Spruce Review
By Amie Brown
Updated May 17, 2022
Are you looking for an unbiased, thorough, and evidence-based Spruce CBD review? Interested in discovering what their best CBD oil products are? Excellent! You’re in the right place. For starters, let’s take a quick look at how they scored and the general reasons why:
Spruce earned an overall score of 42% based on the scores earned in the following rating categories:
77% in Trust and Transparency due to a few small issues that added up.
93% in Ingredients because Spruce does a really good job of using natural ingredients, overall.
0% in Lab Testing from there being “deal-breaker” problems across the board.
0% in Product Safety based on not being able to verify that the lab testing is valid.
Check out the original scoring sheets here.
- Spruce has been in business since 2018.
- The product line includes oil drops, gummies, topicals, and capsules for sleep.
- They offer full-spectrum CBD (formula differences info screenshot).
- Prices are a teeny-tiny bit above average at roughly $0.12 per milligram of CBD (what should it cost screenshot).
- Shipping costs aren’t clearly stated.
- There doesn’t appear to be a rewards program.
- Save 15% with the subscription program and get free shipping.
- Spruce CBD doesn’t have an assistance program.
Go To...
Trust and Transparency
How straightforward and trustworthy is this company?
The return policy states that you can get a refund for a return if it’s an unopened/new product. A refund is possible for used/opened products if you’re either a new customer or if it’s your first time buying a particular product, but it’s not clear which one applies (screenshot). Customer service was not at all helpful when I requested clarification.
Frankly, I think that the products are unjustifiably expensive. Spruce says the high prices are because it’s potent CBD, but there’s nothing to back that claim, given the lack of proper lab testing (see Lab Testing for details).
There are reviews on the Spruce website. However, until roughly August 2020, it appears that consumers were strongly “incentivized” (screenshot) with free products to send in a glowing review (videos in particular). I’d keep that in mind when looking at the overall star ratings.
- They have a 3.4-star rating on Truspilot based on one review.
- With the Better Business Bureau (BBB) they have an A+ standing, aren’t accredited, don’t have any reviews, and have had no complaints.
- The website is poorly designed. For example, important pages like the FAQs and lab testing results are only accessible from the homepage.
Ingredients
Are they natural and high-quality?
Spruce uses natural ingredients except for the CBD Lotion (screenshot).
I’m a fan of how Spruce doesn’t add unnecessary active ingredients to products (except the Sleep Capsules). They let the CBD stand on its own merit. See why it’s a big deal screenshot.
Spruce talks a lot about their CBD oil being “lab grade“. Frankly, that doesn’t mean anything and it’s just marketing jargon.
Ingredients are listed on the product pages. Unfortunately, there aren’t photos of the product packaging to verify this info (with one small exception). I like to imagine that Spruce is honest about their ingredients but it’s important to have photos for full transparency.
I agree with Spruce’s current statement on their website in an FAQ (screenshot), and in an email they sent me last year (screenshot), about how gummies are a waste of money and an “ineffective” way to use CBD. Yet, they recently started carrying gummies. Their explanation is that they found a way to do it right…
The Gummies are manufactured in a facility that also processes peanuts, wheat, dairy, tree nuts, and soy products.
Spruce says that their oil drops are more bitter than other companies because they aren’t “watered down” with artificial sweeteners/flavorings. I’ve never tried Spruce CBD oil but based on my own extensive experience and research, I’m willing to bet that it’s actually bitter because they use the whole hemp plant. This highly entertaining 3-minute video explains it perfectly (made by Cornbread Hemp).
- I asked customer service if they would please send me a photo of the packaging for the Deep Chill CBD Lotion ingredients so I could verify them. They replied by sending the exact same list that’s on the product page. Side note: I wonder why an emoji of a dark skinned baby is used as the emoji for the shea butter (screenshot)?
- The product line is small but I’ve found that’s usually a good thing (see why screenshot).
Lab Testing
Is there Certificate of Analysis (COA) lab testing?
It’s not possible to verify that any of the lab testing is for the correct and final product, what you actually use. In other words, there’s no way to know if the testing is trustworthy and valid. Learn why final product testing is crucial screenshot.
- For the oil drops, only a CBD concentrate/extract is tested, presumably the one that’s used in making the final product. It’s always a photo of something in an unidentifiable vial/container (example screenshot).
- For topicals, it looks like a topical but who knows which one, and it’s also in unmarked vials/containers (example screenshot).
- Testing for the gummies shows a slab of what appears to be one flavor of gummy (out of three) and it’s clearly not the final product (screenshot).
- There isn’t any testing for the Sleep Capsules.
Spruce claims to have potent CBD oil but without final product testing, there’s no way to know if that’s accurate.
The lab testing is currently only accessible via the homepage, inside one of the FAQs.
- It’s a major hassle to try and download lab reports because it doesn’t give you the choice of what to name the file (it’s a bunch of random letters/numbers) or where to save it.
Product Safety
What are the results of the COA lab testing?
Without proper testing, there’s no way to evaluate safety.
Although it doesn’t apply to the final products sold to consumers, I want to be fair in saying that the tested substances appear to be free of contaminants.
Best Products
CBD Truth Finder can’t recommend products from unranked companies and I am not affiliated with Spruce in any way. That being said, I think these are their best CBD oil products (what this is based on):
Oil Drops
The oil drops don’t have any unnecessary ingredients.
Some of the drops have flavor options.
Strengths range from 750mg to 2,400mg.
(This doesn’t include the CBN drops.)
Topical
Spruce notes this salve is more oily than the cream and the consistency is something similar to Vaseline yet a little bit firmer.
All-natural ingredients and nothing unnecessary.
Available in 1,000mg and 2,000mg strengths.