCQB: WRHLF).

“The name change aligns the listed company with the operational entity and most importantly, the brand that everyone knows, Love Hemp,” Chairman and Director Andrew Male commented in a recent news release.

In October 2019, aiming to follow a similar path as the industry’s most successful forerunner Canopy Growth, the cannabis investment firm made a big splash by acquiring the Love Hemp brand.

As pioneers of the European CBD industry, Love Hemp is one of the UK’s leading CBD and hemp suppliers, and has more than 40 product lines comprising oils, sprays and vapes, and a variety of edible and water-based CBD products. The brand has established relationships with over 2,000 stores in the nation, including leading brands such as Sainsbury’s, Boots, Ocado and Holland & Barrett.

Since its inception, Love Hemp’s sales have grown rapidly on a year-to-year basis, reaching a reported figure of £2.6 million in 2019.

Revenue Jump

With the name change, the new Love Hemp Group is looking to build off the momentum of another solid quarter, where the company’s prized UK business nearly doubled its revenue thanks to substantial growth in product demand.

For the second fiscal quarter ending December 31, 2020, Love Hemp recorded revenues of £1,562,000 ($2,175,000), a remarkable 97% increase over the £793,500 ($1,105,000) posted in the first quarter. Gross profit came in at £764,000 ($1,062,500), demonstrating the high margins of the CBD business.

The company also reported an 11% increase in Love Hemp’s online conversion rate for the three-month period, leading to over 69,000 units sold and more than 10,500 customer accounts created.

For the first half of its fiscal year, Love Hemp had £2,355,000 ($3,280,000) in sales and £1,311,000 ($1,825,500) of gross profit, which according to the company, represented a “strong increase in demand” during the pandemic across all of its platforms, which include Love Hemp, its CBDOilsUk.com website and wholesale activities via LH Botanicals.

With these sales figures, the CBD specialist is on pace to smash last year’s revenue total and is within reach of its £6 million revenue goal.

“We have seen huge growth potential during the pandemic and are pleased to have been able to consistently provide our consumers with high-level products and service,” stated Love Hemp founder and chief executive Tony Calamita, who was also appointed CEO of the parent company earlier this year.

Love Hemp will continue to aggressively increase its sales across all platforms and look to expand what is a promising, high-growth business within the UK.

Internationally, the Love Hemp brand is also gathering steam, and last year, the company brought on one of the biggest and most decorated Canadian athletes to endorse its line of CBD products.

GSP Endorsement

For anyone who has tuned into the local sports channels regularly over the past 20 years, here’s a familiar name for you: Georges St-Pierre.

A charismatic, era-defining figure in the world of mixed martial arts, Georges “Rush” St-Pierre — also known as “GSP” — is undoubtedly one of the greatest fighters in MMA history. His list of achievements and accolades in the sport speaks for itself:

• Two-time UFC World Welterweight Champion (2002-2013), including nine consecutive successful title defenses from 2008-2013
• UFC World Middleweight Champion (2017)
• Sports Illustrated Fighter of the Year (2009)
• Rogers Sportsnet Canadian Athlete of the Year (2008-2010)
• Four-time finalist for ESPY Best Fighter Award (2008, 2010, 2011, 2018)
• Black Belt Magazine Fighter of the Year (2008)

He also holds a 3rd dan black belt in Kyokushin Karate and a 1st degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, as well as black belts in Shidōkan Karate and Gaidojutsu, demonstrating the level of credentials he boasts as a professional fighter.

Born in a small town called Saint-Isidore, Québec, with a population of just over 2,500, Georges first began learning Kyokushin Karate at age seven from his father and later from a Kyokushin Karate Master. He also took up wrestling, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and boxing when he was around 16 years old.

GSP’s professional fighting debut came in 2002 with the UCC, which was the premier Canadian MMA organization of the time. His breakout performances at the UCC, highlighted by successive victories against formidable opponents, gave him the recognition and momentum ahead of his jump into the UFC scene.

After a few decisive victories that were tainted by his first UFC loss in 2004 for the vacant Welterweight Championship, GSP rebounded quickly and eventually captured the title in 2006. He lost the title the year after but subsequently regained it in front of his hometown fans of Montreal in 2008, and he hasn’t lost a single title defense since then.

In December 2013, Georges announced his retirement from the sport with an impressive 28-2 record, while also holding the UFC record for most wins in title bouts.

After a four-year layoff, he returned to the octagon in November 2017 at UFC 217, where he defeated Michael Bisping by submission in the third round to win the UFC Middleweight Championship, becoming the fourth fighter in the history of the organization to become a multi-division champion.

However, his UFC comeback was short-lived. In December 2017, Georges was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, forcing him to vacate the UFC middleweight title just 34 days after holding the belt.

