Will 2021 be a breakthrough year for cannabis beverages?

USA | Plenty of cannabis beverages could hit the shelves in the US this year. As says the Beverage Marketing Corporation (BMC), New York, producers have adopted the tactic of first launching in states, which have fully legalised cannabis, often through a subsidiary and/or licensing system to avoid full legal exposure.

Per BMC, Molson Coors will soon launch the CBD seltzer brand Veryvell in Colorado via its joint venture Truss CBD USA with Canadian cannabis company HEXO.

Similarly, Canadian cannabis company Canopy Growth, whose major investor is Constellation Brands, will be launching infused beverages in both California and Illinois by mid-2021.

Another Canadian cannabis company, Aphria, in 2020 outright acquired the US craft brewer SweetWater to use the brand, which has a legacy of association with cannabis, as its platform to access the US market.

Finally, Pabst Brewing became the first major beer brand to license a brand trademark for launching a THC beverage. Pabst Blue Ribbon THC infused seltzer was introduced in California in late 2020 through “Pabst Labs.”

BMC is convinced that 2021 could turn into an important milestone for hemp and THC consumables.