In Conversation with Harmony
The Pioneering Spirit or How to Create a Market
In anticipation of our event at the European Parliament on December 12 hosted by MEP Marie Arena, I’m sharing my interview with one of the first CBD entrepreneurs in Europe.
Thanks to Antonin Cohen, founder, and CEO of Harmony. Follow Harmony on Instagram here
ACTIVE: You’ve been in the industry for 5 years now. When I met you, CBD wasn’t hype, nobody knew about it! When it comes to regulation, how have you seen the industry evolve in Europe over the past 5 years?
Antonin: Europe is a very fragmented continent with many countries applying different regulations. Because we distribute our products across 42 countries, it’s been very important to understand the regulations of CBD at a national level.
The regulations around CBD have never been very clear, and it sometimes depends on the interpretation of the law by national authorities.
This interpretation can also change over time. Regulations should be a tool to protect the safety of users, and the competitivity of European companies in a fast-growing CBD world market.
We are still waiting for a regulatory framework that could accomplish this. Because of the lack of regulations on some segments within the CBD market, regulations not being adapted, or the regular changes in regulations, some of the biggest companies and distributors are struggling to bring safe and qualitative products to the market. It creates a toxic environment with many questionable companies creating products that don’t follow or respect basic quality standards, which puts consumers at risk.
ACTIVE: You claim to offer “Premium CBD at fair prices”, what regulatory procedures do you follow in your product management team to create safe products for users?
Antonin: Harmony has a strict quality control system in place to ensure the quality and integrity of every batch of products. We formulate and manufacture our products in-house with our team of scientists that includes two Ph.D. chemists.
Harmony and its producers carry out testing with trusted third-party laboratories to ensure ingredients are up to the highest quality standards. For example, every batch of CBD is tested by Harmony and its suppliers independently for its potency by means of HPLC or UPLC (High-Performance Liquid Chromatography or Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography), a technique that allows the separation, detection, and quantification of cannabinoids and other compounds in a mixture.
Finally, for every finished product, a safety data-sheet is created by an independent third-party entity. All mandatory and recommended labeling elements (like, for example, allergen warnings) are included in Harmony’s packaging design, which is regularly reviewed and updated to ensure consumers can make a fully informed purchasing decision.
ACTIVE: You’ve always been very pro-active in sharing your expertise widely. Concretely, how does Harmony contribute to building a safer industry for fellow entrepreneurs?
Antonin: Indeed, Harmony is the co-founder of several trade associations in Europe.
We believe education is the key to building a sustainable industry, and we’ve invested a lot of resources to create reports, organize events and support the work of trade associations all over the world.
I became Director of Compliance at ACTIVE because I’ve built a strong expertise in quality control and compliance for CBD products.
I’ve created Harmony because I was upset by the lack of accessibility to legal and safe cannabinoid-based products in Europe. Our mission has always been to create quality and compliant CBD products at fair prices. And we are just getting started.
ACTIVE: What is missing today? What is the next milestone?
Antonin: We need better regulations to protect the safety of consumers, and the competitiveness of European companies! I lived in the US and nowadays I often travel over there. The industry is far more advanced and I’m worried that if we don’t wake up now, we are going to see mostly US companies dominating the European industry in the future.
We need more talented European entrepreneurs and investors to join the CBD movement, so we can work together to develop a sustainable industry that benefits European farmers, laboratories, manufacturers and distributors.
