Why the Market for Hemp Seeds and Fibers Is Ripe for Disruption

Companies developing new solutions across an incredibly diverse range of industries are all taking a closer look at the science of hemp seeds and fibers like never before. Everything from concrete-reinforcement, skincare, soda, pizza sticks, vegan gelato, and even prosthetics are utilizing hemp seeds and fibers.

Though the hemp industry in the U.S. began in earnest over four years ago, after the 2018 Farm Bill reclassified it as legal to grow, it’s only just now showing signs of its long-term potential. An initial rush of development was stymied by slow progress from the USDA and FDA in removing uncertainty from the legal frameworks that permit growing, processing, and selling materials and products derived from the cannabis plant.

That cloudy outlook led some investors in the hemp industry to pull back while they waited for more direct signals that the U.S. government was going to give the all-clear for this still-developing industry to expand. Further complicating matters, the pandemic struck in 2020, throwing supply chains into disarray and causing workforce shortages.

Consequently, 2021 saw a national reduction in the total acreage devoted to hemp cultivation. Just as it should have been seeing a rapid increase, it instead dropped almost 44-percent from 2019. Yet, while the FDA’s intentions remain unclear, the promise of hemp in nutritional, dietary, personal care, and industrial applications has never been more apparent.

New Processes and Applications Are Constantly Emerging

Though the regulatory side of the hemp industry’s progress has stalled, technological innovation continues unabated. New uses for hemp and its derivatives, particularly its seeds and fibers are discovered at a regular clip, as are new methodologies for improving crop yields, fresh insights into the plant’s genetic secrets, and advanced solutions for more efficiently processing it. 

The science is undisputed: hemp is everything its proponents have long claimed. The only questions that remain are when will international governments fully embrace its potential and which organizations will be first to capitalize on and disrupt the market to come by finding ways to reduce production costs, increase quality, and more effectively market and brand hemp.

Cannabis is famously the plant from which the psychoactive compound Delta 9 THC is derived. It’s also the source of many other cannabinoids like CBD and Delta 8 THC, whose uses and popularity have skyrocketed in the last few years. Delta 9 THC has been studied clinically for decades, but the more novel compounds have health effects that the FDA isn’t ready to sign off on yet.

However, the cannabis plant is also the source of completely non-psychoactive and incredibly useful hemp seeds, which are rich in vitamins, nutrients, and protein, and hemp fiber, which is the strongest and most durable natural fiber in the world.

Once Discarded Fibers and Seeds Are Becoming Eco-Friendly, High-Demand Products

Hemp fiber is so strong, so light, and such a good insulator that its used in the door panels of the BMW i3 electric vehicle and as a reinforcer in concrete products (including the concrete used to build the bobsled track at the recent Beijing Olympics), It’s even in human prosthetics that outperform advanced composite materials like carbon fiber and kevlar. 

Fibers from the cannabis plant are also an eco-friendly source for high-quality fabrics, with a texture similar to linen and a degree of flexibility that makes it appropriate for use in everything from clothing to shoes to home goods.

The seeds of the plant are prized in commercial food applications because they are rich in essential omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, as well as B vitamins, vitamin D, vitamin E, magnesium, calcium, and potassium. Plus, they are a better source of plant-based protein than competing seeds. A quarter of the calories in hemp seed is protein, compared to just 16 to 18-percent in chia and flax seeds, which are both widely available and popular in the marketplace.

Kirsten Sutaria, a food scientist formerly with Ben & Jerry’s, is such a believer in the hemp seed revolution that she launched her own hemp-based gelato brand. “I was doing ingredient research and started learning about hemp, how nutritious and sustainable it is, and I thought, ‘I can make a great ice cream out of hemp hearts,” said Sutaria. “So many plant-based alternative ice creams use coconut milk or coconut oil, which is great but also very high in saturated fat.”

Hemp hearts are the inner core of the hemp seed. Whereas hemp seed oil, which is derived from the whole seed, is green and has a pungent, somewhat bitter taste and aroma, the heart (and the oil extracted from it) is white, flavorless, and odorless. For that reason, hemp heart oil is preferred for products like dairy substitutes and some skin creams.

Sutaria's biggest concern, however, wasn’t exploiting the value of hemp heart oil as a food product but in convincing consumers about its benefits and safety. “There is so much confusion, and that creates challenges for us as well as opportunities for us to educate the consumer about hemp grains and hemp foods and how nutritious and sustainable they can be and how they can be part of your diet,” she said.

“One of the most sustainable and versatile crops on the planet...”

Though consumer confusion is still an issue for the hemp industry, that obstacle is steadily falling away as new products and brands proliferate. Interest and awareness in hemp is growing globally, and with it, nagging and outdated misgivings about its usefulness and healthfulness. 

In addition to foods, milk-substitutes, and protein-powders, hemp seed oil can be used to produce renewable energy sources like ethanol and biodiesel, both of which are seeing increased demand as climate-friendly alternatives to fossil fuels.

Even the hulls of the hemp seed, once discarded as refuse, have recently been revealed to contain compounds beneficial to human health. Brightseed, a research firm that analyzes plants discovered that N-trans-caffeoyltyramine (NCT) and N-trans-feruloyltyramine (NFT), two compounds that show potential in removing unhealthy fat from the liver and fighting fatty liver disease, are abundant in hemp seed hulls.

“Hemp is one of the most sustainable and versatile crops on the planet, and hemp hearts are celebrated for their dense nutritional profile,” said Sofia Elizondo, co-founder, and COO of Brightseed. “The irony is that industry has been tossing the seed shells, or the outer wrapper of hemp hearts, without realizing they are a potential goldmine for human health. Armed with new insight, we can make better use of this sustainable resource.”

Things Are Just Heating Up, but There’s Still Much to Do

As geopolitical events cause an unprecedented rise in oil prices and the impetus to move away from petrochemical-based materials grows, these products represent a rare opportunity to produce textiles that sustainably replace plastics and other wasteful products. 

Which is perhaps why, despite the political headwinds, the outlook for hemp remains so optimistic. Allied Market Research estimated that the global market for industrial hemp was $4.9 billion in 2019 and forecasts that it will grow by over 22% annually to reach $18.6 billion by 2027.

Before that happens, though, we’ll need to see continued collaboration and innovation from the hemp industry. Brands like Human Plant Solutions, a Kansas startup that makes lower extremity prosthetics from hemp fibers want to source their high-quality hemp domestically, but found it’s not always so easy to do so.

“I bought hemp from other sources, and it wasn't hemp, it was flax or jute. It was hemp mixed with other materials,” said co-founder Sam Spallitta. “Sourcing 100% hemp yarn that is processed correctly took lots of time. [A hemp] infrastructure is not cheap and cannot be done by just one group. It's very important that higher education institutes, states, governments, and businesses work together towards a common goal.”

That mission is still ongoing. As an adaptive, disruptive, and forward-looking company, GÜDPHORIA is working to get us there. Starting in Spring 2022, GÜDPHORIA will plant a 10-acre hemp test plot in Central Oregon, and begin the development of a state-of-the-art hemp processing facility.