A TRIP down CBD lane

TRIP was launched by Olivia Ferdi and Daniel Khoury after a personal experience with CBD, and first hit supermarket shelves in 2019

Founded by wife-and-husband duo Olivia Ferdi and Daniel Khoury after a personal experience with CBD, TRIP first hit supermarket shelves in 2019.

Having never heard of CBD previously, Daniel was recovering from a football accident that required knee surgery, just weeks before their wedding. He tried CBD oil after being told that he wouldn’t be able to walk down the aisle and was amazed to see his pain and inflammation reduced. Within seven weeks he made a miraculous recovery in time for their wedding and was dancing, crutches-free all weekend long!

Blown away, the pair dove into research about CBD and learnt that CBD had recovery benefits but was in fact most frequently used for daily stress and wellbeing. Working as a lawyer, Olivia struggled with burnout and anxiety and looking for a solution, she began using CBD everyday. It was transformational for everyday stress – but back in 2018 there were very few products available. The only products out there had confusing product information, unappealing formats or flavours and packaging that she didn’t feel comfortable having on her desk at work.

Facing these challenges, they knew that they could help so many more people benefit from the stress-relieving benefits experienced; and create something high quality and relevant for today’s consumers.  So moved by their experience, Daniel and Olivia pooled their savings and left their careers in finance and law, to dedicate their time in creating the TRIP range.

Founders of TRIP, Olivia Ferdi and Daniel Khoury, first started working on TRIP on 2018 before its launch in 2019.

Since then, Olivia and Daniel have introduced millions of people to their first CBD experience and today represents a new, functional consumer category that did not exist previously, supporting everyday health, well-being and stress relief. TRIP is the UK’s number one CBD brand according to Nielsen and the fastest growing soft-drinks brand in the UK, owning 88 percent of the CBD drinks market in the UK (Nielsen).

Getting a CBD beverage to market in the UK

Olivia and Daniel put their personal savings together to launch TRIP and left their corporate careers. Passionate about creating something to bring millions of people the mental stress relief they had experienced, TRIP was launched in 2019.

TRIP’s brand vision is central to its viral success, its aesthetic and calming visuals are recognisable across advertising to every touch point on the product. Co-Founder Olivia designed the can herself and knew that a playful memorable name, together with the product packaging would be instrumental in the mission to destigmatise the conversation around mental health using CBD wellness.

Convincing nationwide retailers of CBD’s health benefits and the significant community already supporting TRIP online, TRIP was on shelves where no CBD product had previously existed. Stockists currently include Sainsburys, Boots, Ocado, Waitrose, Asda, as well as premium partners such as Selfridges and Soho House. In fact, the beverage is now sold as a daily item in meal deals across the UK in Leon, Benugo and Sainsburys.

Causing a calming frenzy

The entire TRIP team takes great pride in the TRIP community, a group of millions of people who have enjoyed a TRIP product and shared their personal stress or anxiety journey. Whether dealing with cramps, to poor sleep, to pain or social anxiety, millions of people have found ways to support their wellbeing and find immense relief.

FDA says new regulatory pathway is needed for CBD products

TRIP advocates to destigmatise CBD and conversations around mental health, with co-founder Olivia believing that there is no true health without good mental health.

A significant milestone in 2023 has been the announcement of the TRIP partnership with Calm, an app for mindfulness and meditation. Partnering with a world leading brand for mental health signals the brand work TRIP has been doing in this space, especially delivering what we call “canned calm”.

Consuming CBD “all day every day”

TRIP beverages can be consumed all day every day. Our Cold Brew Coffee is great for a caffeine kick to start the day or pre workout, whereas our lightly sparkling drinks can be consumed to reset when the afternoon slump hits. TRIP is sociable and can be enjoyed anytime, solo and as an alcohol alternative.

TRIP drinks are sold in a variety of flavours in stores across the UK. The company also sells CBD oil.

Getting great sleep is essential for good days. We have unique botanical blends of stronger CBD in our CBD drops, using chamomile to help destress. Taking a few drops of CBD first thing in the morning to keep stress at bay, then also in your wind down before bedtime – can really help calm racing thoughts and help you drift into sleep. It doesn’t make you sleepy or drowsy, but CBD helps you feel less stressed and more relaxed – which can really help with deeper sleep.

A drink for all times of day

For the tens of millions of people that we’ve introduced to CBD, it’s incredible to hear how different people use it. In the last couple of years we’ve seen a step change in our Gen Z community, who we think choose TRIP as the way to unwind instead of alcohol. In fact, among Gen Z (the most likely age group to be teetotal) one in two have now tried a CBD drink, according to KAM Media. 

Millions already find calm through the functionality of CBD drinks and this has been clear on social media, where TRIP has gone viral, with over 50 million impressions on TikTok and Instagram last month alone. On TikTok “#anxiety” has 26 billion views, meaning it makes sense to us that our social community is driving TRIP growth by sharing their personal experiences of how our drinks can reduced their stress and anxiety.

At the same time, the UK is more stressed than ever before and TRIP’s unique blend of CBD and natural adaptogens has the potential to aid stress, reduce anxiety, improve sleep & support the immune system and our natural adaptogens (ginseng, L-theanine & chamomile) help aid digestion & immunity. TRIP’s mission is the share calm in the everyday chaos, and destigmatise conversations around mental wellbeing globally.

From the first sip, our community reported feeling instantly more relaxed, with 93 percent of people stating that TRIP helps them manage their stress & anxiety. This led TRIP to become a mental wellbeing resource helping people through products that cater to daily stress.

Tripping into the future

As a company we believe that TRIP is here to help consumers create calm in those everyday moments of chaos. In the future we want to be available for consumers whenever they made need us in whatever format they want to reach whether that in the back of an Uber, in an office building or in local supermarkets.