Who Is CBDistillery? A Brand File on the Value-CBD Heavyweight
One of the biggest, most affordable CBD brands — and a more transparent one than its low prices suggest. It names its accredited labs, carries NSF and US Hemp Authority certifications, and rolls up to a publicly traded parent. A strong B, held just short of the top by thinner sourcing disclosure.
By The Kind Buds Desk · 11 min read · Updated 2026-06-29
Kind Buds Brand Transparency Score
A value-priced CBD heavyweight that's more transparent than it looks: named ISO-accredited labs (ACS, Botanacor), NSF cGMP and ISO 9001, US Hemp Authority certification, a public-company parent (Village Farms), and a clean FDA record with an A+ accredited BBB. Held short of an A mainly by thinner sourcing disclosure.
An opinion grade from our transparent 6-pillar methodology, built on publicly sourced facts.
Strong: public COAs with QR + batch-number lookup, and — unlike many peers — the testing labs are named (ACS Laboratory and Botanacor, both ISO/IEC 17025-accredited), plus US Hemp Authority certification. Full per-SKU panel scope isn't fully itemized.
Independent credentials: an NSF-registered cGMP facility and ISO 9001:2015 certification, with Colorado state health-department approval — though the specific facility isn't named.
US-grown non-GMO hemp with full-spectrum, broad-spectrum, and isolate options disclosed — but it's not certified organic, no farms are named, and the extraction method isn't stated.
Owned by a publicly traded parent (Village Farms International, NASDAQ/TSX: VFF) via Balanced Health Botanicals, with a disclosed $75M 2021 acquisition; founders and CEO are named.
A real Denver operation with named leadership; standalone headcount and financials are now folded into the public parent's consolidated reporting.
One of the cleaner records here: no FDA warning letter, an A+ BBB rating (accredited since 2019), US Hemp Authority certification, and no brand-specific lawsuit or recall — with only routine consumer billing/shipping complaints.
CBDistillery is the brand a lot of people buy when they want CBD without paying a premium — a huge, value-positioned catalog of oils, gummies, capsules, topicals, pet products, and delta-8/9 lines, built in Colorado in 2016. The interesting part, for our purposes, is that 'cheap' and 'transparent' usually don't go together — and CBDistillery is the exception. We ran it through our six-pillar Brand Transparency Score and it earns a B (80/100).
It gets there by doing the things our score rewards: it names the accredited labs that test its products (a rarity), it holds independent NSF and US Hemp Authority certifications, it rolls up to a publicly traded parent company whose filings disclose the ownership, and it has a notably clean regulatory record with an A+ accredited BBB. What keeps it from an A is mostly sourcing disclosure — it's not certified organic and doesn't name its farms or extraction method. We'll also correct a couple of widely-repeated myths about this brand, because getting them wrong would be both inaccurate and unfair. Here's the receipts-first reality.
The short version
- Our grade: B (80/100). A value brand with surprisingly strong, verifiable transparency.
- It names its labs. CBDistillery's COAs come from named, ISO/IEC 17025-accredited labs (ACS Laboratory and Botanacor), with QR + batch-number lookup — the gold-standard setup.
- Independent certifications. An NSF-registered cGMP facility, ISO 9001:2015, US Hemp Authority certification, and Colorado state health approval — outside credentials, not self-asserted badges.
- A public-company parent. CBDistillery's parent, Balanced Health Botanicals, was acquired in 2021 (for $75M) by publicly traded Village Farms International (NASDAQ/TSX: VFF), so ownership is disclosed.
- Two myths corrected. CBDistillery was NOT part of the FTC's 'Operation CBDeceit' (different companies), and its founders are Andy Papilion and Chuck McKenney — not the often-repeated wrong name. Its only FTC contact is a non-accusatory 2023 mass notice.
