THC Beverages Could Revive Struggling Alcohol Industry, Expert Says: 'Partying, Stress And Anxiety Haven't Diminished'

"Partying hasn’t gone down. Stress and anxiety have not diminished, especially with this upcoming election. But the beverages consumers are reaching for have changed, and they’re seeking alternatives," Diana Eberlein, chair at the Cannabis Beverage Association kicked off the discussion at the recent Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference in Chicago.

"Hemp-derived THC beverages are playing nicely in the same sandbox as alcohol, while they’re also developing strategies to be the gateway for other cannabis products and supporting the dispensary channel, so everybody in here wins," Eberlein added.

She moderated the panel titled "Adapting Beverage Distribution for Cannadrinks: Time-Proven Strategies To Drive Success," hosting experts in the space such as Drea Groeschel, CEO of Better Than Booze; Aaron Nosbisch, founder and CEO of BRĒZ; Brandon Harshbarger; president of Cheech and Chong Global Holdings; and Ben Meggs, CEO and co-founder of Bayou City Hemp.

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THC Beverages To Save The Alcohol Industry

Nosbisch highlighted that cannabis is not the only industry that is struggling, as alcohol sales are going down dramatically. According to him, one of the categories poised for growth are cannabis or hemp beverages that people are just starting to understand, to realize that "this is not really like an edible. This is not really like smoking. This is comparable in many ways to alcohol due to nano-emulsion and the fast acting aspect."

The times have changed, added Nosbisch pointing out that "the majority of alcohol [industry] sees cannabis beverages and hemp beverages as one of the biggest, if not the biggest prospect for the future of the alcohol industry."

He added that it is important to understand that the hemp industry is not anti-alcohol, but is anti-alcohol abuse, just like the alcohol industry is.

"And alcohol has done so much for society that has been good as well. And so it’s, it’s cool to kind of have them evolve while we evolve as well," he said.

The Importance Of Various Formats And Dosages

Better Than Booze's Groeschel talked about the importance of having various formats and not only the dosages to provide "various avenues for the consumer to consume – the type of product that they desire."

"It’s a really exciting time," she said. "I think the distributors are leaning towards the five and 10 milligram products. That seems to be the higher-velocity products on retail shelves."

Groeschel added that Better Than Booze also offers a two milligram, which is a great option for those looking for a lightweight alcohol and THC, and those who are curious to try it. "It also allows people to have multiple servings in one session at like a music venue or a restaurant. So it makes it more of a social beverage too."

President at Cheech and Chong Global Holdings, Harshbarger highlighted how "the hemp market has actually created a low dose market," and regulated market never did that.

Bayou City Hemp's Meggs highlighted how the times have changed – and while once it was amazing to see 10 beverages at a dispensary, now it's possible to see more than 300 SKUs (stock keeping unit) on the shelves. He believes that when grocery stores join in a big way, we are going to see even lower dose, the micro dose.

Groeschel noted that the conversation on hemp versus cannabis "is really a dosage conversation."

Cannabis Destigmatization

For Nosbisch, the hemp industry does an amazing job at destigmatizing cannabis and THC, because people are very familiar with this format and with alcohol. "There’s something just not that intimidating about a beverage, even like a five-milligram drink," he said adding that someone can only take a few sips of it and feel it out, they don't have to wait for a long time for it to act, or smoke it and create odor.

"Regardless of how much you love cannabis or not, the reality is that this is a, just a very convenient, clean and easy way to get people to try it." he said adding that the world has changed dramatically. "I mean, there’s a lot of people drinking these beverages now and that, that I can feel the stigma just like evaporating in real time."

Direct-To-Consumer Approach

Nosbisch talked about direct-to-consumer approach, which is e-commerce. He explained that the majority of the hemp industry has been built through the direct to consumer channel, and probably 80% of revenue in hemp is there.

"Thankfully, the hemp industry is starting to get really formally organized and create standardized practices that we can all implement that ensure things like 21 plus age gating validation of IDs before purchase," he noted.

Now, thanks to Shopify SHOP, which fully supports the hemp industry and X advertising, "there is a massive opportunity to build a successful brand."

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Photo by Wendy Davis