Cornbread Hemp Review

Welcome to our Cornbread Hemp review!

Over a period of several weeks, the CBD Insider editorial team has been at work gathering information about and testing Cornbread Hemp’s products and services to create a comprehensive review.

After our interview and follow-up communications with one of the founders, plenty of product sampling, and a usability testing/secret shopping campaign, we’ve arrived at an overall rating for the Kentucky-based CBD brand.

We gave Cornbread Hemp a score of 92.1/100, which earns them entry into our highest tier of brands.

Speaking of, we use a 27-point assessment to ensure our reviews are both consistent and comprehensive, taking into account the following major categories:

• Quality
• Transparency
• Website Experience
• Customer Service
• Value
• Brand Value

Before we introduce the brand and run down their score, a quick look at some of our favorite Cornbread Hemp products.

Cornbread Hemp Recommended Products

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How Cornbread Hemp Got Started

Though there’s no extra credit in play here, Cornbread definitely has the most interesting “how we got started” story of any brand we’ve reviewed.

Co-owner Jim Higdon, whom we spoke with on the phone, explained to us that his relationship with hemp goes back to his childhood.

When Higdon was a boy growing up in Kentucky in the 80s, many of his classmates’ parents were suddenly arrested in connection with a large illegal cannabis-growing syndicate, a story that would influence him for the rest of his life.

He grew up, became a journalist, and committed his early career to sharing this story with the world.

What followed was several years of interviewing understandably reticent parties about what happened, but as Higdon told us, his own Kentucky roots and skill set as a journalist allowed him to “crack the story open” where others couldn’t.

Finally, his book—the Cornbread Mafia—was completed, and it quickly earned Higdon national recognition, which came with opportunities to cover cannabis news for Politico and other prominent outlets.

It was during this later phase of Jim’s journalism career, which bled into the confusing, post-Farm-Bill (2014) environment where industrial hemp became legal, that he began to take notice of how untamed and unpredictable the burgeoning hemp industry was.

“I was reporting on it and realizing how low the standards were and how poor the branding was,” he told us, which fueled his desire to do it the right way.

He also felt miffed by the “new hot item” approach that many of these CBD brands were taking, vowing then to “create a brand that would embrace all these things that corporate CBD was trying to run from,” i.e., the longstanding history of hemp in the United States.

Once decided, Jim enlisted the help of cousin Eric Zipperle, who perfectly complemented his own knowledge and skills with direct-to-consumer marketing and sales savvy.

Thus, Cornbread Hemp was born (in 2019), and they’ve been poking at the CBD industry’s giants since day one.

What Makes Cornbread Hemp Unique?

Two key differentiators give Cornbread Hemp a leg up on much of the CBD industry: their flower-only approach and uniquely suited Kentucky soil.

Unlike many brands that extract hemp from the stems, stalks, and other “aerial parts” of the plant, Cornbread has drawn a hard line at flower only.

The flower is indeed the most cannabinoid-dense component of the hemp plant, but it’s more expensive to extract only from the flower, providing a clear quality standard for consumers and publications like ours to use when choosing or rating brands.

Paraphrasing Higdon, using the whole plant to make CBD oil is the same as using an entire orange tree to make orange juice. 

To set their standards of quality even higher, Cornbread Hemp uses only USDA organic-certified ingredients and full-spectrum extracts.

When asked why Kentucky is ideal for hemp cultivation, Jim explained to us that Cornbread Hemp partner farms are rain-fed, which is one reason why Kentucky was the mainstay of American hemp cultivation since the very founding of the country.

Unlike other states, which rely on artificial irrigation that often contributes to droughts, Kentucky hemp cultivation is much more sustainable.

Interestingly, the Cornbread Hemp website explains that the Hindu Kush mountains, the 37th parallel, also cuts right through Kentucky. 

It also doesn’t hurt that Kentucky rests on a massive limestone deposit, which bodes well for soil and water quality. 

As the legal picture evens out, Higdon predicted, hemp cultivation will shift more towards Kentucky and the east coast. 

