• 🆕 Gallery: This Week’s Hot New Sips
• 🔀 People Moves: Funny Water's New CEO
• 🥤 A Drink With… Free AF Founder Lisa King
• 🇺🇲 MDW/DSD: The Latest in Distribution
• ❌ Kendall Toole Loves This ‘Quit’. And She Wants You To Try It.

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Can Congress put the genie back in the bottle when it comes to legal THC? It seems like they’re certainly going to try. The House of Representatives approved an amendment last night to close the “loophole” in the 2018 U.S. Farm Bill that allowed for the nationwide legal sale of hemp-derived cannabinoids such as THC.

U.S. Rep. Mary Miller (R-Ill.) submitted the amendment to the upcoming Farm Bill, which, if passed into law, will remove provisions for the legal sale of any detectable amount of THC or any “synthesized or manufactured” cannabinoid – effectively banning delta-8 THC and THCA regardless of their source. Miller cited the emergence of a legal hemp-derived THC CPG market as the reason behind the proposal.

Hemp-derived THC edibles and beverages have been a fast-growing space as mainstream retailers, including national liquor chain Total Wine & More, have begun embracing the category while DSD distributors quickly move to add Delta-9 drinks to their portfolios.

Of course, the hemp industry isn’t taking this move by legislators sitting down. U.S. Hemp Roundtable general counsel Jonathan Miller called for lawmakers to strike down the amendment, suggesting it would lead to “federal prohibition of 90-95% of all hemp products on the market,” including many non-intoxicating CBD products, MJ Biz Daily reported.

On LinkedIn yesterday, SoRSE Technology VP of marketing and business development Diana Eberlein noted that industry reps had “little notice” to prepare for the amendment but are still working to get it pulled from the final version of the Farm Bill.

“We had some members on the House Ag Committee with great rebuttals including Baird (Indiana) and Alford (Missouri) who stood up for farmers and mentioned that we WANT to be regulated,” she said. “Don't get discouraged, and there is no need to panic, but there is certainly urgency. Nothing has changed (yet).”

Go Deeper: Certification Program Addresses “Underdeveloped” Non-Alc, THC Drink Categories

Today is Friday and you all know what that means…it’s new product gallery time! We’ve rounded up the hottest new products and packaged them together right here, just for you. Here’s a sneak peek at what’s inside:

⚡ 5-hour Energy is encouraging consumers to steal the spotlight with the launch of Main Character 5-hour Energy. The new Watermelon Chili Lime energy shot captures the “swicy” (sweet and spicy) flavor trend and boasts 230 mg of caffeine.

🥤 Coca-Cola unveiled its latest Creations drop, Wozzaah Zero Sugar, which is inspired by African culture and features vibrant, tropical flavors. The LTO is available for purchase in Nigeria, Algeria, South Africa, and Morocco.

🥛 MALK expands its collection of alt-dairy products with the addition of three plant-based creamers: Vanilla Almond, Caramel Almond, and Lightly Sweetened Oat. Like the rest of the brand’s products, MALK Creamers are free of gums, oils, and fillers.

Check out the full roundup on BevNET.

🤡 Hard water brand Funny Water announced it has appointed Jarrett Malnarich as its new CEO with co-founder and fractional CEO PJ Loughran transitioning to president and chief brand and marketing officer. 

• The news comes as the brand expands into Canada with its non-carbonated alcoholic canned water. 
• Malnarich comes to Funny Water after leading teams at agriculture biotech company Affinor Growers, Experion Wellness and, most recently, plant-based Wagyu beef brand Wamame Foods.

🪴 Microdose cannabis and functional mushroom brand BRĒZ has added Daniel Crocker to its team as its head of content strategy. 

• As an entrepreneur, Crocker most recently founded two cannabis industry digital projects: Drink Hemp, a education and discovery platform for hemp-derived delta-9 drinks and Spill The T (HC), an online media site for the THC beverage category.

The NA alternative category is still evolving both here and abroad but one brand has found quick success in less than two years after launching in the U.S. Free AF founder Lisa King sat down with BevNET to talk about the challenges and successes of working in a bigger market.

🚛 After a successful home market launch in 2020, the brand expanded to the U.S. in early 2023 with a plan to slowly build its distribution; yet, after going national initially with Sprouts it has quickly found its way into Target and Walmart stores.

🛒 One key to success: Investment in category awareness efforts which has allowed the brand to grow alongside a growing consumer base.

💭 One big challenge: The scale of working in the States where “you've got 50 states that are like 50 different countries” with a number of retailers and different consumer demographics, King told BevNET.

Insiders can check out the full interview on BevNET.

Beverage brands have been on the move ahead of the unofficial start of summer (a.k.a. Memorial Day Weekend). Here’s a look at the latest distribution gains around the industry:

🌸 Gut-friendly beverage brand wildwonder is now in New York City Whole Foods and Wegmans stores, the San Francisco-based brand announced on LinkedIn this week. The company has begun a sampling campaign in NYC via a branded truck.

🌵 Pricklee CEO Kun Yang said he is “PRICKLIN’ thrilled” to announce the cactus water brand is now available in Whole Foods stores in California, Nevada, Arizona and Idaho. The launch comes after “years of hard work” by the brand attempting to enter the natural food chain, he added.

🐻 Wandering Bear has found its way into Lassens stores with its 32 oz. Straight Black, Decaf and Vanilla varieties.

🍸 New York Whole Foods shoppers will also now find non-alc alternative brand Figlia on shelves. Founder and CEO Lily Geiger, a city local, called the launch a “New Yorker’s dream come true.”

🟢 Enhanced sparkling water brand Tru has launched four of its SKUs into Save Mart, according to broker Jade Street Consulting Inc.

👶🏽 For the little ones, baby formula maker ByHeart announced its infant nutrition products are rolling out to Publix stores across the country.

Peloton icon Kendall Toole discusses her involvement as a partner with active lifestyle beverage brand Don’t Quit, including how she incorporates her everyday consumption of its products into her social media posts and how she attempts to spur conversation and “give people a platform to be seen.”

Listen to the episode now.