Bluebird Botanicals is a cannabidiol (CBD) brand that's popular in the US. The company describes itself as an "award winning Hemp Extract and CBD company," and they sell oils, gummies and topicals.
But does Bluebird Botanicals use effective CBD doses? Do they use any unhealthy ingredients? How has the brand performed in independent tests? And what was our honest experience trying Bluebird Botanicals CBD Oil and Gummies for a month?
In this article we'll answer these questions and more, as we analyze the ingredients in Bluebird Botanicals CBD Oil and Bluebird Botanicals CBD Gummies to give our take on whether or not they're effectively formulated.
We'll also share our honest experience purchasing and testing Bluebird Botanicals for a month straight, document how the brand performed in independent tests, and compare Bluebird Botanicals to other popular CBD brands to pick our winners (and losers).
Key takeaways:
- Passed independent testing
- High-quality formulations
- We currently recommend Bluebird Botanicals CBD Oil
We Tested Bluebird Botanicals
As one of the authors of this article, I wanted to order Bluebird Botanicals CBD Oil and CBD Gummies and try them myself to share my thoughts on the effects and the overall product experience.
While I liked the product (for reasons I'll detail below), my main complaint was about the overall order experience.
The product took 10 days to arrive, which is unacceptable for a domestic order, and I had to email the company to cancel my subscription (and wait several days for confirmation) because their online login wasn't working.
Now let's get to the good stuff:
I got a 60% discount for a subscription purchase, and they shipped a full gummy pack as a free gift with the order, which is quite generous.
The packaging was fully cardboard and plastic-free, which is a plus to me, and makes me more likely to re-purchase from an online retailer.
The CBD Oil had a very mild taste and helped with relaxation and sleep on days that I was stressed.
I don't take CBD on a regular basis, but this is a product I would purchase again because I trust the brand and product quality.
The CBD gummies were tasty but felt less healthy to me, and I also noticed less of a physiological effect while taking them.
If I were to re-purchase, I would only use the CBD oil.
Overall, I would rate Bluebird Botanicals 8/10.
CBD Oil Ingredient Analysis
The ingredients in Bluebird Botanicals Extra Strength CBD Oil are shown below:
image source: https://bluebirdbotanicals.com/
Full-spectrum hemp extract and broad-spectrum hemp distillate are the active ingredients in this formulation, and provide a total CBD dose of 25 milligrams (mg) per serving.
A medical review on CBD for anxiety and sleep, published in The Permanente Journal, reported the effective dosing range to be 25 mg to 600 mg.
This suggests that Bluebird Botanicals CBD Oil is effectively dosed for anxiety and sleep support.
There are no unhealthy inactive ingredients in this formulation like flavoring agents or sweeteners, which is a good thing from a health perspective.
Overall, we consider Bluebird Botanicals CBD Oil to be effectively-dosed, well-formulated and likely to support relaxation and sleep.
Independent Test Results
The Bluebird Botanicals website has a Batch Database page with updated third-party test results of every batch of every product sold.
The results show both potency and contaminant test results:
image source: https://bluebirdbotanicals.com/
Bluebird Botanicals CBD Oil passed both purity and potency testing, meaning the supplement contained what the label claimed, at an accurate dose, and contained no harmful contaminants.
This is one of the most thorough batch testing resources from any CBD brand we've reviewed to date on Illuminate Health.
Most CBD companies publish some type of product testing, but Bluebird Botanicals is industry-leading in this regard.
CBD Gummies Ingredient Analysis
The ingredients in Bluebird Botanicals Full Spectrum CBD Gummies are shown below:
image source: https://bluebirdbotanicals.com/
We apologize for the low quality of this image; this is the image published by the brand on their website at the time of updating this article.
CBD is included at a dose of 15 mg, which is not an effective dose for sleep and anxiety according to the medical review cited in the previous Ingredient Analysis section.
Like most CBD gummies, this product contains several inactive ingredients that we consider to be questionable from a health perspective.
Added sugar is included at a dose of 2 grams (g) per serving, and while this is a small amount, refined sugar consumption in excess is associated in research studies with increased risk of heart disease and obesity, as we documented in our review of Space Gods Gummies.
Citric acid is a preservative and flavor enhancer which has been shown in medical research to cause whole-body inflammatory reactions in some individuals.
Natural flavors is a better choice than artificial flavors, but added flavors can contain solvents and preservatives according to a medical review published in the Food and Chemical Toxicology journal.
Overall, while this product is still a healthier choice than most CBD gummies we've reviewed, we consider Bluebird Botanicals CBD Oil to be a significantly healthier choice than Bluebird Botanicals CBD Gummies.
Bluebird Botanicals vs. Popular CBD Brands
Here's how Bluebird Botanicals compares to other popular CBD brands in terms of formulation quality, in our opinion:
PureKana
The CBD oil contains an ingredient called "natural sweeteners" which we've never encountered before in a formulation analysis.
This fails to even identify the sweeteners, which is a consumer health and safety risk.
Bluebird Botanicals is the winner in regard to product safety.
Winner: Bluebird Botanicals
Feals
Feals is one of the most popular CBD gummy brands on the market.
These gummies contain an artificial sweetener which is clinically shown to have negative effects on insulin.
Bluebird Botanicals is the healthier option.
Winner: Bluebird Botanicals
Apetropics One Chews
These CBD gummies contain artificial flavors, which is a greater health risk than anything in Bluebird Botanicals' gummies.
We consider Bluebird Botanicals to be the healthier and more reputable brand.
Winner: Bluebird Botanicals
Our Clean CBD Picks
Cornbread CBD Oil is our top overall CBD oil pick.
It has a clean formulation of organic hemp extract and organic coconut medium-chain triglycerides, and the brand publishes lab testing on every product page.
Cornbread CBD Gummies is our top CBD gummy pick.
This is the healthiest CBD gummy formulation we've come across, because the brand uses organic flavoring and organic beetroot for color.
Both of these products are the healthiest in the CBD category that we've come across to date.
Bluebird Botanicals Pros and Cons
Pros:
- CBD Oil has effective dose
- CBD Oil may support stress relief and sleep
- CBD Oil has no unhealthy additives
- CBD Oil is cheaper than some competitors
- We tested CBD Oil and liked its effects
- We tested CBD gummies and liked the taste
- Passed independent testing
- Publishes extensive third-party tests
- Healthier than popular competitors
Cons:
- CBD Gummies contain refined sugar
- CBD Gummies contain citric acid
- CBD Gummies contain natural flavor
- CBD Gummies only provide 15 mg CBD per serving
- Supplements don't appear to be clinically tested
