• 🧪 Hemp Dreams: Drinkable Company Plans for Pivot
• 🆕 Call It A ‘Rephresh’
• ✅ Inside Wilderton’s ‘Single Best Decision’

The Farm Bill's provision allowing for legal sale of hemp-derived THC products is often described as a loophole; thanks to the eager work of beverage entrepreneurs, it's looking more like a floodgate. 

Through the pioneering work of beverage startups in Minnesota -- where hemp-derived Delta-9 THC drinks are fully legal and sold alongside their alcoholic counterparts -- cannabis drink makers around the country are feeling the wind at their backs as they attempt to crack their own respective state markets. For Mark Mahoney, founder of Massachusetts-based The Drinkable Company, the market is beginning to mature to the point where his extensive CPG expertise and experience can further press an advantage. 

"It falls into our wheelhouse of what we've been doing for 35 years -- we know how to make beverages, market them and then sell to distributors that actually pay you on a timely basis," Mahoney said during a visit to BevNET's offices outside Boston last week.  

Mahoney is confident that the positive momentum coming out of Minnesota will eventually find its way to New England, where The Drinkable Company's products remain restricted to adult-use dispensaries in its home state and in Maine, where it runs a canning facility in partnership with cannabis cultivator Sweet Dirt. That will change soon when the company switches from using cannabis to hemp-derived Delta-9 THC early next year and launches products in multiple states. 

With raw material and testing costs significantly less expensive than cannabis, the pivot to hemp will make production easier but also unlock what Mahoney sees as one of his company's greatest strengths: a low-dose portfolio with broad appeal and a range of use occasions. Boxes ticked include soda (Swivel), cold brew (Zenith, powered by ultra-strong Atomic Coffee), tea (Tiger), sparkling water (Ocean Breeze) and a non-alcoholic IPA (in collaboration with local glass purveyor Witch Dr), all clocking in at 5 mg THC per can. After producing over 180,000 cans in five months, the company is set to ramp up to over a million cans next year upon making the switch to hemp. 

With the path for Delta-9 seemingly less encumbered, Mahoney is facing a question that many fellow THC drink makers will likely also grapple with at some point: why stick with dispensaries? The Drinkable Company has no plans to pull out of that channel, where it's already sold, but also doesn't have the desire to take it any further. 

Rather, Mahoney envisions a future ("I don't even give it two years," he said) where regulated cannabis products are widely sold across channels and where states like Massachusetts can "feed" other states, assuming the eventual lifting of interstate commerce restrictions. Tipping those dominoes will reshape the market more in the image of regular CPG and reveal efficiencies that can make products more price accessible. 

"There are hubs being built that can make these safely and quickly -- 300 to 500 cans-per-minute lines versus 40 to 60 [cans-per-minute]. That's how the price point is going to come down to that of a seltzer in the market."

In less than two weeks, more than 700 beverage industry professionals will meet in Marina del Rey, CA for BevNET Live Winter 2023. Just one conversation could change the course of your business, which is why we’ve carefully crafted an environment that allows for productive discussions with key industry players. The agenda includes dedicated networking breaks, collaborative meal times, and the BevNET Live Official party, so there is plenty of opportunity to connect with retail buyers, investors, distributors, founders, beverage innovators, and industry partners. Check out the roster of attendees, with new companies joining daily. Register for BevNET Live.

When RTD cocktail Phreshly debuted last year, there wasn’t much on the front of the can besides the brand name and ingredients in small print. Working from learnings and feedback, the company is now hitting the restart button with revamped packaging focused on highlighting the brand’s cultural roots as a way to stand out in a hot segment. 

✍️ The Black-founded, women-owned RTD made with rum and aged bourbon wasn’t doing a good enough job conveying its story, the founders learned in a survey of 6,000 customers. 

🎭 Now, by switching to 12 oz. “shortie” cans and highlighting the two cocktail recipes based on the founders' former homes in Ghana and Louisiana, co-founder Paul Owusu said they are offering a premium cocktail experience built on culture— that hopefully will jump off the shelves next to other RTDs and craft beers in that same can size. 

🚀 The brand is now focused on relaunching in its home market of Georgia and building proof points of scalability, going deep before going wide with its new look. 

Read the full story on BevNET

As the sober curious movement grows, non-alc spirit brands are finding new ways to help consumers and bartenders understand and adopt their products. For Wilderton, that strategy has focused on opening the country’s first NA distillery and tasting room. 

🍸 With many non-alc spirits emerging following lockdowns and before bars and restaurants adopted the evolving category, direct-to-consumer was a common route for new brands. Now, spirit alternatives like The Pathfinder are building awareness by launching through anchor bars in select neighborhoods. But Wilderton has created an additional point of discovery. 

📈 After serving 1,600 tasting flights that resulted in a 60% purchase rate, the craft spirit veterans behind the brand argue that the new distillery is helping to provide the transparency and education the emerging category needs.

We checked in with the founders about how the distillery is reinforcing expansion into new territories and how the in-person experience can lead to lasting customer relationships. 

Read the full story on BevNET

Trimino is no more. As Beverage Business Insights first reported, the protein water brand has announced via its website that the brand is “closing” with a banner that reads “Trimino is no longer available” and options to purchase the drinks direct-to-consumer leading to an error page.

💪 Based in Connecticut, Trimino launched in 2014 and produced a line of flavored enhanced waters made with 7 grams of protein per 12 oz. bottle.

💧 In 2018, the company raised $6 million in capital infusion, led by Vineyard Point Associates, and in 2019 it underwent a corporate restructuring intended to support retail expansion and reduce operating costs. At the time of the restructuring, Trimino was sold in around 7,500 stores nationwide.

Cy Cain, the co-founder and CEO of Straightway Cocktails, an award-winning brand of super-premium bottled and canned cocktails, explained how years of preparation gave the company a strong foundation on which to build, why passion and opportunity equally drive the business forward and how he assesses a broader opportunity to reach consumers in other beverage alcohol categories.

Listen to the full episode on BevNET