Oli White created his self-titled YouTube channel in 2012 and has since amassed 2.75 million loyal subscribers mainly down to his endering personality and commitment to providing his audience with honest content. His debut novel Generation Next topped the Amazon Best Sellers list when it was released and he has been on the up ever since.
Now he sets out to make his mark in the world of CBD. Together with his partner Evie Marcer, he has launched Unique CBD in a bid to educate and provide the world with the benefits of high quality CBD. In today’s interview Oli shares more about his new venture.
Why did you choose the name Unique CBD for your new brand?
The name was actually inspired by my mum. She put it forward as an idea and it corresponded perfectly with our aim to be ‘unique’ in the CBD industry.
We wanted to redefine and set new standards in an industry that is so new, and at times misunderstood, by being transparent and honest with every product we bring to market.
Can you tell me a bit about how you discovered CBD and its uses?
I first discovered CBD through my mum. Years ago when she had breast cancer she used CBD to help with her stress and anxiety and has been a CBD advocate ever since. She really believes it helped her with the mental side of her recovery. After years of sustaining an active presence online and managing my social and YouTube content, I definitely had my own personal struggles with anxiety, stress and sleep too. So, my mum recommended I try it.
It was around this time that my partner Evie and I realised that finding an honest, high quality and trustworthy product in the UK was extremely challenging. Many available options contain misleading branding or, in many cases, very little information at all about the product’s ingredients and origin. After several months of dissatisfaction with the existing UK CBD market, we eventually decided to design our own oil formulation for personal use, under the direction of a leading neuroscientist. It then became quickly evident to us that we had created a very special product and soon after, UNIQUE CBD was born.
Do you think more people should use CBD oil?
I think it’s something that could really benefit a lot of people; however, it’s also very much up to every individual to make that decision for themselves. Whether people would prefer to take a natural supplement route or use traditional medicine to aid their health and wellbeing is up to them. That being said, I do think there are plenty of misconceptions surrounding CBD, and many would benefit from learning more about what it is and what it could do for them.
What is it about CBD that makes it so calming and how did you capture that in your formulations?
CBD has been acclaimed by many to be a revolutionary calming solution to anxiety, stress, and sleep. The research into CBD in recent years has also been rapidly developing, with constant investigation towards new potential benefits, which is really exciting. It is only relatively recently that the endocannabinoid system was discovered; a part of our natural biology which CBD communicates with, involved in maintaining our health and wellness by influencing bodily balance. This system plays a role in a wide variety of essential bodily functions, from pain control, body movement, immune system function, mental health, mood, sleep, gut function, brain protection – some doctors have even suggested that this system is as important to us as our endocrine system and our endorphin system.
Our approach to our CBD formulation is one of cutting no corners and ensuring that every step of the production process is accounted for, to ensure that our end product is as clean, safe, and fully transparent as possible. We use high-quality hemp grown in the USA, our CBD is CO2 extracted, our products are assembled in a certified clean laboratory, and we publish full third-party lab reports on our website. Plus our oil looks, smells and tastes great which is not as common as you might expect in the UK market.
Was it hard to formulate Day Drops?
We knew what we wanted our brand and products to reflect right from the start – a high quality and trustworthy product. As I said earlier, we formulated our Day Drops recipe by working closely alongside an incredible neuroscientist who is an expert in the field.
We previously tried a wide array of available products to assess taste, smell, and effectiveness of our prospective competitors. It took several attempts and adjustments of our formula to reach our great-tasting end product, but we were committed to ensuring quality as a priority.
How different is it to be the co-founder of a serious CBD brand than being a YouTube star?
Everything I do I would like to think is to help others. With YouTube, it’s so rewarding seeing my audience and subscribers enjoying the content that I create; knowing that it provides them with entertainment and happiness has always been my driving force. Although it’s certainly been a learning curve moving towards Unique CBD, I am very proud of what we have managed to create; I get that same rewarding feeling when we receive positive feedback from our customers saying how much they have loved our products.
What was your biggest challenge in developing Unique CBD?
One of the most important things to us was to maintain high standards at every step of production; unfortunately, the restrictions and guidelines around CBD are unclear in the UK because there aren’t really fully concrete rules or regulations. This meant that finding reliable, honest, and fully comprehensive sources to work alongside proved difficult at first. Despite this, we were unwilling to compromise our high standards from the start and even though it took us much longer, we have done everything along the way to make an excellent product.
What are your goals with Unique CBD?
Our goals are simple but very important to us; we want to educate the world on this incredible formula and to provide the highest quality, most natural, pure and trustworthy products which are free from THC, pesticides and heavy metals; that are gluten-free, vegan-friendly and cruelty-free. We believe that health, beauty and wellbeing start from the inside out and that is why we created UNIQUE CBD. Quality products for everyone, for every day – products that are honest and “unique”.
I can see that philanthropy is a big part of your brand, how do you plan on staying philanthropic in the future?
Yes, very much so. Before we had even launched our brand we had already partnered with Ecologi, whose goal is to tackle climate change by planting trees and creating resilient forests, which help offset our carbon footprint and give back to our incredible planet. After all, our earth is our home and it may be the only one we ever have, so we have to take care of it. Something we also hope to do in the near future is partner with a mental health charity.
Do you have plans to extend the line soon?
We have many plans for UNIQUE CBD. In the coming months we will be adding to our line of products.
You can buy Unique CBD here and follow them on Instagram here.
