How CBD oil gave two Mancs a new lease of life – and a booming business
Dr. Ed is the leading supplier of quality CBD oil in Manchester - sending more than 100,000 units to doors around the world; including those belonging to football and soap stars.
“I’d have a call with a client, and then as soon as the phone went down, I’d think: ‘He probably thought I was a dickhead.’”
Alex McMillan is remembering his life before CBD oil.
It was a time when he worked in the marketing sector, and every move he made was subject to scrutiny.
“I’d put off everything,” he tells The Manc.
“I’d refuse to open emails, I’d delay doing tasks.
ADVERTISEMENT
“My self-confidence was at an all-time low, and I didn’t want to go out as much.
“It’s hard to explain unless you have it. But anxiety just made me hyperanalyse everything.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Millions in the UK suffer from anxiety. According to the NHS, more than 5% of people in the country are out there right now, struggling to manage the problems that arise as a result of the condition.
Finding a way to relieve symptoms can prove to be a huge challenge.
But, in true British fashion, Alex’s path to recovery began with a bonding session in the pub.
ADVERTISEMENT
Pints in hand, Alex talked it all through with his buddy Ed, and with his knowledge they came to the conclusion that CBD oil – a liquid extracted from cannabis – could be a potential solution.
Dr. Edward Jones, who happened to have an extensive background in Neuroscience and numerous degrees from the University of Manchester, whipped up a recipe.
Today, the brand is the leading supplier of quality CBD oil in Manchester – sending more than 100,000 units to doors around the world; including those belonging to football and soap stars.
“Without naming specific names, I can’t believe how far it’s come and the diversity of our customers – from all walks of life.” Alex chuckles.
Now that its health benefits are all but confirmed, CBD oil is rapidly becoming a saturated marketplace.
First and foremost, it actually does what it says on the bottle. And second, it boasts some of the best flavours you’re ever likely to find in CBD oil, according to its founders.
“We use specifically grown Californian hemp which is then processed using advanced techniques with no harsh chemicals or solvent to produce raw CBD oil’ Ed explains.
“We also include added terpenes that give it a great taste. One of the biggest problems with a lot of CBD is that it often tastes awful; many cannot get over the inherently ‘weedy’ and ‘earthy’ taste and terpenes do wonders for the palatability.
“The most successful users of CBD take it every day and experiment with timing and dosing schedules. So if the oil doesn’t taste good, you’re not going to stick to it which is why flavour profile is so important to us.’’
ADVERTISEMENT
Happy customers have come flooding back to Dr. Ed after enjoying relief from anxiety; and by tweaking the formula, Dr Edward Jones has found a way to help ease other common ailments, too.
Their CBD oil range has now expanded from anxiety cures to pain relief, insomnia remedies and even PMS problems.
Other oils in the catalogue have also shown an ability to increase users’ libido and their energy levels based in part on the inclusion of other active ingredients alongside CBD.
Cannabis without THC – the part of the plant that triggers a psychoactive response – has acquired growing stature in the medicinal world over the past few years.
Whilst there remains tight regulation on the plant itself, CBD oil has been declared not only safe and legal but even healthful.
ADVERTISEMENT
“The rules are that the products have to be produced from hemp that contain less than 0.2% THC, and the final product must contain no more than 1mg of THC” Ed explains.
“Ours have zero THC as detected by our current lab partners.’
“We triple-batch test to make sure there’s no THC in there at all – and also to confirm each bottle contains the amount of CBD we say there is on the label.
“Sting operations among CBD oils are common. Many find that very little CBD is actually in there. But we always make sure there’s exactly the right amount.”
Alex calls their production process ‘fairly simple’, but ‘second-to-none’ in terms of results.
ADVERTISEMENT
“All the plants are grown and harvested in California, they extract the CBD and other cannabinoids, turning it into a waxy resin. This high quality resin is then processed by us in different ways to generate our unique product line’’, he tells us.
“It’s pretty simple, it’s just about getting those ingredients right and ensuring our mixing processes are accurate, reliable and clean. ‘’
Dr. Ed CBD has three full time members on the team right now, with numerous other part time support staff but they’re looking to triple full-time staff numbers by the end of the year.
A far cry from the job-cutting stories most businesses are despondently sharing in 2020.
The brand is also aiming to grow throughout Europe with more production plants – increasing distribution and expanding the product range.
ADVERTISEMENT
“I’m more confident and I’m a better person to be around since taking the oil,” says Alex.
“It’s just helped so much.”
With six-figure sales since launch, it looks like Dr. Ed’s oil has gone far beyond patient zero.
Thousands with anxiety are suddenly starting to feel a lot better.
Learn more about the products available from Dr. Ed by visiting the company website.
Feature
In celebration of Momo Shop: a Chorlton favourite that has flourished since its rebrand
Danny Jones
It’s not often we go out of our way to hammer home just how staggering we found a restaurant, but after now losing track of the number of times that a member of our team has eaten at Momo Shop in Chorlton and come back near speechless, it deserves more than a review.
We regularly hold ourselves back and resist the urge to talk in superlatives wherever possible, especially because we worry we might be falling into the recency bias trap, but in this instance, we’re going to go out on a limb and fall on our hospitality sword. Well, this particular writer is…
It’s official: Momo Shop Nepali Street Food – for our money, anyway – is up there with one of THE best restaurants in Manchester right now.
And there are plenty of reasons why, not least of all because of the years of practice they have feeding increasingly discerning Manc diners under a different moniker.