Our Cornbread Hemp Review

Each category of our CBD brand reviews is weighted to reflect its importance to quality, safety, and the total user experience.

As always, we will begin our breakdown with quality.

For more information on how we rate brands, we invite you to check out our simple scoring guide. 

Quality

Max score = 35 points.
Cornbread Hemp = 33.38 points.

Here we take into account more than ingredients, because packaging, testing and certification, how and from where the plant is derived, and several other quality metrics can also affect the CBD product and the resulting experience.

Product Quality

All of the CBD oil tinctures, gummies, and topical products that we received to sample were provided in durable and high-quality packaging.

Where there were boxes (the CBD oil tinctures), the paperboard was smooth and durable, not scratchy or flimsy.

The topical products came in matte black tubes or tubs with simple threaded lids.

Labeling included basic product info (concentration, flavor, etc.), usage instructions with helpful graphics, various blurbs about the product/brand, supplement facts and other ingredients, and multiple QR codes for third-party lab results.

There were no artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives to speak of, and almost every ingredient in every product was organic, so it’s definitely full points for added ingredients.

As mentioned, Cornbread Hemp sources their hemp directly from partner farms in Kentucky, which bodes well for brands, as it provides more oversight of the cultivation process. 

The brand offers full-spectrum products, and though we did see some permutation of the three major formulation types we look for (relief, relax, and active), they weren’t all available in oil or other ingestibles, so we made a small deduction. 

Testing and Certification

All Cornbread Hemp products are tested by ISO-accredited Kaycha labs for cannabinoid and terpene density, pesticides, residual solvents, and other potential toxins. 

Combined with their official USDA organic certification (and actual use of said certification), Cornbread definitely earns full points for testing and certification. 

Extraction Method

Even the extraction method, which is the means by which a brand removes CBD and cannabinoids from the plant to make their extracts, is organic.

Cornbread Hemp uses an organic sugarcane ethanol extraction process.

Ethanol already earns a full score, along with CO2 extraction, as these two are regarded as the safest and most efficient methods around. 

Transparency

Max score = 12.5 points.
Cornbread Hemp = 12.5 points.

The more information a brand is willing to share with us and their general audience, the more we trust them.

We don’t expect a dissertation, but we look for key quality indicators such as testing results, product information, general brand information, and at least an outline of the brand’s supply chain. 

Beyond the information itself, we also take into account how easy it is to find.

Info Accessibility

Between the five “about us” pages, several of which include videos featuring the founders, there’s no argument for withholding of general brand information; site visitors can find out everything they would possibly want to know about Jim, Eric, and the company with ease.

The same goes for individual product pages, which are well-furnished with FAQs, detailed descriptions, complete ingredient lists (you’d be surprised how rare that is), and more. 

Finally, the QR codes featuring the third-party lab reports are the most secure we’ve seen, as Cornbread Hemp uses a service called CannVerify, which uses blockchain product verification to protect products and serial numbers.

If a newly purchased product has already been verified (i.e., it’s counterfeit), the person scanning the code will be informed. 

All this considered, it’s definitely a full score for information accessibility. 

Supply Chain Transparency

Throughout the already mentioned “about us” section and the blog posts, new customers can easily piece together the Cornbread Hemp supply chain.

It only took us a minute to learn where the hemp comes from, where it goes from there, and how much oversight Cornbread has throughout the process. 

This is another strong indicator of authenticity, as brands who don’t work directly with partner farms will often gloss over supply chain information on their websites.

Website Experience

Max score = 7.5 points.
Cornbread Hemp = 7.25 points.

It’s not an exact science, but we follow what would be close to a 90/10 rule when it comes to the importance of functionality versus aesthetic in a CBD brand’s website structure.

If we can easily browse the brand’s catalog and informational resources, learn about CBD in general and each product, and do it all over again on our phones, the brand will receive the lion’s share of points.

Here’s how Cornbread Hemp stacked up in this regard.

Product Navigation and Purchasing

It helps that Cornbread isn’t carrying dozens of products, but even if they were, the way they’ve sectioned off major product categories and interspersed educational guides/content through each category page is convenient and helpful.