| What the public record shows | |
|---|---|
| Brand | CBDistillery (thecbdistillery.com) |
| Legal entity | Balanced Health Botanicals, LLC |
| Ultimate parent | Village Farms International (NASDAQ/TSX: VFF) — public |
| Founded | 2016, Denver, Colorado |
| Founders | Andy Papilion & Chuck McKenney; CEO Chase Terwilliger |
| Lab testing | Named ISO-17025 labs (ACS, Botanacor); QR + batch lookup |
| Certifications | NSF cGMP · ISO 9001 · US Hemp Authority |
| Hemp source | US-grown non-GMO; not certified organic; farms not named |
| BBB rating | A+ (accredited since 2019) |
| FDA / lawsuits / recalls | No FDA letter; no brand-specific suit; none found |
CBDistillery at a glance — the verified facts
The short version
CBDistillery is proof that affordable doesn't have to mean opaque. It names its accredited testing labs, carries independent NSF and US Hemp Authority certifications, discloses its ownership through a publicly traded parent, and keeps a clean regulatory record. That's a genuinely strong, verifiable transparency profile — and it's why a value brand lands a B.
The gaps are real but modest: it isn't certified organic, and it doesn't name its farms or extraction method, so the sourcing story is thinner than the testing story. We'll separate sourced fact from marketing, credit the openness, and clear up two myths that follow this brand around — one about the FTC, one about its founder.
Who's behind it? (Named — and two myths to kill)
The CBDistillery brand is operated by Balanced Health Botanicals, LLC, based in Denver, Colorado, and founded in 2016 by Andy Papilion and Chuck McKenney, two Colorado natives who thought CBD was overpriced. Its CEO is Chase Terwilliger. And there's a layer above it that matters: in 2021, Balanced Health Botanicals was acquired for $75M by Village Farms International, a publicly traded company (NASDAQ/TSX: VFF) — which means the ownership and the deal terms are disclosed in public filings.
Lab testing — it names the labs
This is CBDistillery's strongest pillar, and the thing that separates it from a lot of bigger-name competitors:
- Public COAs with QR + batch lookup. Each product's report is reachable by scanning a QR code on the label or entering the batch number on the lab-tests page.
- The labs are named. CBDistillery's reports come from ACS Laboratory and Botanacor — both ISO/IEC 17025-accredited independent labs. Naming the accredited lab is exactly what turns a COA from a piece of paper into a verification, and most brands in these files don't do it.
- US Hemp Authority certified, an independent industry certification, on top of the per-batch testing.
The one caveat: the full contaminant-panel scope isn't itemized per SKU on the index, so it's worth confirming on your specific product's COA. But "named accredited labs + QR/batch lookup" is the setup we most want to see, and CBDistillery has it.
Manufacturing and sourcing — strong certs, thin sourcing
On manufacturing, CBDistillery carries independent credentials rather than self-asserted ones: its facility is NSF-registered for cGMP (NSF conducts onsite inspections), it holds ISO 9001:2015 certification, and the facility is approved by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. The gap is that the specific facility isn't named, and the in-house-vs-contract split isn't detailed. On sourcing, it discloses US-grown, non-GMO hemp and offers full-spectrum, broad-spectrum, and isolate formulations — but it is not certified organic, it names no specific farms, and the extraction method (CO2 vs. ethanol) isn't stated. So the certifications and testing are strong; the farm-to-extract story is the thinner part, and the main reason this is a B and not higher.
The record: clean, with myths cleared
CBDistillery has one of the cleaner records in this series, and we verified the negatives rather than assuming them:
- No FDA warning letter. We found none naming CBDistillery or Balanced Health Botanicals — notable in a category where many big names got 2019-era letters.
- No brand-specific lawsuit or recall. The broader delta-8 class-action wave names other companies; we found nothing specific to CBDistillery, and no recall.
- BBB A+ — and accredited. Unlike most brands here (which carry A+ ratings but are not accredited), CBDistillery's parent has been BBB-accredited since 2019.
- The FTC footnote, stated correctly. Its only FTC nexus is the 2023 Notice of Penalty Offenses — a field-wide compliance reminder to ~670 advertisers that the FTC says is not an accusation. We count it as the non-event it is.
The honest negatives are ordinary: mixed consumer reviews citing shipping delays, billing complaints, and customer-service friction — the standard DTC grumbles, not a safety or transparency failing.
The bottom line
In our view, CBDistillery is the value brand that actually earns trust. It names its accredited labs, carries real independent certifications, discloses its ownership through a public parent, and keeps a clean regulatory record — the substance our score rewards, at prices well below the premium tier. The reasons it's a B rather than an A are specific and fair: it's not certified organic, and it doesn't name its farms or extraction method, so its sourcing transparency lags its strong testing transparency.
