Show, don’t tell. The old adage works for writers and cannabidiol companies, too, insist executives at Nextraction, a supplier of cannabidiol (CBD), cannabidiolic acid (CBDA), and cannabigerolic acid (CBGA). Demonstrating the efficacy of its cannabidiol ingredients is the reason behind the company’s launch of Kriva, a range of personal care products for the health and wellness market.

Company President Patrick Hyland and his team founded Nextraction in 2019. The Tacoma, WA-based CBD manufacturer’s unique Water Extract Technology (WET) is a safe, natural cannabinoid extraction alternative to environmentally damaging processes such as those using hydrocarbon, ethanol, and carbon dioxide.

According to the company, supply chain benefits of WET begin with an immediate, sizeable reduction of carbon emissions during harvest, as fresh hemp can be utilized for input, eliminating the significant burden of warehouse space for drying. With WET, extraction technicians work in a food-safe, GMP facility, without risk of exposure to temperature extremes, high pressures, flammable solvents, or damaging vapors.

Moreover, with WET, the intentional absence of polar solvents (such as methanol, butane, and ethanol) mitigates the dangerous risk of heavy metal and pesticide concentration, without residual solvent risk, to produce a pure, unadulterated, raw cannabinoid concentrate, according to the company.

“Our product is completely different than what formulators see. We make a broad-spectrum product that is acidic. Very few companies are doing it. We started Nextraction to be different and be the best,” said Hyland. “There are a lot of other facilities using other extraction methods such as CO2 or ethanol. But sooner or later, you have an accident—you blow up. If we have an accident, we spill water.”

Moreover, Nextraction products are free from pesticides and heavy metals. The company insists that from harvest to consumption, Nextraction’s WET greatly reduces the human and environmental risks widely associated with industrial cannabinoid extraction. The WET Quality Seal assures hemp product consumers of the unique safety, purity, and sustainability explicit in formulary use with WET cannabinoid ingredients.

Nextraction offers fully compliant WET raw concentrate CBDA and CBGA in a variety of quantities. In addition, the company markets WET infused oils that are easily blended into cosmetics, foods, and nutraceuticals. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not issued any rulings based on CBDA or CBGA; therefore, marketers are free to formulate with them. Still, Nextraction faces challenges, noted Hyland.

“Our extracts are so unique that not even the industry experts understand what to do with them,” he explained. “We’ve become experts at making finished goods with CBDA and CBDGA. We conduct research on a daily basis to harness the benefits of acidics. As a result, we get higher efficacy at lower doses.”


Enter Kriva
Still, some formulators are less concerned about CBDA’s efficacy and more concerned about attracting the wrath of the FDA. In recent months, the agency has issued warning letters to companies that market CBD-based products. With multinational beauty companies wary about any and every CBD-based cosmetic formulation, Nextraction decided to put its formulation expertise to good use. Recently, the company launched Kriva, a sustainable, legacy company producing plant-based products that improve health and wellness. According to the company, Kriva formulations boost the body, enhance recovery, elevate energy, and increase calmness. The line includes everyday wellness lotion, lemon oil drops, hemp oil drops, charcoal craft bar soap, orange craft bar soap, and Gem gummies. All ingredients and finished products are non-detectable THC verified by a third-party lab.

Regardless of product form, Kriva treads lightly when it comes to product claims. The lotion contains hemp extract and terpenes. Consumers who have tried the formula rave about it with statements such as: “This lotion is unbelievable in how well it works to ease discomfort, inflammation; it even helps bruising heal faster, and with repeated use it makes painful areas feel normal and have better range of motion and strength.”

They’re testimonials that don’t test the FDA’s resolve. Despite the absence of claims, company officials are quick to promote the lotion’s attributes.

Better than Ben Gay
“We know that our Everyday Wellness lotion is better than products such as Ben Gay, BioFreeze, Icy Hot, and Tiger Balm. Everyday Wellness lotion is a direct replacement for those products,” insisted Nicole Foss, vice president of research and innovation, Nextraction. “Anecdotally, our lotion has higher efficacy. We consider it an ‘infla-aging’ product.”

Hyland calls Everyday Wellness lotion a “Swiss Army Knife-type” of product that’s good for a variety of ailments like twisted ankles, insect bites, and sunburn.

The lemon oil drops are said to boost one’s focus thanks to a combination of botanical ingredients and uplifting limonene. Hemp oil drops are said to support daily focus and target stress before it happens.

The charcoal and orange soaps contain only a few ingredients and were developed with help from an ex-Colgate-Palmolive chemist.

“He told us that this is the future of personal care,” recalled Hyland. “Very simple formulations.”

Both the charcoal and orange craft bar soaps eliminate plastic packaging—a key goal of Hyland’s for both Kriva and Nextraction.

“Nextraction’s future is zero waste,” he said. “Our big goal is to be carbon neutral by 2025. We are working to find new packaging that is reusable and compostable.”

The final product in Kriva’s initial lineup is Gem. These ingestibles contain 15 mg of CBDA. After a long day, Gems promise to increase the body’s natural endocannabinoid level, enhancing recovery, according to the company.


More To Come
It’s already an ambitious lineup, but more products are on the way. Hyland says Kriva has 15 products in the pipeline that could be launched in 2022.

All Kriva ingredients are grown or sourced in the U.S. All finished products are manufactured in the U.S. With supply chains around the world under tremendous strain, Kriva’s sourced and made in the USA story comes at the right time, as marketers and their partners scramble to ensure adequate supply.

Still, like so many other players in the space, getting the word out about the benefits of CBDA is paramount.

“We have to educate consumers,” said Hyland. “Eighty years of prohibition has people thinking that hemp is the devil’s lettuce. We’ve been working on Kriva for nearly one year and are excited to get going. Our products speak for themselves.”