In this review, we have another edible to try out, this time from Hemptotally, a newly-discovered company whose THC-Free Organic CBD Balm we recently reviewed. As their balm ended up as a top-scoring product, we are curious to see if this trend occurs across their other products or if the balm is a one-off product which really delivers the goods.
The only way to know how consistent we find Hemptotally to be with their products is to proceed with our own analysis and testing, as per our usual process.
But first, a quick overview of our scoring system, so you know how we perform our assessments and come up with recommendations…
Scoring Overview
We have worked diligently to create a fair and honestly-weighted scoring algorithm which establishes an overall score based upon four categories, as follows:
- Potency – we consider the potency factor to be the most important factor in our evaluation process, since this involves independent, third-party testing of the CBD content as advertised on their packaging; we allow a 20% variance from the total claimed on the package, but begin shaving points off the 10-point maximum score once variance exceeds 10%
- Effects – in this category, we get the subjective feedback from our testers as to how the product affected them
- Taste – another subjective category, our testers each provide feedback on the taste of the product under review
- Packaging – we feel that presentation is equally important, so our testers, who are quite particular about package quality, voice their opinions on the packaging of the product
A little more about the potency factor: it is allotted greater weight, because this is the only objective factor among the four categories. Each factor is scored between 1 and 10, but the potency factor is boosted by 5, while the remaining categories each have a weight of 1. In all, this works out to a weighted system with 8 points, of which over half reflects our lab test results.
Our CBD Scoring System page offers you a fuller and deeper explanation of how our scoring system works, but rest assured it is structured to provide you with fair and transparent scores to assist you in selecting the right CBD products for your own well-being.
Now that we have that explanation clarified, let’s proceed with our review of Hemptotally’s Vegan CBD Gummies (20 mg), by starting with a look at their website.
Hemptotally
As mentioned in our THC-Free Organic CBD Balm review, the Hemptotally website focused nicely on their product line but were rather mum about the organization and the folks who brought it all together.
Upon further and deeper exploration of various pages, it became clear to us that Hemptotally is geared more for the wholesale and private label sector, which is why we think there was so little about the company itself. The website’s home page of the site has three main sections:
- Store Products – they cut right to the chase and offer a list of featured products along with a link to their store to browse everything they offer
- Affiliate Promotion – next, they have a section with a blurb to encourage affiliates to promote their products, earning commissions for each sale
- Wholesale/Private Label – this final section is designed to attract companies seeking wholesale or private label products to brand as their own
The Contact Us page gave little extra information beyond their physical address (they operate out of Irwindale, CA), their business hours, an unlinked email address, and telephone number. Right underneath this information sits a picture of their business (we think!), and a short paragraph hyping the benefits and importance of hemp. Buried within that paragraph was what we believe is their general mission statement: “…we’ve made it our mission to make wholesome products that provide all the benefits of the hemp plant.” You can’t get much more general than that!
There is also a contact form on the Contact Us page, so you can send them a message if you wish.
As stated in our review on their balm, and we will repeat it here now, we would have appreciated more information about the people behind the scenes, but considering other CBD websites we have encountered (or not, like the two reviews we made which didn’t even have a website to promote their products: Good Things Coming and Pro Naturals), this is certainly not the worst or least informative of the manufacturers we have reviewed.
However, that being said, our opinion remains firm that telling us nothing about you can leave us making incorrect assumptions or guesses which could be unfairly detrimental to your reputation. For your own good, tell us your story, so we don’t make up our own!
Okay, stepping off the soap box now… let’s now check out their Vegan CBD Gummies page…
Vegan CBD Gummies
Upon landing at the product page for the Vegan CBD Gummies, we found much more valuable information with which to work, making our task easier and offering us some enlightenment as to what we would soon be trying.
Their Vegan CBD Gummies come in two package sizes: 10 pieces of 20 mg CBD gummies (for a total of 200 mg CBD) and 20 pieces (for 400 mg CBD). For shoppers who know what they want, you can quickly select your package size and quantity and check out immediately. (By the way, Hemptotally refers to this product as “high dosage” and also offers a “low dosage” gummy product where each gummy contains 10 mg of CBD.)
If you want to learn more about this edible, just keep reading, as all the salient information resides on this one page. The next section provide a brief write up about gummies. The key points were:
- Organic and Vegan – these gummies will meet just about anyone’s needs, thanks to having both organic and vegan properties
- Broad-Spectrum CBD – assures the reader of getting maximal benefits by using a broad-spectrum extract
- More Hemp Ingredients – included in the broad-spectrum extract are other hemp essentials, such as
- Phytocannabinoids
- Terpenes
- Flavonoids
- Amino Acids
Of course, ingredients are of the utmost importance and interest to us, and thankfully we weren’t required to dig deep to learn which ingredients are used in its creation:
- Hemp Extract – the reason you are eating this gummy, the broad-spectrum form of extract delivers the important hemp elements listed above
- Malt Syrup – a natural sweetener used widely in the food and beverage industry
- Granulated Sugar – this is dusted on top of each edible as an extra sweetener
- Pectin – the starch which gives jams and jellies its semisolid texture
- Citric Acid – this is what gives a tarty and sour sensation in citrus fruits
- Lactic Acid – created through fermented sugars, it’s dairy-free and popular in many vegan foods
Suggested dosage for their gummies is, according to the website, one or two per day, as needed. However, to us, “as needed” can be interpreted to mean take them whenever you feel like it!
