Tag: Charlotte's Web

  • Charlotte’s Web CBD to Elect 2 New Board Directors

    Charlotte’s Web CBD to Elect 2 New Board Directors

    Photo: Mariakray

    Charlotte’s Web Holdings will elect new directors at its annual meeting on June 13. The company has proposed reducing the number of directors from seven to six.

    The following directors’ terms on the company’s board of directors will expire effective June 13, 2024, and they will not stand for reelection:

    • John D. Held, who joined the board in May 2018 and serves as chairperson of the board and chair of the corporate governance and nominating committee;
    • Thomas Lardieri, who joined the board in August 2022 and serves on the corporate governance and nominating committee and as chair of the audit committee;
    • Alicia Morga, who joined the board in December 2022 and serves on the audit committee and the compensation committee.

    “Charlotte’s Web is grateful for the valuable contributions and guidance that each of these directors have provided during their time on the board. Their expertise and dedication have been instrumental in navigating through critical phases of our transformation in a challenging unregulated category,” said Charlotte’s Web CEO William Morachnick in a statement.

    The board has proposed to nominate the following current directors for reelection:

    • Jonathan Atwood, group head of business communications for BAT;
    • Matthew E. McCarthy (independent), former CEO and board member of Ben & Jerry’s Homemade and senior executive at Unilever;
    • Angela McElwee (independent), former president and CEO and board member of Gaia Herbs;
    • William Morachnick, Charlotte’s Web CEO and former president at Santa Fe Reynolds Tobacco International in Zurich, Switzerland.

    In addition, the board has proposed to nominate Jared Stanley and Maureen Usifer as new appointments to the board.

  • Bill Morachnick to Serve as CEO at Charlotte’s Web

    Bill Morachnick to Serve as CEO at Charlotte’s Web

    Image: Tobacco Reporter archive

    Charlotte’s Web Holdings appointed William (Bill) Morachnick as CEO. Morachnick has also been appointed to the company’s board of directors as a nonindependent director. He replaces CEO Jacques Tortoroli, who has elected to resign from his roles at Charlotte’s Web.

    Morachnick has a record of building premium, differentiated products and brands across multiple channels throughout the world and across a broad range of product categories.

    Prior to joining Charlotte’s Web, Morachnick was president at Santa Fe Reynolds Tobacco International Zurich (SFRTI) from 2006 to 2016. He took SFRTI from a startup to a highly profitable organization, managing several hundred employees and a network of importers/distributors operating in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. SFRTI was acquired by Japan Tobacco Group in 2016 for $5 billion. Morachnick led the subsequent integration of the combined companies as CEO and chairman based in Tokyo, Japan, for two years before returning to the U.S. in 2018.

    Since returning to the U.S., he has served as an executive advisor or board member for several companies seeking to launch and/or expand their businesses in the U.S. and overseas markets.

    “Bill has an accomplished career building businesses in multiple categories,” said John Held, chairman of Charlotte’s Web. “With his proven operational expertise, Bill is well suited to take the reins to lead the Charlotte’s Web team through the next phase of the company’s growth opportunities.”

    The company expressed its gratitude to Tortoroli for his contributions. ‎“Jacques served on the company’s board since November of 2019 and as CEO since late 2021 in a difficult environment devoid of regulatory oversight and clarity,” said Held. “Under his leadership as CEO, Jacques streamlined the organization, reduced the cash burn and recapitalized the company through a strategic $57 million investment from BAT via a convertible loan.”

    In November 2022, BAT announced a £48.2 million ($57.4 million) investment in Charlotte’s Web.

  • BAT Partners with CBD Giant Charlotte’s Web

    BAT Partners with CBD Giant Charlotte’s Web

    BAT has partnered with CBD firm Charlotte’s Web to develop a drug for an undisclosed neurological condition, reports Bloomberg. The partnership is part of BAT’s plan to diversify away from cigarettes.  

