Retail store Coastal Hemp Co. has opened in Porters Neck Center offering a variety of CBD products as well as eco-friendly and organic clothing.

Owner Melissa Becker and her husband, Dale Becker, decided to open the store, at 8211 Market St., after joining business partner Brian Obert.

“Coming up with the model was pretty simple,” Melissa Becker said. “We love natural organic products in the market. Reports show that it was a very promising market, as well as CBD.”

The store carries items that have CBD in them such as oils, creams, bath bombs, pet products and edible products such as protein drinks, coffee, chocolate and more.

CBD, cannabidiol, is an active ingredient derived from the hemp plant that is used by many to treat a variety of health issues. CBD has been used to treat childhood epilepsy syndromes such as Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome.

Most of the merchants whose products Coastal Hemp Co. carries are from outside of North Carolina, but it has started to carry some local products including CBD honey from Huntsboro Hemp Company, Melissa Becker said.

As a nurse practitioner who has previously worked at PPD and IQVIA (formerly Quintiles) doing drug research, Melissa Becker used her knowledge to select products that were safe and had third-party testing, she said.

“The merchants that we have, have their certificate of analysis on their websites,” Melissa Becker said. “They’re very transparent. That (certificate of analysis) shows you what is inside of your bottle of CBD that you're actually getting.”

She said they decided to open the store in Porters Neck because they wanted a diverse population.

“We wanted to be in an area that would be suitable for not only a CBD store but a retail boutique,” Melissa Becker said. “But also looking at the population, we've got great retirement populations around Porters Neck area. The foot traffic here is phenomenal probably mainly because of K38 and Port City Java.”

Finding a location for the store was difficult because they sell CBD, she said.

“Some landlords were not comfortable with having (CBD) retail places within their areas. And I can understand that just based on the current vape and smoke shops that we have around and a lot of them associate that if you're going to sell CBD that you're a vape smoke shop,” she said. “We did want to change that model for our company to make it more comfortable for people to come into. People can come in, they can buy clothing, they don't have to buy any CBD products or they can buy CBD products.”

With the new store, Melissa Becker hopes to provide more educational opportunities for those interested in learning about CBD products and how to use them, she said.

Nicholas Silivanch with Eastern Carolinas Commercial Real Estate represented the landlord in the Coastal Hemp transaction, and Eian Lundy with Carolina Investment Properties represented the tenants.