As an inflammatory bowel disease that causes irritation, inflammation and ulcers (sores) in the digestive tract, ulcerative colitis can be debilitating and sometimes lead to life-threatening complications. There are no known cures for ulcerative colitis, and the currently available treatment options are in the form of drug therapy and surgery.

Despite claiming to have recovered from his medical condition, GSP was no longer interested in a second comeback tour and officially announced his retirement from professional MMA competition on February 21, 2019.

Georges, who will forever be recognized as one of the planet’s best pound-for-pound fighters and all-around athletes, has often attributed his speedy recovery to the use of CBD, which was one of the main reasons why he signed up to become a brand ambassador for Love Hemp.

“Using Love Hemp’s CBD products in my training helped my recovery and overall well-being greatly, I embrace this opportunity to help create innovative products and grow the Love Hemp brand so that others can benefit as well,” GSP said in a statement.

“I am committed to building great teams and getting world-class results in everything I do, and the World High Life and Love Hemp team have shown me they have everything it takes to achieve that world-class standard.”

Following his recovery, Georges began travelling around the world to train with the best coaches and training partners in all disciplines.

But the health benefits of CBD go well beyond treating diseases like ulcerative colitis, as Georges points out.

In a series of training videos called Love Hemp Diaries, he detailed how Love Hemp products can be used during his daily routines, highlighting their various uses such as joint pain relief and sleeping aid.

Conclusion

With a premier global athlete like Georges St-Pierre in its corner, Love Hemp is ready to take on the highly competitive but lucrative cannabis industry that is still flourishing across Europe and North America.

By securing a dominant market share in the UK, now the largest producer and exporter of legal cannabis in Europe, the company boasts an extra advantage.

A study commissioned by the Centre for Medicinal Cannabis has shown that the UK CBD market is on the brink of becoming a multibillion-pound industry. While it’s already worth some £300 million, the double-digit growth each year means its market value is set to exceed £1 billion by 2025.

And with many calling for a fully legalized UK cannabis market within the next five to ten years, especially in a post-Brexit economy that may be in need of an injection, a recreational cannabis boom is not totally inconceivable.

As the UK is no longer a member of the European Union, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) will now take over the duty of regulating Britain’s CBD market. In February, Love Hemp submitted its Novel Food dossier to the FSA in support of this move.

The company said it is committed to the “highest quality THC-free CBD products” and believes the new Novel Food regulations will help end regulatory uncertainty surrounding CBD in the UK.

Love Hemp Group PLC
OTCQB:WRHLF, AQSA:LIFE
US$0.055, 2020.03.11
Shares Outstanding 401,440,000m
Market cap US$23.6m
World High Life website

Richard (Rick) Mills
aheadoftheherd.com
subscribe to my free newsletter

Legal Notice / Disclaimer

Ahead of the Herd newsletter, aheadoftheherd.com, hereafter known as AOTH.

Please read the entire Disclaimer carefully before you use this website or read the newsletter. If you do not agree to all the AOTH/Richard Mills Disclaimer, do not access/read this website/newsletter/article, or any of its pages. By reading/using this AOTH/Richard Mills website/newsletter/article, and whether or not you actually read this Disclaimer, you are deemed to have accepted it. 

Any AOTH/Richard Mills document is not, and should not be, construed as an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to purchase or subscribe for any investment.

AOTH/Richard Mills has based this document on information obtained from sources he believes to be reliable but which has not been independently verified. AOTH/Richard Mills makes no guarantee, representation or warranty and accepts no responsibility or liability as to its accuracy or completeness. Expressions of opinion are those of AOTH/Richard Mills only and are subject to change without notice. AOTH/Richard Mills assumes no warranty, liability or guarantee for the current relevance, correctness or completeness of any information provided within this Report and will not be held liable for the consequence of reliance upon any opinion or statement contained herein or any omission. Furthermore, AOTH/Richard Mills assumes no liability for any direct or indirect loss or damage or, in particular, for lost profit, which you may incur as a result of the use and existence of the information provided within this AOTH/Richard Mills Report.

AOTH/Richard Mills is not a registered broker/financial advisor and does not hold any licenses. These are solely personal thoughts and opinions about finance and/or investments – no information posted on this site is to be considered investment advice or a recommendation to do anything involving finance or money aside from performing your own due diligence and consulting with your personal registered broker/financial advisor. You agree that by reading AOTH/Richard Mills articles, you are acting at your OWN RISK. In no event should AOTH/Richard Mills liable for any direct or indirect trading losses caused by any information contained in AOTH/Richard Mills articles. Information in AOTH/Richard Mills articles is not an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security. AOTH/Richard Mills is not suggesting the transacting of any financial instruments but does suggest consulting your own registered broker/financial advisor with regards to any such transactions

Richard owns shares of Love Hemp Group PLC (OTCQB:WRHLF, AQSA:LIFE). WRHLF is a paid advertiser on his site aheadoftheherd.com