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After decades of being known by the acronym CBD, Christian Book Distributors has rebranded as Christianbook due to confusion regarding the increased popularity of cannabidiol (the other CBD), "a nonintoxicating component of cannabis that is formulated in a variety of products," the New York Times reported. Although the toll-free phone number for Ray Hendrickson's family-owned business is 1-800-CHRISTIAN, the company's initials have been drawing a different clientele.
"A person may call up and say, 'Hey, I'm looking for my order,' " he said. "It's like, 'What did you order? Oh, I ordered gummies. You don't have the right company.' "
Hendrickson, who launched the company 40 years ago with his brother Stephen, now employs 600 people, selling Christian literature, DVDs, giftware and home-school products to churches, religious institutions and individuals.
"The problem is the other CBD is just so popular at this point in time that it just kind of overwhelms our brand," he added.
Hendrickson noted that even though Christianbook owns the web address cbd.com, search engines routinely turn up results for cannabis: "If you look at the main page, we're nowhere to be found.... I was driving my mom down the road recently. She saw a sign that said 'CBD sold here.' I was like, 'No, mom. That's not us.' "