Beyond that, the ecommerce setup is standard—each section features rows of clickable product images with basic info like price and reviews displayed.

Everything flows smoothly, there are no unnecessary splash pages gunking up the checkout process, and the design is simple and attractive. 

Site Content

The Cornbread Hemp blog is very beginner-friendly while offering enough depth for “hemp nerds” to learn a thing or two, and some of the posts even feature more videos with Jim.

All the standard questions we want covered (how does hemp interact with the body, what’s the difference between hemp and marijuana, etc.) are covered and then some, and the personal touch adds layers of authenticity to the learning experience.

Hence, it’s full points here as well.

Customer Service

Max score = 10 points.
Cornbread Hemp = 9.75 points.

Another area that bleeds into the subjective somewhat is customer service.

Sure, we award credit for how many customer support services are available and how flexible/accommodating these services are (including shipping and return policies), but the human element is very much in play.

Like everyday customers, we want to hear a friendly, professional response that reflects the brand’s values when testing support services. 

Contact Options and Responsiveness

Jim, we apologize for hanging up on you, but if it’s any consolation, Cornbread is definitely earning maximum points for customer service responsiveness and accommodation.

We’ve never been directly connected with an owner when calling customer service, let alone in less than two minutes and with no robots to speak of.

Simply put, this is a fantastic response that just made things tougher for our upcoming reviewees. 

In addition to phone support, Cornbread offers email and chat.

This covers the “big three,” but we do reserve a small buffer of points for brands that provide live chat, so it’s 90/100 for the contact options factor. 

Shipping and Return Policies

Cornbread offers a 30-day satisfaction guarantee and 2-5 business day standard shipping for a reasonable price ($5.99), which ticks all three boxes required for a full score with us.

We also want to call out the 17 FAQs on the shipping and returns page that offer detailed and pragmatic responses to questions that we often have to click around for. 

Value

Max score = 10 points.
Cornbread Hemp = 7.94 points.

Raw price doesn’t accurately speak to value until ingredient quality is factored in, so we’ve made sure to incorporate both in this category.

In other words, more expensive products have a chance to redeem themselves on the quality end, and cheaper products don’t necessarily get off scot-free.

Pricing and Ingredient Quality

A month’s supply (1500mg) of a “standard” CBD oil tincture at Cornbread Hemp retails for $109.99, which earns a 17.5/100 for raw price.

We realize this sounds harsh for what is not an outlandish price point in the CBD market, but some of the top-tier brands we’ve reviewed go as low as $0.04/mg (around $60 for a month’s supply), and as mentioned, ingredient quality gives an opportunity for counterbalancing. 

Indeed, we awarded full points for quality in this case, because every single ingredient in Cornbread Hemp’s CBD oil tinctures is organic.

More impressively, we’ve never seen a seven-ingredient CBD topical that contains all-organic ingredients and absolutely zero preservatives of any kind (referring to the Peppermint + Arnica CBD Balm), making Cornbread Hemp the brand to beat on another quality indicator.

Brand Value

Max score = 25 points.
Cornbread Hemp = 21.25 points.

We cast a wider net here, aiming to credit brands for their footprint on the CBD industry, their local communities, and the world at large.

In other words, anything that falls under scientific research, product innovation, philanthropy, hemp legislation efforts, and other points we review at our discretion is fair game if it benefits these three sectors.

We also factor in institutional knowledge and supply chain oversight, as these can serve as examples to boost CBD industry standards.

Compared to the industry giants, Cornbread Hemp is still a newer, smaller brand, but they’ve been active in a number of these efforts.

Product Innovation

The trio we mentioned earlier of flower-only, USDA organic, and full-spectrum products is definitely worthy of a full score for the product innovation factor.

Given the brand’s direct partnership with local hemp growers, we award 95/100 for supply chain oversight, leaving a small buffer for the (rare) instance in which the brand owns the growing operation.