Simple but charming – all the focus is on the foodAnd the food speaks for itselfSome of the most flavourful fillings you’ll find in ManchesterBusy any given night of the weekNo review (Credit: The Manc Eats/Momo Shop via Instagram)
If you don’t live in/frequent Chorlton, you’ll be forgiven for thinking that this gaff was a somewhat new addition to Chorlton, but in actual fact it’s been gradually growing a loyal and passionate following for more than seven years.
This is because before the miniamlist rebrand that saw the walls stripped back, the exterior painted blue and cutesy little bits of artwork hung amidst that familiar and atmospheric festoon lighting, Momo Shop was once The Little Yeti.
Its former iteration boasted hundreds of glowing reviews in its own right, which already plated up plenty of stunning Nepalese food, but since switching primarily towards serving a menu primarily made up of momos (Tibetan-style fried dumplings hand-folded into various shapes) they’ve well and truly shone.
Now approaching a full 12 months under the new name, the Nepali street food spot isn’t just one of a relatviely small handful considering how much great South Asian food there is across Greater Manchester, we’d wager it could be the very best representing that Alpine-Himalayan belt in our region.
Our latest visit was genuinely just as good as our first, second, third and so on – take your pick.
From the simply incredible deep fried pork dumplings and the deeply moorish butter sauce that goes with literally any momo filling, to the super traditional buffalo ones that are not only authentic but, come on, where else can you find such a unique meat in these parts? It’s some of the best food we’ve eaten.
And we don’t just mean of late; Momo Shop might genuinely among of the nicest scran we’ve had in ages and it’s no exagerration to say that the first taste we enjoyed from many of these flavours have formed some of the strongest culinary memories we’ve created in quite a while.
It’s also worth nothing that it isn’t just one main snack-sized dish. The chow mein, keema noodles and cheesy chops are showstoppers themselves, and we’ve already booked in again for a 30th birthday celebration purely so we can try those lambs ribs and their take on a shashlick.
Nevertheless, we love the idea of the numerous configurations and concotions by pairing different dumplings and owner Niti Karki gave us some pro-tips of the best duos and even let us in on the trade secret of her go-to combo when she’s hungover. Legend.
Once again, at the risk of sounding too hyperbolic, odd moments have felt like core foodie memories on a par with our favourite all-time meals.
Personally, I’m glad to report that this isn’t just a review: consider this a declaration that Momo Shop has quickly become my favourite restaurant not just in Chorlton but in all of central Manchester, something I haven’t had since the heartbreaking closure of Cocktail Beer Ramen + Bun in 2023.
Plenty of varietyDamn straightNiti = absolute iconWe’ll keep your condiment secret forever, Niti…
There might be an element of the almost HakkaPo-esque style drawings, the colour palette and the carefully curated pop-punk, old school emo and post-hardcore playlist that’s over half a decade in the making that makes particualrly partial to this place
But before we wrap up this glorified love letter parading as a ‘review’, we also want to give a special nod to the charming staff and Niti’s mum, specficially, who was too modest to even let us share her picture, but whose wealth of wisdom, influence and experience has clearly inspired Momo Shop’s success.
Don’t be shy, Sue – the only thing more stylish than the food was you, girl. Pop off.
Put simply, we’ll be going back here as regularly as possible until we try every different momo + sauce variation there is, and there’s nothing you can do to stop us.
If you are in the mood for more dumpling excellence, by the way, you might want to check out the unassuming Northern Quarter gem that is Chef Diao.
Lady Gaga is a tour-de-force of talent at the Co-op Live Manchester
Clementine Hall
Lady Gaga proves she’s a truly world-class act after two sold-out nights at the Co-op Live Manchester, as if we needed any reminding.
The city of Manchester has been flooded with harness-wearing, mesh-sporting little monsters over the past two days.
And that’s because the absolute icon that is Lady Gaga brought her ‘Mayhem Ball’ to the Co-op Live for two nights.
I don’t think you’ll find anyone who doesn’t know who this fabulous woman is. Over the past decade, she’s won an Oscar, headlined the Super Bowl, performed in blockbusters alongside Al Pacino, no less, and her songs are literally ingrained into our minds.
It’s been a whole 11 years (yes, really) since she performed in Manchester, and it’s safe to say she was back with a bang.
The performance was split up into five distinct acts, and each one was as exhausting and exhilarating as the next.
She begins the show by bopping out of a comically huge red dress, but this staging was only the start of what madness was about to ensue.
Luckily, we’d been prepared by the other half of the Audio North team, who had the equal privilege of seeing her on night one and were left similarly speechless.
Throughout the 30-song epic, we had crutches, sand pits, cages, skeletons, enough wigs to produce an amateur production of Annie, and we didn’t question any of it. Why would we? It’s Lady Gaga.
Kicking things off with ‘Bloody Mary’, the two and a half hour marathon didn’t leave any stones unturned.
We had all the bangers, from ‘Just Dance’ and ‘Paparazzi’ to ‘Bad Romance’ and ‘Applause’, it had us wondering why any other superstar even bothers putting a song out these days.
Pop is in a good place at the moment with the likes of Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan, Dua Lipa, Billie Eilish and so on, but you can make a strong case for Gaga having helped pave the way for every lady in the business ever since.
Gaga truly had us in the palm of her hands (or claws at one point), even more so when she left the stage to de-robe and show her more vulnerable side for the last two songs – beanie firmly on.
It wasn’t just a concert: this was a fully-fledged tour de force of talent that Manchester won’t forget any time soon.
Sometimes there’s no point in intellectualising why someone has that ‘X-factor’; sometimes you just have to take a step back and say WOW.