Drinks & cannabis industries unite to drive future growth

A drinks industry conference in New York has been told that "cannabis beverages are the new soda".

Erik Knutson, founder and CEO of cannabis-infused drink manufacturer Keef Brands said cannabis is a huge opportunity for drink makers looking for the next trend in consumer tastes, especially as legalisation spreads. 

As millennials move away from alcohol, cannabis companies are experimenting with everything from non-alcoholic wine infused with THC to THC cold brew coffee.

"I think eventually the drinks sector will be the largest edibles sector," says Knutson. "People don't get together and eat slices of a brownie. It's not social. Sipping on drinks is what we know - you get together and you drink."

Knutson says he is already working with six large beverage manufacturers to formulate drinks with CBD for "the mass market."

Keith Villa, the former Molson Coors executive who created Blue Moon beer, agrees that the social nature of drinking is key. He has launched Ceria, a company that only produces cannabis-infused, non-alcoholic beer. 

Villa recently told Drinks Business there is still currently “no way to socially consume cannabis. The only ways you have now are to smoke, but second hand smoke is anti-social. Chocolates aren’t really sociable in the same way as a beverage either.”

Lauren Rudick, a partner at cannabis-focused law firm Hiller, who was on a BevNet panel with Knutson, says cannabidiol (CBD) - the non-psychoactive compound in cannabis - could become an even bigger mainstream ingredient for the beverage industry compared with tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is responsible for marijuana's high.

Hiller's Rudick believes CBD - which has been associated with anti-inflammation, pain relief, and other benefits - will become the new calcium or vitamin C.

"It's the perfect wellness product, and there are going to be many CBD-fortified foods and beverages," she said.

Drinks heavyweights invest in "Prohibition 2.0"

Last year, Constellation Brands bought a 9.9% stake in Canadian cannabis producer Canopy Growth for $191 million, and now has plans to develop THC-infused drinks.

Wine and spirit distributor Southern Glazer has also made a deal to have its Canadian arm distribute cannabis products for a Canadian marijuana company.

Meanwhile, Jim Beam heir Ben Kovler has invested in Green Thumb Industries in Canada to capitalise on the impending end to what he calls "Prohibition 2.0", with 29 US states now allowing cannabis for medical or recreational use and sales that are projected to reach $75 billion by 2030 from about $6 billion in 2016.

“We’re taking the world from moonshine to cocktails,” Kovler said. “People come in complaining that the moonshine burns their throat, and we say, ‘Here, try this rum and Coke.’ We’re seeking to create an authentic relationship with consumers in the same way that alcohol companies do with hard liquor, beer and wine.”

However, AB InBev's CEO Carlos Britos isn't quite so buoyant about the prospects of weed.

"Cannabis is something that we as a company are trying to learn more about," he told Just Drinks. "It's going to be regulated, it's going to be commercialised. But its still a very restricted business and, in most places, it's not legal.

"We'll continue to follow it. But for now we don't feel the need to do anything."

New cannabis trade show unites weed & drinks industries 

A new trade event in California is hoping build common ground between the cannabis and drinks industries.

Cannabis Drinks Expo will be held in San Francisco, on July  25, 2019. It will be the first-ever event to give the worldwide drinks industry the chance to come together and look at ways it can address legalised cannabis and "start the fight back against this enormous threat to the future of the overall industry".

Drinks producers, manufacturers, brand owners, distilleries and brewers will collectively look at ways they can also benefit from legalised cannabis.

The event is the brainchild of the Beverage Trade Network, which runs industry shows such as International Bulk Wine & Spirits Show and the London Wine, Spirits and Beer Competitions.

It will be “a unique chance for the industry to determine what strategies it needs to put in place now to capitalise on the huge opportunities for legalised cannabis drinks-related products over the next five to 10 years,” according to BTN.