Founder’s Hemp™ Review

Written by Tyler Swell — Edited by Cathy Rozyczko on February 9, 2021

Did you know? George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, two of America’s early presidents, were both hemp farmers. In fact, the Declaration of Independence was first drafted on paper made of — you guessed it — HEMP. Founder’s Hemp draws on the rich history of hemp production in the United States and want to bring the industry back for the benefit of us all. We think their spirit is infectious, but the more solid stuff we look for is missing. CBD extraction method? We’re not sure. Tests for contaminants and purity? Not even mentioned. We investigated this family of brands from top to bottom but still have unanswered questions.

Founder’s Hemp was spearheaded by Bob Crumley, a business executive in North Carolina who played an integral part in passing 2015 legislation that legalized hemp production in the state. His efforts began like so many in the CBD business — with heartache. Three of Bob’s close friends were diagnosed with serious illness which prompted him to conduct massive research on pharmaceutical alternatives. In this search, he uncovered the astounding history of hemp in America and wanted to be a part of bringing back its widespread cultivation and use.

Founder’s Hemp has a really cool (and accurate) video on their site that goes through hemp’s history in the U.S. We like their historical spirit and passion for the industry, as evident in Bob’s founding of the North Carolina Industrial Hemp Association that provides assistance to growers in the state. The company claims to be vertically integrated, and while they currently use American-grown hemp, they are working on contracts with farmers who will grow exclusively for Founder’s Hemp.

Founder’s Hemp has a family of six brands, but we will solely focus on those who offer CBD products, including:

• Historical Remedy – This sector offers both isolate and full spectrum CBD tinctures with ingredients we approve of: essential oils, cannabidiol, and grapeseed oil. They also manufacture full spectrum CBD capsules, CBD gelcaps (isolate), and CBD gummies (isolate).
• Hemp Symmetry – The products under this brand include CBD tinctures with both full spectrum and isolate options. Other options are CBD honey sticks, full spectrum capsules, gelcaps, CBD gummies with all-natural flavors and colors, essential oil/CBD blends, and Hemp Freeze, a CBD topical. We’re down with all the ingredients in this line except for the polysorbates in the gelcaps and those in the Hemp Freeze which include PEG 100 stearate, polysorbates, dimethicone, and phenoxyethanol. We don’t vibe with the synthetic stuff.
• Howlin’ Hemp – CBD treats and tinctures for dogs.
• Hemp Excellence – We found this health and beauty line to be misleading; only one product, the gelcaps, actually contains CBD oil. The hemp lotion, body butter, lip balm, and body oil spray all use hemp seed oil instead of cannabidiol, but the way they are marketed points to CBD topicals. Good thing we checked the ingredients.

We can’t help but be a little bewildered by the company’s decision to include all these brands, especially since they contain strikingly similar offerings. But that’s ultimately not the issue for us.

What IS an issue is the failure to mention third-party testing of the cannabidiol used in Founder’s Hemp products. They aren’t clear about their extraction method, either. They say they use the “same extraction process that our forefathers used hundreds of years ago,” but we could find no evidence of American forefathers using any particular extraction process to make hemp oil. Perhaps they’re referring to solvent extraction or olive oil extraction, both of which would have been available in the 18th century.

We also could find no evidence of the charity C Me Help, a nonprofit supposedly started by the company’s founder. The Charity Badge is therefore amiss as well.

Bottom Line – Founder’s Hemp has a great mission to bring hemp production back to its rightful place in the heart of America, but we cannot overlook their failure to disclose their CBD extraction method and their apparent lack of any testing protocols whatsoever.