Institutional knowledge runs deep, from founder Jim’s extensive experience with hemp, founder Eric’s understanding of the business side of the industry, and the medical advisory board, who even weighs in on some of the blog posts.

Finally, the brand has already been active in their communities, donating to the 27 Fund, which helped black business owners during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Community, Research, and Legislative Investment

In addition to the 27 Fund, Cornbread Hemp has donated to marijuana advocacy groups in Kentucky, which is among the minority of states that don’t have a medical marijuana program.

Because the brand has yet to participate or invest in official hemp research (a pass/fail item), they shaved a couple of points off their overall score.

Overall, Cornbread Hemp has done a decent job making their presence known on a local and national level in a way that benefits the industry and humanity in general. 

Our Cornbread Hemp Overall Rating

All tallied, Cornbread Hemp earns an overall rating of 92.1/100, which is a notable feat.

Smaller and newer brands very rarely make it past the 80s.

We attribute this accomplishment to the brand’s stubborn stance on quality standards, but they wouldn’t have made it without solid customer support and other amenities.

Having tried the products ourselves and taken a much closer look at the brand, we confidently recommend Cornbread Hemp to anyone looking for relief from discomfort and stress.

Cornbread Hemp Product Reviews

Concentration

We tested Cornbread Hemp’s Distilled USDA Organic CBD Oil tincture (375mg), but will also include information about the Whole Flower USDA Organic CBD Oil tincture where appropriate.

Both products are available in the following concentrations:

• 375mg (0.5oz)
• 750mg (1oz)
• 1500mg (1oz)

Here is the cannabinoid breakdown for our 375mg distilled CBD oil tincture, according to the certificate of analysis for our product batch:

• CBD: 26.84mg/g (402.6mg total)
• D9-THC: 0.87mg/g (13.05mg total)
• CBG: 0.28mg/g (4.2mg total)
• CBC: 0.54mg/g (8.1mg total)

The CBD is over-delivered, the THC is well within the legal boundary, and the supporting cannabinoid content is around 6% of the cannabinoid content, which is slightly above average.

Overall, this strong lab report points to a well-supported hemp extract.

Value

Here are the prices for the distilled tincture:

• 375mg: $39.99 ($0.11/mg)
• 750mg: $74.99 ($0.10/mg)
• 1500mg: $119.99 ($0.08/mg)

And for the whole flower tincture:

• 375mg: $34.99 ($0.09/mg)
• 750mg: $64.99 ($0.086/mg)
• 1500mg: $109.99 ($0.07/mg)

As mentioned in the brand review portion, these prices land somewhere around the peak of the bell curve as far as the CBD industry is concerned.

We’ve seen many brands positioned at higher and lower price points, so these are moderately priced tinctures.

However, the flower-only and USDA organic elements certainly raise the value.

Packaging

The distilled CBD oil tincture we sampled came in a soft paperboard box with high-quality labeling and design features.

Between the darkly tinted tincture bottle and the box, we were able to quickly access product information, a blurb about the product, two QR codes (one of them being the CannVerify authentication seal), dosing guide with a graphic, and more.

Everything was fully intact on receipt, and the demarcated dropper lid extracted the oil without hassle.

Ingredients

Here is the ingredient list for both CBD oil tinctures:

USDA Certified Organic MCT Coconut Oil, USDA Certified Organic Hemp Extract

We’re neutral on the “botanical enhancers” debate, meaning we will always uphold ingredient quality as our main standard, regardless of the use of non-CBD botanicals like turmeric, ashwagandha, etc.

Again, we see an all-organic ingredient list with zero preservatives or added sugar, so it’s full points here.

Taste

It’s a point of pride at Cornbread Hemp to not need flavoring, since flower-only hemp is supposed to be less bitter.

After our personal experience, we can attest to this claim, as the hemp taste felt significantly “watered down.”

Though we don’t mind the hemp taste, these less bitter tinctures are much less of a shock to the palate, and would be more suitable for those who dislike the bitterness.

Effectiveness

Surprisingly, we were able to notice benefits with a single serving (25mg), though our usual twice-daily rhythm proved more effective.

