Laughing Lion Herbs Brand Review [2023 Update]

Welcome to another one of my kratom brand reviews. In these posts, I give you the lowdown on well-known and obscure vendors trading in the U.S. market. So, stick around if you want to learn more about how Laughing Lion operates and the products they manufacture.

I will kick things off with a brand introduction. 

Laughing Lion Herbs is a kratom and kava vendor based in Castle Rock, Colorado. According to their ‘About Us’ page, the company was founded in 2015 and is co-owned by Matthew and Melissa. I always like to see a kratom vendor put a face to the name.

Matthew started Laughing Lion after developing a passion for natural herbs. The business started from humble beginnings but quickly grew into a success story. Before long, Laughing Lion was offering wholesale options and needed a larger facility!

Like many brands, these guys are motivated to bring affordable kratom products to market without sacrificing quality. Being transparent enough to provide third-party lab results for products gives me confidence they are doing so.

Laughing Lion has a creative and friendly-looking website. While not the easiest to navigate, I like that you can shop for products by strain speed, vein color, and effects. This is handy for newbies, but experienced users will also welcome the convenience.

Laughing Lion Herbs has a broad range of own-branded products and is an authorized reseller of other brands, such as K-Tropix. I also mentioned their selection of kava products. I want to keep this review simple by focusing on Laughing Lion’s own-brand kratom collection.

Most vendors stock kratom powder, so it is no surprise to see Laughing Lion selling an array of strains. They have an impressive range of premium gold, green, red, and white vein powders, in addition to some unique and exciting signature powder blends.

I like the in-depth descriptions for each strain. Laughing Lion details the strain speed, filter and grind type, and drying process while providing some general info. And each strain consists of 100% natural Mitragyna speciosa leaf powder.

Laughing Lion also has a ‘Kratom Elixir’ option to create a customized powder blend - and I am talking way more advanced than split kilos. After picking your strains, you can add kava or ingredients to improve the flavor or possibly aid tolerance. It’s a fascinating concept.

From the products available, I can tell that the Laughing Lion team are serious kratom enthusiasts. Their kratom powder selection is one of the most refreshing and intriguing I have seen.

Strains: Premium Gold Maeng Da, Ryujin Blend, Golden Thai, Premium Green Thai, Premium Red Bali, Premium Green Hulu, Premium White Bali, Premium White Hulu, and more

Buying Options: 10 grams (sample), 50 grams, 250 grams, 500 grams

Kratom capsules cost more than powder but are more portable, less hassle, and have no flavor. If you loathe the taste of kratom but love the herb’s effects, these are the way to go.

I thought Laughing Lion would stock more than five kratom capsule strains. But with three Maeng Da options and two brilliant blends, there is still plenty of variety. What’s more, Laughing Lion uses vegan pullulan capsules, made from pullulan gum and gellan gum.

Helpfully, they state the amount of kratom powder in each capsule - this is vital information for responsible dosing. Oddly, the quantity varies between strains, so bear this in mind if you like to chop and change. But in terms of kratom quality, these Laughing Lion capsules look excellent.

• Strains: Green Maeng Da, Red Maeng Da, White Maeng Da, Electrobuzz, Fuzzy Blanket
• Buying Options: 80-count, 150-count

Efficiency, portability, and tasty flavors are all qualities associated with liquid kratom shots. Consuming powder on the go isn’t always feasible, and not everyone gets on with capsules. If that sounds like you, potent kratom shots could be the way forward.

And Laughing Lion’s Liquid Kratom Shots are appealing. They make them with 100% naturally extracted complete spectrum kratom and add carefully chosen ingredients to promote wellness effects. Let’s look more closely at each shot.

ULTRA130: Laughing Lion’s Ultra130 Liquid Kratom Shot contains 75% mitragynine extract (110mg total) and 25% minor alkaloids, making for a genuine full-spectrum experience. Better still, they make it with food-grade extract instead of pesky alcohol.

This 10ml shot works out to approximately 10 grams of kratom leaf. Available in two flavors: Butterscotch and Lime.

Prime280+: Need something more? How about Laughing Lion’s Prime280+ Kratom Shot, which boasts an astonishing 230mg of mitragynine and more than 50mg of minor alkaloids. Once again, expect full-spectrum effects, lots of flavors, and a clean kratom extract.

The Prime280+ comes in a 10ml bottle, making this shot extremely potent and equivalent to 20 grams of powder. Even experienced users must use it responsibly. Sold in four flavors: Black Forest Cake, Blue Raspberry, Minty Irish Cream, and Pomegranate.

Laughing Lion has a unique product range and is not afraid to do things differently. They even put a fresh spin on traditional kratom powder. Inevitably, adopting an unusual approach invites skepticism. But Laughing Lion can handle the scrutiny.

Let’s start with the foundations: Laughing Lion Herbs is an American Kratom Association (AKA) GMP-qualified vendor. The AKA is America’s leading kratom advocacy organization, and this tells us the vendor operates to extremely high manufacturing and processing standards.

So, we know that Laughing Lion has first-class facilities, which is critical for product purity. And the third-party results from ISO-certified labs verify the quality of what they are selling.

Some products are even subject to a ‘9 Alkaloid Test’, which confirms the concentration of minor alkaloids, such as paynantheine and speciogynine. This thorough analysis is proof that Laughing Lion’s products are actually full-spectrum.

My only frustration is the lack of recent results. As of June 2023, most of the published certificates of analysis (COA) are from 2021 or 2022. But since they state that test results are provided on every item, I am not particularly concerned about this.

And finally, even though Laughing Lion makes some inspired ingredient choices, they don’t exaggerate or put out absurd, unproven claims. That alone is reason to believe this vendor is ethical and legit.

Product reviews on the Laughing Lion website are verified and authenticated by Feefo, so you can trust the five-star reviews you read. And as of June 2023, the company’s Castle Rock store has a 4.7/5 rating from more than 290 Google reviews. Those are stellar numbers!

Laughing Lion even seems to have cracked the Reddit code. Kratom users there are notoriously critical, but several people have given this vendor the thumbs-up.

Consider this 2022 post on r/Vendorsofkratom, for example. Redditor u/CastroAnt praised the freshness and potency of Laughing Lion’s kratom, as well as the friendly and informative customer service. The site is teeming with such positive reports.

Any criticism often revolves around the price, as demonstrated by this post on the same subreddit. While u/dillonlara115 praised Laughing Lion, they noted the vendor is more expensive than some of the other brands that Redditors discuss. But if that is as negative as the criticism gets, I would say Laughing Lion Herbs is doing rather well.

This question is always subjective to a degree. Whether you think something is worth the money is affected by what you perceive as good quality and how much you have to spend. So, here is some food for thought.

Laughing Lion is a high-quality vendor and has the receipts to prove it. They aren’t asking you to take a punt on pricey products without showing they are legit. Some brands charge similar prices and aren’t anywhere near as transparent. That works in Laughing Lion’s favor.

Moreover, all products come with a 100% satisfaction guarantee, limiting your risk as a shopper. Opened products are not eligible for refund, but Laughing Lion will send a replacement or give you store credit. That is fair enough.

Shipping costs have increased, and you must now spend $100 or more for free shipping. But the Laughing Lion team is frank about this and the reasons why. That is always appreciated.

Ultimately, this is not a budget brand. However, if you are contemplating buying from a more expensive vendor, Laughing Lion is among the best of the bunch.

I was not sure what to expect from the unconventional Laughing Lion Herbs. But this ambitious brand left a positive impression on me. They have awesome products, make smart ingredient choices, and put in the necessary hard yards to earn the status of a trustworthy vendor.