CBD, aisle 3

Mega-grocery chain Kroger adds CBD products to Houston shelves

Topical CBD products will soon be available at all Texas Kroger stores.

Photo courtesy of Kroger

In a move that illustrates just how mainstream CBD — or cannabidiol — has become, mega grocer Kroger has announced the sale of hemp-derived CBD topical products in 88 Texas stores, including in Houston.

The CBD offerings include lotions, balms, oils, and creams. Texas becomes one of 22 states in which the Kroger chain will sell the topical products, according to a release. The change comes after a bill authorizing the regulated production and sale of hemp and hemp-derived products was passed and signed in early June by Texas lawmakers.

Along with Texas, Kroger stores in Georgia, Montana, Utah, and Virginia are the latest to add the topical products to store shelves. Products containing the legal limit of 0.3 percent or less of THC will be clearly labeled, per the store.

It’s no shocker that grocery chains are adding CBD to their carts, as the surge in the marketplace has been nothing short of smoking. Cannabis industry analysts the Brightfield Group estimates that the hemp-CBD market could hit $22 billion by 2022.

As the non-psychoactive cannabinoid found in cannabis, CBD is said to help with issues ranging from anxiety to epilepsy. Once only available in specialty stores, CBD products are now common in beauty aisles and cafes. As CultureMap previously reported, country legend Willie Nelson even boasts his own line of CBD products.

“Like many retailers, we are now offering our customers a highly curated selection of topical products that are infused with hemp-derived CBD,” said Sparkle Anderson, Kroger Houston division’s corporate affairs manager, in a statement. “Our selection of CBD topical products are from suppliers that have been reviewed for quality and safety.”

health marijuana

H-Town rising

Houston leaps back into top 50 'World's Best Cities' list for 2025

Photo by Adrian Newell on Unsplash

Houston made a big leap back into the top 50, ranking No. 40, after previously plummeting into No. 72 last year.

Lively Houston has regained its rightful place among the top 50 best cities in the world, according to a prestigious new report by Resonance Consultancy.

The Canada-based real estate and tourism marketing advisors ranked Houston the 40th best city worldwide for 2025 in its annual "World's Best Cities" list.

The report quantifies the relative qualities of livability, "lovability," and prosperity for the world's top 100 cities with metropolitan populations of 1 million or more. New to the 10th anniversary edition, Resonance partnered with global market researchers Ipsos to include perception-based data into the rankings, surveying over 22,000 people in 30 countries worldwide to determine "the most desirable places to visit, live or work."

Houston made a major rebound after plummeting to No. 73 in last year's report. In 2022, Houston ranked No. 42.

Resonance refers to its previous "World's Best Cities" reports and its 2024 "America's Best Cities" list – which ranked Houston in the top 10 – when explaining the Bayou City's successes. The report praised Houston's vast cultural diversity and placed a great focus on its economic prosperity, even going so far as to suggest Houston residents make more money "and can sock more away."

"...[W]here America’s fourth-largest city truly takes off is in its economic heft and wealth, ranking No. 9 globally for GDP per Capita and No. 14 for Fortune 500 companies in town," the report said. "All that rolls up into an overall Prosperity index ranking of No. 36, which is even more impressive given the No. 14-ranked Price-to Income Ratio [of the city]."

Elsewhere in Texas, Austin and Dallas also earned spots on the World's Best Cities list for 2025, but only one made a similar rebound from the previous year's rankings. Dallas moved up from No. 66 in last year's report to its current rank as No. 55. Meanwhile, Austin took its first tumble out of the 43rd spot (which it had occupied for two years straight) and now ranks No. 53.

London held onto its crown as the No. 1 best city in the world for 2025, followed by New York (No. 2), Paris (No. 3), Tokyo (No. 4), and Singapore (No. 5).