If you buy CBDistillery, you can do the verification most of the category makes hard: scan the QR for your batch's COA from a named, accredited lab. There are brands graded higher here (Charlotte's Web among them) that add USDA-organic farms and fuller disclosure — but CBDistillery is a genuinely solid, verifiable choice, and a value leader that doesn't cut the transparency corners. A B (80/100). The full methodology shows every point; certified-organic sourcing and named farms would push it toward an A (see the notice below).
Questions, answered
Is CBDistillery legit?
Yes — and it's one of the more transparent value-priced CBD brands. CBDistillery (operated by Balanced Health Botanicals, owned by publicly traded Village Farms) names the accredited labs that test its products (ACS Laboratory and Botanacor, both ISO/IEC 17025), carries NSF cGMP and US Hemp Authority certifications, offers QR + batch COA lookup, and has a clean regulatory record with an A+ accredited BBB. We grade it a B (80/100). The main thing keeping it from an A is sourcing disclosure: it's not certified organic and doesn't name its farms or extraction method. It is NOT, contrary to a common myth, part of the FTC's 'Operation CBDeceit.'
Who owns CBDistillery?
CBDistillery is operated by Balanced Health Botanicals, LLC, a Denver company founded in 2016 by Andy Papilion and Chuck McKenney, with Chase Terwilliger as CEO. Above that, it's owned by a publicly traded parent: Village Farms International (NASDAQ/TSX: VFF) acquired Balanced Health Botanicals for $75M in 2021, so the ownership and deal terms are disclosed in public filings. (To correct a frequently-repeated error: the founders are Papilion and McKenney — not the other name that circulates in AI-generated summaries — and there is no JBS or foreign-funding connection.)
Are CBDistillery's lab tests trustworthy?
Yes — this is its strongest area. CBDistillery posts public Certificates of Analysis reachable by scanning a QR code on the label or entering the batch number, and crucially it names the testing labs: ACS Laboratory and Botanacor, both ISO/IEC 17025-accredited. It's also US Hemp Authority certified. Naming an accredited lab and tying reports to specific batches is exactly the standard to look for, and most big CBD brands don't do it. The one caveat is that the full contaminant-panel scope isn't itemized per product on the index, so confirm the panel on your specific product's COA.
Was CBDistillery part of the FTC 'Operation CBDeceit'?
No — and this is an important correction, because the claim circulates online. The FTC's 'Operation CBDeceit' (announced December 2020, finalized March 2021) named six other companies; CBDistillery was not among them. CBDistillery's only FTC contact was its inclusion on a 2023 Notice of Penalty Offenses, which was a mass mailing to roughly 670 advertisers about substantiating product claims — and the FTC states explicitly that being on that list does not indicate the recipient has done anything unlawful. So there is no FTC enforcement action or settlement against CBDistillery; attributing 'Operation CBDeceit' to it would be false.
Is CBDistillery organic?
Not in the certified sense. CBDistillery discloses US-grown, non-GMO hemp and offers full-spectrum, broad-spectrum, and isolate formulations, but it is not USDA Certified Organic, it doesn't name specific farms, and it doesn't state its extraction method. That's the main gap that keeps it at a B rather than an A — its testing and certification transparency are strong, but its farm-to-extract sourcing story is thinner. If certified-organic sourcing is a priority for you, a brand like Charlotte's Web (USDA Organic, own farms) scores higher on that specific dimension; if value plus named-lab testing is what you want, CBDistillery is a strong pick.
How did you research this, and is it fair to CBDistillery?
Every claim is from a public source — CBDistillery's own site and lab-tests page, its parent's SEC/SEDAR filings and the $75M acquisition release, NSF and US Hemp Authority records, the BBB profile, and the FDA/FTC databases. We credited the genuine strengths (named accredited labs, independent certifications, public-company ownership, clean record) and were careful to correct two widely-repeated errors: CBDistillery was not part of 'Operation CBDeceit' (we explain its actual, non-accusatory FTC footnote), and its founders are Papilion and McKenney, not the misattributed name. The B reflects strong testing and certification transparency, held short of an A by thinner sourcing disclosure. If CBDistillery certifies organic and names its farms, we'll update the file — see the notice at the foot of this page.
Filed under Field Notes