Bluebird Botanicals is one of the largest cannabidiol (CBD) companies in the U.S., and has great branding.

But are their products effectively formulated and accurately dosed? Are their products as potent as the CBD used in medical trials?

In this article we'll answer these questions and more. We’ll review Bluebird Botanicals CBD oil and CBD gummies, and highlight why the brand's independent testing is industry-leading, and why that matters.

Bluebird Botanicals CBD Oil Review

Bluebird Bot​​anicals CBD Oil is sold at two different doses: 10 milligrams (mg) and 25 mg. The ingredient label above is from the 25 mg CBD oil.

The first thing to note is that this is a clean formulation. The only ingredients are hemp extract, hemp distillate and organic coconut oil as a carrier oil. There are no added sugars, artificial flavorings or any other questionable additive ingredients. For this reason, from a health and safety perspective, we would recommend this CBD oil.

An extensive medical review on CBD for anxiety and sleep, published in The Permanente Journal, found the effective dosing range to be 25 mg to 600 mg. This suggests that Bluebird Botanicals' product is effectively dosed at the bottom of the therapeutic range.

The linked study finds that CBD is safe at doses up to 1,500 mg/day in humans. Since there is such a large dosing range, and because medical standards haven't yet emerged for optimized CBD dosing, we recommend that patients speak with their doctor about an appropriate dose for whatever specific health outcome they're seeking with CBD use.

A patient using CBD as a general relaxant will likely require a lower dose than a patient using CBD therapeutically to treat schizophrenia.

The good thing about Bluebird Botanicals' CBD oil is that it only has one active ingredient (hemp), so it's easy to adjust dose as needed. 15 drops of this product equates to 25 mg CBD, so a patient who wants to use 50 mg CBD can just use 30 drops.

Bluebird Botanicals CBD Gummies Review

Bluebird Botanicals CBD Gummies were our best overall pick in our review of the healthiest CBD gummies.

As we described in that article, we consider Bluebird Botanicals CBD Gummies to have a healthier formulation than most CBD gummies brands because they only contain 2 grams (g) added sugar, and some of that sugar is from whole foods ingredients like organic pear juice concentrate.

These gummies also contain fruit and vegetable juice as natural, whole foods colorants, which is a much healthier option than artificial food dye that many CBD gummies brands use.

While we consider this product to be the healthiest CBD gummy product we've reviewed, we we believe the CBD oil reviewed above is a much better option. These CBD gummies contain additive ingredients like organic sugar, citric acid and natural flavors which may not be healthy for human consumption.

Of note, citric acid is a preservative and flavor enhancer which has been shown in medical research to cause whole-body inflammatory reactions in a small subset of patients. Citric acid can be sourced from citrus fruits like lemons, but the majority of it used in manufacturing is sourced from a fungus called Aspergillus niger according to the linked research review.

Bluebird Botanicals CBD Oil is also much more cost-effective than the CBD gummies. The CBD Oil costs $169.95 and contains 120 servings of 25 mg, which equates to a per-serving cost of $1.42.

Bluebird Botanicals CBD Gummies costs $44.95 and contains 18 servings of 25 mg, which equates to a per-serving cost of $2.50.

Impressive Product Testing

Product testing where Bluebird Botanicals really stands out as a brand. Their website has a Batch Database page with updated third-party test results of every batch of their products. Their third-party lab tests for potency, heavy metals, pesticides and microbiology, and this is the most extensive set of batch testing data of any CBD brand we've reviewed.

Bluebird Botanicals products have also been tested and approved by the ConsumerLab team in their recent CBD review, which is further proof that Bluebird Botanicals CBD supplements are clean, potent and accurately labeled.

We hope to see more supplement companies adopting this level of testing and transparency in the future. The CBD industry at large seems to be leading the charge in this regard, since there is heightened regulatory scrutiny on the industry compared to herbal supplements and vitamins. 

Certified B Corp

Bluebird Bo​​​​tanicals is a Certified B Corp which is a voluntary certification which provides transparent metrics on ethical criteria, such as charitable donations and support for independent farmers. We consider this to be a good sign that the brand takes business ethics and sustainability seriously.

Bluebird Botanicals has a program where low-income consumers can receive substantial discounts on their products, which we think is commendable because income shouldn’t be a qualifier for access to good health.

To be transparent, the dietary supplement industry is one with high margins, so we’d like to see more companies making charitable efforts and achieving third-party certifications as Bluebird Botanicals has.

Conclusion

Bluebird Botanicals manufactures clean, effective products and we would recommend their CBD oil as the best CBD oil we've reviewed on Illuminate Health. We also consider their CBD gummies to be the healthiest CBD gummies available, although we would recommend the CBD oil over the CBD gummies, because it's cheaper per serving and contains no questionable additives like added sugar.

We commend Bluebird Botanicals for their transparency and investment into third-party testing. The brand publishes updated batch testing of every batch of every product they sell, which allows consumers to see for themselves that their supplements are accurately labeled, low in contaminants and as potent as advertised.

Bluebird Botanicals is also a verifiably ethical business, as they're a Certified B Corp and offer significant discounts to low-income consumers.