We recently wrote about Neenah Packaging’s launch of a new line of hemp fiber papers into its premium folding board portfolio to support the exploding CBD market. One of the first companies to take advantage of this innovative new line of packaging substrate is California-based Blunt Skincare. We spoke with the company’s founder, Stas Chirkov, to learn more about his approach to the market and his thoughts about the use of hemp-fiber-based packaging for his products. The company name, Chirkov says, comes from the fact that they are blunt about their ingredients and give customers choice about what ingredients they use, including both CBD and hemp seed oil.

“The cannabis market is hot in California, especially with the legalization of industrial hemp, a plant in the cannabis family, with the passage of the 2018 U.S. Farm Bill, legalizing growth of industrial hemp containing less than 0.3% THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana,” Chirkov states. “CBD has become such a buzzword; you hear people talking about its benefits for everything from pain to cancer. We’re not marketing CBD as a fix-it-all ingredient; rather, we are producing mass market products that can be sold into this booming market.”

Chirkov is a cosmetic chemist who has worked for large beauty companies and is a cannabis user himself. “I was inspired by what I was seeing,” he says, “and I went to all the trade shows to learn more. Once I understood what CBD actually is and the differences between extraction methods, I started researching the skincare benefits each has to offer. After developing the formulas, I decided to launch with three different oils. Each feature superstar cannabis-derived skincare ingredients for different skincare benefits: hemp seed oil, pure CBD, and full-spectrum cannabis extract.”