Once federally legalized, could cannabis-infused beverages ever overtake beer and wine sales?

In any new legal market structure, you will find consumers who have not yet indulged in any form of cannabis, despite the steady pace at which adult use is being legalized. Using beverages could be a simple and easy-to-use delivery method for new users. According to reports from New Food, Jake Bullock, founder and CEO of Cann, a company that deals in cannabis-infused beverages, said the beverage sector is among the fastest developing in the marijuana industry.

Bullock explained that the company is trying to produce something unrestricted and fresh that has never been tried before. He added that the company’s goal isn’t to lure marijuana smokers out of their joints. Instead, it aims to discourage alcohol drinkers from their beers.

AN EXPANDING MOVEMENT

In areas where recreational cannabis has been legalized, THC-infused beverages can be found on the same shelves as other beverages such as wine and beer. This raises the question of whether alcoholic beverage manufacturers should be concerned about competition from cannabis-infused beverages. These questions were answered by experts in these industries in a November 2021 report published by Winemag.com.

Colleen McClellan, a trained sommelier and provincial director of customer solutions at Datassential, a well-known food and beverage insight platform, anticipates business openings in the THC-infused beverage space. She said she thinks we’ll continue to see more interest and use for these drinks as other states soften regulations.

McClellan predicts that brands will continue to enter the THC beverage space, ultimately leading to a merger.

She says there are some consumers who enjoy using marijuana THC-infused products because they offer beneficial benefits minus the hangover effect. In the United States, consumer knowledge about THC beverages increased by over 9% in 2021, and according to a recent report by Datassential, 51% of adults over the age of 21 now report experience. The organization also discovered that THC beverages have the greatest awareness and interest among older generations.

This may be due to the advances that marijuana industry marketing has made over the past decade. In many cities in the United States, entering a pharmacy is similar to entering an elegant coffee shop or apple store. Cannabis has never been more customized than it is now, where you can choose the strength, strain and way of use, just like a bag of coffee beans.

According to the Global Cannabis Beverages Industry, a report published by Reportlinker.com last January found that the global marijuana beverage market was valued at $799.8 million in 2020 and is projected to reach a new level of $2 billion by 2026 will reach and thus increase a CAGR of 16.9%.

As per the report, alcohol content will be adjusted to a revised CAGR of 15.7% over the next seven years.

Meanwhile, non-alcohol is projected to grow CAGR 17.5% to $1.6 billion by 2026.

THE CURRENT PROMOTIONS OF CANN

Cann confirmed a $27 million Series A funding round at a fundraising event last February from existing investors including Imaginary Ventures, new institutional capital, also from a new list of prominent investors including Adam Devine, Sara Foster, Zoey Deutch, Nina Dobrev, Rosario Dawson and Jordan Cooper.

Complementing this landmark funding round, Cann also announced its first international expansion with the launch of the brand in Canada. Jake Bullock said they were informed more than three years ago that consumers didn’t want THC in beverages and that it was novelty at best. However, their expansion into Canada and this fundraiser show that microdose drinks are here to stay. Adults around the world are eager for an alcohol alternative that is sure to generate social buzz while also putting taste first.

BELIEF FROM EXPERTS IN THE MARKET

Morgan McLachlan, master distiller, chief product officer and co-founder of AMASS, a beverage company specializing in botanical adaptogenic beverages. Most recently, she helped create Afterdream, a marijuana-infused non-alcoholic spirit created to deliver what the company describes as a mind-numbing, limb-relaxing high that mimics the feeling produced by a potent cocktail, which she believes will also appeal to people who drink alcohol.

According to McLachlan, soft drinks and marijuana beverages are the fastest growing sectors of the beverage market, with sales increasing from $67.8 million in 2019 to $95.2 million in 2020.

She added that adult recreational cannabis use is a fast-growing market, and non-alcoholic beverages are growing even faster, and that both the low-alcohol and non-alcoholic sectors are up 506% since 2015 and are expected to reach $280 million will be in earnings this year. Analysts from Distill Ventures reported that 58% of consumers are drinking more soft drinks than last year.

Despite this market growth, Jim Higdon, chief communications officer and co-founder of a Kentucky-based company that makes full-spectrum hemp oil called Cornbread Hemp, believes traditional alcohol, beer, or wine producers needn’t worry.

Higdon says THC drinks still have a place. However, the place is probably not in the hands of a wine lover with a refined palate, as the target customer for a cannabis drink is either a person looking to reduce their alcohol consumption, or a novice consumer looking for a smoke-free alternative to consuming marijuana.

He also believes that the success of THC-infused beverages will ultimately depend on their taste. He also believes that marijuana drinks may not be the best incentive for wine lovers to get into weed.

CONCLUSION

We cannot say definitively that despite the increasing popularity of cannabis, the introduction and sale of cannabis will overtake regular alcohol such as beer and wine or spirits. There are still some individuals who prefer to take the regular alcohol to cannabis and others who have never tried weed. It’s not until the sale of THC-infused beverages becomes widespread that we won’t really know.

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