What you should know about Kratom
Mitragyna Speciosa, commonly known as Kratom, is an evergreen tree native to Southeast Asia. Leaves from this tree, which is within the coffee family, have been used in herbal medicine for hundreds of years. A recent study from John Hopkins Medicine showed Kratom was primarily bought by college-educated consumers for pain relief, and to treat anxiety as well as depression.
Novelty Express offers Kratom within a turnkey DSD Wellness program that is 100% guaranteed. We place the display, restock it with the best performing SKUs, and pull out any slow movers. We currently carry four Kratom product lines and our sales of Kratom products are up 11% YTD. Should trends or regulations change, we are your risk-free exit strategy.
Common Kratom Questions
“Is Kratom safe? ”
While Kratom has been used as a herbal therapeutic for hundreds of years, it has not been extensively studied in the United States.
“Natural Herb Kratom May Have Therapeutic Effects And Relatively Low Potential For Abuse Or Harm”
Johns Hopkins Medicine: https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/newsroom/news-releases/natural-herb-kratom-may-have-therapeutic-effects-and-relatively-low-potential-for-abuse-or-harm-according-to-a-user-survey
“At low doses, kratom produces stimulant effects with users reporting increased alertness, physical energy, and talkativeness. At high doses, users experience sedative effects. Kratom consumption can lead to addiction.”
DEA Fact Sheet, April 2020
At this time there are no FDA-approved used for Kratom, and as recently as 2018, banned both importing or manufacturing Kratom specifically as a dietary supplement.
“Where is Kratom legal? ”
While both the FDA and DEA have released warnings that some commercially available Kratom products may not be safe for consumption, there currently is no federal prohibition of Kratom, and though in 2016 the DEA announced plans to classify Kratom as a Schedule 1 controlled substance, as of writing, that has not happened, and reportedly was rejected for “embarrassingly poor evidence [and] data.”
In the below states, Kratom is illegal to purchase/sell or possess:
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- Indiana
- Rhode Island
- Vermont
- Wisconsin
While some states have opted to regulate instead of criminalize Kratom, in most, it remains completely legal and unregulated.
“What are the opportunities for c-stores?”
Consumer awareness and demand for Kratom is growing. But because federal or state regulation may ultimately may regulate consumer access to Kratom, it is inherently risky for retailers to carry inventory that with insufficient warning they won’t be able to sell. So, for some retailers, the incremental profits Kratom brings to their bottom-line may not be justified when facing a the risk of an abrupt category exit. For retailers bringing Kratom into their stores via Novelty Express, this risk is transferred off the retailer and onto Novelty Express. Should local or federal regulation lead to a forced exit from the category, Novelty Express will handle the exit for you. We will swiftly remove the product from your stores and credit you for any unsold inventory. At Novelty Express, we fully manage and guarantee the category for you. So your stores get to enjoy the growing upside while we handle any possible future exit and any associated risks surrounding that exit.