Nevertheless, after reading about the ingredients, our taste buds started acting up and insisted on attention, so we were ready to do our job of testing the product!
The CBD Informative Testing and Rating
In case you’re new to our website and reviewing system, here is how it works…
We have built a relationship with Level One Labs, Arizona’s top-rated cannabis testing lab. We send them the product we will be testing, and they perform their expert analysis. This independent and unbiased result reveals the information we are seeking: to compare their CBD content claims as printed on the packaging with our scientifically-derived result. If the results from Level One Labs are within a 10% range of the state CBD content, they earn a full 10 out of 10 points in their score. Any deviation beyond that 10% range (either above or below) starts costing them points in this most important of all scoring factors.
Third Party Test Results
The Certificate of Analysis for Hemptotally’s Vegan CBD Gummies shows 18.812 mg of CBD per gummy; as this is well within the 10% range (to be precise, within 5.96% of the product claim!), this product pulled in the enviable maximum score of 10 out of 10.
Of course, seeing such a strong start is always encouraging for our testers, so everyone was ready to take the plunge and give these gummies a whirl. But first, as always, let us share our impressions of the company with you.
CBD Informative Assessment
Now it is our turn to give you the team assessment of the company and how the product affected them personally.
The Manufacturer – Hemptotally
We understand they focus their business towards wholesalers and companies seeking private label products to which they can add their own brand. Having already sailed through with flying colors on their balm which we reviewed, we understand their preferred direction and laud it as a line of quality products. However, we still wish they shared a bit more about their process.
That being said, we still remain quite impressed with the company and their products. For instance, as we mentioned in our review of their balm, we were super-impressed by the thought and care which went into putting together our order. We cannot emphasize enough how much we appreciated the facts that they even included a personal Thank You note and carefully arranged our order so it all really popped out when we opened the shipping package.
However, when it came to the actual packaging of the gummies, we felt it lacked a little oomph. The somewhat bland pastel coloring reminded us of Ananda Hemp‘s old packaging of tincture oil before they upgraded to a more colorful and brighter look. We would recommend the same approach for Hemptotally for their edible products; make the packaging as deliciously colorful as possible to whet the appetite and make it pop out in the customer’s face.
Due to the rather ho-hum gummy package, they scored a 9 out of 10 on this category.
The Product – Vegan CBD Gummies (20 mg)
Despite the minor ding on packaging, Hemptotally is still looking good and showing strong scores. This made us even more excited about getting down to the nuts and bolts of the testing process: trying them out for taste and effects.
If you are a regular reader of our reviews, you already know how tough it is to get the taste right. So many products, both edibles and tinctures which are ingested, end up leaving an odd aftertaste, particularly after belching. Other edibles and tinctures simply can’t get the taste right in the first round, mixing in other noticeable and overwhelming taste sensations.
Consequently, our testers were thrilled to note the gummies delivered very good tastes, with no weird aftertastes. Because the package includes a variety of flavors, we did find a preference of some flavors over others. However, this was so minor as to only merit a very minor ding, resulting in a 9.75 out of 10 score for taste.
On the effects, they were good. Not as great as the taste, but we attribute that to the fact that some potency is lost during the digestion process, meaning our testers did not get as full effects as they would have liked or expected. Because of this, there was a modest markdown on effects, ending with a 9.2 out of 10 score.
We also noticed each gummy was sugar-coated (it’s hard to miss!), but were surprised to find refined sugar was not included under “Supplement Facts.” Even though sugar is listed on the ingredient list, individuals who must monitor their sugar intake (or avoid it entirely) should be fully informed about its presence in every place possible. We believe this is an oversight that hopefully will be remedied in the near future.
Finally, they seem to emphasize the “vegan” aspect of their gummies, a bit to our puzzlement. We aren’t sure how large of a vegan CBD market is out there, but it is great they are serving this niche. However, we went for these gummies in spite of them being vegan, not because they were made for vegans. We’re just not certain how much of a marketing boost they are getting by promoting it as vegan.
The CBD Informative Overall Rating for Hemptotally Vegan CBD Gummies (20 mg) – 9.74
In our opinion, and based upon both objective and subjective testing, Hemptotally’s Vegan CBD Gummies (20 mg) is a sure winner for edible fans, clocking in a final impressive score of 9.74! Potency and taste put them at the top of the scoreboard, while their packaging and effects were acceptable enough to not penalize them in their total score. If you like to treat your sweet tooth as you take your daily CBD dosage, then you want these gummies on your shelf!
(Gummy lovers may wish to learn about Pucks Cannabis Confections, another high-scoring CBD:THC edible we also strongly endorse.)
We also recommend you check out our review of another great product by Hemptotally, their THC-Free Organic CBD Balm (1000 MG), the first CBD topical we ever reviewed and which scored incredibly well!
