Receptra Naturals Review
Certain factors can make or break a CBD brand, such as how a company sources its hemp, or if the labeling matches what is inside the products.
At The CBD Insider, we measure the excellence of a brand by four primary criteria:
- Where and how the company sources its crop
- The extraction methods used
- The extent to which their products are tested by independent, third-party laboratories
- A current Good Manufacturing Practice certification with the FDA
Receptra Naturals Background
Receptra Naturals was founded in 2015. The team there has been dedicated to creating high-quality products made from premium materials since the beginning.
More importantly, they desire to educate the public about the benefits of CBD and give back to communities both small and large.
Based in Greenwood Village, Colorado, a city in the southern part of the Denver metropolitan area, the company sources all its hemp from Colorado family farms.
The farmers use organic methods to cultivate the plant and then handpick the hemp flowers at harvest time.
Receptra is so hands-on that the entire team participates in the planting and shucking of the crop.
It’s also important to those at Receptra to be involved in the community, especially with those who enjoy being active.
Receptra has partnered with multiple athletes from a range of sports such as MMA fighters, former and current NFL players, professional skateboarders, and hockey players.
What Makes Receptra Naturals Unique?
Receptra Naturals is a unique CBD brand for three primary reasons:
Efficacious Products: What makes Receptra unique is that they create their products solely from hemp flower, as opposed to the stalk and stems that most other companies use.
The flower is richest in cannabinoids (like CBD) and terpenes versus other plant parts, and while it’s also more expensive to use, Receptra prioritizes quality over cost.
Also, Receptra utilizes the synergy between natural botanicals and hemp extract, such as valerian root to promote rest and passionflower to reduce stress.
Our team has been extremely impressed with the benefits we noticed from Receptra’s products, which has led to us awarding Receptra as having the best CBD oil and the best CBD topical of 2020.
Transparency: Unlike other brands, Receptra provides an interactive COA that teaches consumers how to properly read and understand a COA, a testament to the company’s goal to educate consumers.
Every product also comes with a QR code that will directly access the product’s corresponding COA when they scan the QR code with their phone.
Most QR codes from other brands are simply a link to the company’s third-party testing page, leaving customers to input the batch code.
The COAs that Receptra provides are easy to understand and plainly display the necessary information.
Philanthropy: Receptra is an active and valued participant in the local and global community.
Receptra has partnered with several athletes, including more than 30 MMA fighters, winter sports athletes, professional skateboarders, current and retired NFL players, and hockey players from the NHL down to the high school level.
These partnerships have not only helped athletes perform their best, but also spread the word about CBD and its benefits.
The company has also launched a giving program called Receptra Gives. For example, the initiative sent proceeds from Receptra’s CBD pet sales to help displaced animals that were affected by the California wildfires in November 2018.
Receptra also works with Mission K9 Rescue to help fund the relocation of working military and police dogs to put them in good homes.
Additionally, Receptra has teamed up with Trees for the Future, a nonprofit organization working to end hunger and poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa. This partnership used proceeds from Receptra’s sales to help plant trees and educate farmers on sustainable farming techniques.
These philanthropic efforts are part of the reason Receptra Naturals was ranked as one of Forbes’ Top 25 CBD Companies of 2019.
Receptra’s Sourcing Methods
Receptra works with family farms from Colorado to source its hemp, the number of which varies from year to year.
These farmers use organic methods and handpick the hemp when harvest time comes around, allowing farmers to decide which specific plants are suitable for use and to preserve the cannabinoid content within.
What makes Receptra unique in this space is that they create their products from the hemp flower, as opposed to the stalk and stems that most other companies use.
The flower is richest in cannabinoids (like CBD) and terpenes versus other plant parts, and while it’s also more expensive to use, Receptra prioritizes quality over cost.
“Using hand-shucked hemp flower allows us to control quality of our products starting at the most foundational level,” said Bryanna Fissori, Receptra Content and Compliance Manager. “We are a wellness company, but that wellness starts with the highest-quality hemp we can grow.”
As an all-natural and organic company, Receptra has similar standards for its added ingredients.
Receptra sources these ingredients, such as essential oils and carrier oils, from various suppliers that qualify under current Good Manufacturing Practice guidelines.
One such supplier is Nutiva.
Nutiva is a popular company in the health and wellness industry that produces plant-based foods and body care products, and it also happens to be one of the few that carries certified organic MCT (medium-chain triglycerides) oil. Receptra uses this MCT oil as a carrier oil in all of their tinctures.
Receptra’s Extraction Methods
Receptra solely uses ethanol to extract oil from the hemp flower.
Ethanol is a clean and efficient extraction method well-suited for full-spectrum products.
The oil goes through about nine filtrations and then is purified to remove any residual solvent.
After that, Receptra mostly leaves the oil alone until it’s ready to be emulsified into their products.
“Our philosophy on our oil is once you extract it and purify it, and get your solvent out, you really shouldn’t touch it anymore after that,” said Chris Whaley, the Vice President of Operations and Chief Scientist at Receptra.
Leaving the oil in this crude state preserves the cannabinoids and terpenes within the oil, making it more likely to be effective.
Receptra conducts third-party testing with every batch of product they make. The Certificates of Analysis (COA) for each test are directly available on their site.
Receptra’s third-party labs test for cannabinoid concentration, microbes, heavy metals, and terpenes.
All products come up with a QR code that brings customers directly to the third-party results,
Unlike other brands, Receptra also provides a QR code on all of its products that brings customers directly to the third-party results of their products.
Every product also comes with a green label that provides its specific batch code.
“For people out there looking to buy,” said Whaley, “what needs to be their number one priority is making sure that the company you’re buying from is transparent about their testing and about their results.”
User Experience
Receptra’s site is simple, sporting a clean look and user-friendly functionality.
With a relatively small product offering, it’s easy to find any product you’re looking for.
The site also has an education tab that houses the company’s blog, which provides informative pieces on topics about what CBD is, how to use the cannabinoid, and even recipes involving CBD.
A page is also dedicated to lab results for all products, along with an explanation of how to read a COA.
Customer Service
According to Receptra’s site, orders typically arrive in 1-5 days after processing and depending on the shipping you choose.
Customers can request a refund within 30 days of purchase, and Receptra says they handle nearly all customer issues within 48 hours.
Our team was impressed with Receptra’s customer service, which was prompt and friendly, replying to an email within 15 minutes.