    A joint venture between BAT’s subsidiary AJNA BioSciences PBC and Charlotte’s Web, which BAT invested in last year, plans to seek approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for a treatment made from hemp extract. AJNA invested $10 million in the deal. Charlotte’s Web and AJNA each own 40 percent of the entity while BAT controls the remaining stake, according to a statement.

  • Charlotte’s Web Signs First CBD Deal With MLB

    Charlotte’s Web Signs First CBD Deal With MLB

    Credit: Charlotte’s Web

    The first company to score a CBD sponsorship with Major League Baseball is Charlotte’s Web Holdings Inc. as distribution deals with Gopuff and Southern Glazers widen its playing field.

    Charlotte’s Web becomes the first CBD company that will be allowed to use the moniker “Official CBD of MLB.” The sports organization said in June said it would allow teams to enter sponsorships with CBD marketers.

    Describing its relationship with MLB as a “multiyear, strategic partnership,” Charlotte’s Web will issue 6,119,121 shares of its common stock to the sports organization—worth an estimated $4.4 million, according to media reports.

    In addition, the deal requires the company to make payments to MLB through Dec. 31, 2025.

    According to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, Charlotte’s Web will pay an “aggregate rights fee of $30.5 million and a 10 percent royalty on the company’s gross revenue from MLB-branded products of the company sold after prior sales of all such branded products exceed $18.0 million.”

    Bottles of Charlotte’s Web’s new Sport Daily Edge line of CBD-infused gummies, oral sprays and topicals will carry MLB’s silhouetted batter logo.

    “Charlotte’s Web will have a premiere brand presence at MLB’s Jewel Events, including All-Star Week, Postseason and the World Series” through marketing, media and ballpark activations that connect to the league’s fan base of over 180 million Americans,” the company said in a news release.

    Also this month, Charlotte’s Web signed a distribution deal with liquor distributor Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits, which operates in 44 U.S. states, Washington D.C. and Canada.

    That followed a national partnership with food and beverage delivery platform Gopuff, which also carries CBD-infused products from Medterra, Mad Tasty, Daytrip and Recess.

    According to research from Brightfield Group, Charlotte’s Web was the leading U.S. CBD company in the second quarter in terms of dollar share, followed by Your CBD Store, Medterra, CBD American Shaman and cbdMD.

  • FDA Denies Bid to Market CBD as Dietary Supplement

    FDA Denies Bid to Market CBD as Dietary Supplement

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday told Charlotte’s Web Holdings Inc. that its cannabidiol product cannot be sold as a dietary supplement, signaling that CBD reform may have to wait for congressional action.

    Credit: Anankkml

    “While we disagree with FDA’s reasoning, believing we provided extensive and credible scientific evidence that supported a different outcome, this decision affirms the path to regulatory clarity must come from Congress,” Charlotte’s Web CEO Deanie Elsner said in a statement.

    The company’s bid to sell its full-spectrum hemp extract with CBD as a dietary supplement won’t be considered because of the FDA’s own prior decision to treat CBD as a drug, according to a letter posted on the agency’s website Wednesday, according to Fortune. The FDA’s latest decision rested in part on its prior approval of Epidiolex, a CBD drug to reduce seizures, which the agency said precludes it from authorizing CBD for dietary purposes.

    Even if the drug hadn’t been approved, though, the FDA said in the letter to Charlotte’s Web dated July 23 that it “has concerns about the adequacy of safety evidence” that the company submitted. The agency would have wanted more data on potential liver and reproductive toxicity.

    The decision isn’t expected to impact sales of Charlotte’s Web products or prevent other companies from continuing to sell CBD products. The market for CBD products has already grown to more than $6 billion as consumers seek help with everything from relaxation to focus to better sleep, according to reports. While generally an unregulated market, the FDA will periodically crackdown on companies that try to make unsubstantiated claims about the health benefits of CBD products.