The distilled CBD oil helped with stress and focus, and we noticed a subtle fading away of neck, back, and knee discomfort.

On these two major fronts, this tincture delivered sustained results at lower concentrations than much of the competition.

Pros & Cons

Starting with the pros:

• Flower only, USDA organic
• Effective at lower concentrations
• Significantly milder taste

And now the cons:

• Above $0.10/mg (except 1500mg size)

Concentration

We sampled the USDA Organic CBD Balm with peppermint and arnica, but will provide details about Cornbread Hemp’s other topicals (CBD Lotion + Menthol and CBD Lotion Skin Formula) where appropriate.

Our organic balm comes in a single concentration: 500mg/1.7oz (294mg/oz).

The CBD Lotion + Menthol and CBD Lotion Skin Formula are also exclusively available in 500mg strengths.

Here is the cannabinoid breakdown for our organic balm according to the certificate of analysis:

• CBD: 11.630mg/g (697.8mg total)
• D9-THC: 0.39mg/g (23.4mg total)
• CBC: 0.17mg/g (10.2mg total)
•  CBG: 0.16mg/g (10.2mg total)

The CBD is generously over-delivered, the delta-9 THC is well within the legal boundary, and the total non-CBD cannabinoid content is just over six percent (it would be closer to ten percent at 500mg of CBD), all of which are strong quality indicators.

In this case, we might even have to flag the CBD content as a little too high for the label, considering it’s almost 40% over-delivered.

Value

The USDA Organic CBD Balm we sampled retails for $54.99, which reduces to just under $0.11/mg.

The CBD Lotion + Menthol and CBD Lotion Skin Formula are both $49.99 ($0.10/mg).

We would normally call the USDA Organic CBD Balm price point middling, but considering the all-organic, preservative-free ingredient list, we have to acknowledge the excellent value here.

The same goes for the other topicals.

Packaging

Our balm came in a matte black, plastic tube with a threaded lid.

Twisting the bottom of the tube brings more product to the surface.

Everything functioned perfectly throughout our use of the product.

The labeling is consistent with our assessment of the packing in the review portion, containing two QR codes, basic product info, usage instructions, warnings, and ingredients.

Overall, we couldn’t find any faults in the packaging whatsoever.

Ingredients

Here are the ingredient lists for the three topicals that Cornbread Hemp offers:

USDA Organic CBD Balm: Organic Coconut Oil, Organic Shea Butter, Organic Carnauba Wax, Organic Arnica Oil, Organic Hemp Extract, Organic Eucalyptus Oil, Organic Peppermint Oil

CBD Lotion + Menthol: Distilled Water, Organic Sugarcane Alcohol, Organic Jojoba Oil, Organic Glycerin, Organic Beeswax, Organic Lecithin (Soy), Organic Carnauba Wax, Organic Argan Oil, Organic Safflower Oil, Organic MCT Oil, Organic Vitamin E, Organic Hemp Extract, Organic Olive Leaf Oil, Organic Lemongrass Oil, Organic Peppermint Oil, Organic Rosemary Oil, Organic Menthol, Organic Tea Tree Oil.

CBD Lotion Skin Formula: Distilled Water, Organic Sugarcane Alcohol, Organic Jojoba Oil, Organic Glycerin, Organic Beeswax, Organic Lecithin (Soy), Organic Carnauba Wax, Organic Argan Oil, Organic Safflower Oil, Organic MCT Oil, Organic Vitamin E, Organic Hemp Extract, Organic Olive Leaf Oil, Organic Lemongrass Oil, Organic Peppermint Oil, Organic Rosemary Oil, Organic Tea Tree Oil.

As mentioned, it literally doesn’t get better than these all-organic, preservative-free ingredient lists.

Scent and Texture

The peppermint oil and eucalyptus in our USDA Organic CBD Balm blend together to form a subtle scent that doesn’t sting the nostrils.

Whether it’s the lack of surfactants or the underlying container that causes this, we noticed the topical settles into a dimpled texture.

This makes it slightly rough on initial application, but not to the point of discomfort in our case.

When applying, the moderately viscous topical spreads evenly and absorbs quickly without leaving residue.

Overall, we were pleased with the scent and texture of our product.

Effectiveness

Similar to the tincture, we noticed a moderate reduction in discomfort after one application, but twice a day was more effective.

The tube is narrow enough to allow application to small joints, but not so narrow that we couldn’t use it on larger joints and regions along the spine.

It’s difficult to gauge, given the subjectivity of discomfort, but in our case, this topical proved more effective for smaller joints (knuckles, wrists, etc.) than larger regions.

In both cases, we noticed a mild-to-moderate reduction in discomfort that lasted several hours.

The relief was strong enough to allow for longer workouts and less fidgeting around while working in a seated position.

The effectiveness of this topical was consistent with most of the top-tier brands we’ve tried.

Pros & Cons

Let’s start with the pros:

• All-organic ingredient lists
• Effective at reducing aches and discomfort
• Affordable for the quality

And now the cons:

• Slightly rough texture

All Cornbread Hemp Products

The Cornbread Hemp catalog contains eight unique products (not counting the AM/PM CBD Oil Bundle), all of which contain a full-spectrum hemp extract and most of which are available in varying concentrations.

Currently, the brand offers products in the following categories:

• Oils (Including Pet CBD Oil)
• Capsules
• Gummies
• Topicals

As usual, we’ll begin our comprehensive listing with CBD oil tinctures.

CBD Oil

All three of Cornbread Hemp’s CBD oil tinctures are full-spectrum, flower-only, and USDA organic.

They don’t contain (non-cannabinoid) botanical enhancers, but the supporting cannabinoid presence is strong.

Per Cornbread, the idea behind the distilled CBD oil is to give consumers a smaller dose of THC, where the Whole Flower USDA Organic CBD Oil approaches the legal limit, rendering it more appropriate for nighttime use.

Available concentrations range from 375 to 1500mg.

Best Use: CBD oils are easy to use, can be mixed in with food or beverages, and are usually available in the greatest variety of strengths, flavors, and formulation types. 

CBD Capsules

Cornbread Hemp carries one full-spectrum CBD capsule, which, like the Whole Flower USDA Organic CBD Oil tincture, contains the highest legal level of THC for maximum effectiveness.

The product is marketed for “active adults with sore muscles and joints,” and is supported with a diverse range of non-CBD cannabinoids. 

Best Use: CBD capsules provide an easily measurable dose for people who want to avoid the hemp taste.

CBD Gummies

The only flavored item on the Cornbread Hemp menu is their Full-Spectrum CBD Gummy, which comes in Organic Berry (blueberry, raspberry, and strawberry) flavoring.

Once again, the ingredient list is almost completely organic, including the flavoring, and the two grams of sugar per gummy come from organic cane sugar and tapioca syrup.

Best Use: Like capsules, CBD gummies help to cover up (most of) the hemp taste, but in a more fun and familiar way that still allows for consistent dosing.

CBD Topicals

All three of Cornbread Hemp’s topicals are made with their full-spectrum, flower-only extracts.

This is where we see the most botanical enhancement, including the advertised peppermint and arnica, menthol, tea tree, eucalyptus, jojoba oil, and more.

Best Use: CBD topicals allow for targeted benefits to problem areas, though it’s much more difficult to measure dosage. 

Conclusion

After thoroughly verifying the brand’s seemingly lofty claims, we can certify that snake oil is not a part of the Cornbread Hemp catalog.

They’ve stubbornly dug in on quality standards that even larger brands continue to gloss over, and at a smaller premium than might be expected.

Cornbread Hemp products really are flower-only, full-spectrum, and USDA organic, which the lab reports and our personal experiences with the products demonstrate.

The fact that everyday consumers can pick up the phone and speak directly with the co-founder within a minute or two is indicative of their values as a brand, and though they have much to compete with, we hope to see continued growth as the word gets out.

We confidently recommend Cornbread Hemp CBD products to anyone looking for the range of benefits that CBD can provide.