This year, the company Cannabiniers made waves in the food and beverage community with two announcements. For one, Michael Lorelli, former President of PepsiCo-East, joined their board. And then the company announced that they were debuting the country's first cannabis-infused beer.
No states allow alcohol and cannabis to exist in the same product, so Cannabiniers removes the alcohol from their beers before infusing them with THC, the primary psychoactive constituent of cannabis. De-alcoholization technology has come extremely far over the last few years, in part to deal with the European trend of non-alcoholic beers. Kevin Love, the Vice President of Market Activations for Cannabiniers, opened up about the future of Cannabiniers and Two Roots, the company's line of THC-infused beer.
Kenny Gould: Where does Cannabiniers see an opportunity with Two Roots?
Kevin Love: If you take a step back, you saw a lot of smaller breweries losing market share, grasping at straws, and trying to find a white knight opportunity. My understanding is that Big Beer came in on a buying spree. Those that didn’t get picked up are wondering how to stay relevant and continue growing their businesses as they originally intended. That has allowed us to go to sizable breweries that didn’t get picked up and can’t elevate to the next level without a big brother providing guidance. It’s almost like, you’re in this static environment where a lot of these breweries can’t make a significant enough adjustment in their business models to hit a tier of relevancy. That’s where there’s an opportunity to tap into the cannabis market.
KG: So you see breweries producing an alternative product.
KL: Look at Coke and Pepsi. Their hero products are their staple products. In past two decades, they’ve lost 25 percent of market share on those products. But they’re able to bring on complimentary product offerings, like cold brew, tea, and fresh pressed juices. They’re able to diversify their revenue streams. Big alcohol can’t just come out and say, we’re offering a stout-inspired cold brew coffee. That’s not going to move the needle. I believe it’s the cannabis industry that’s now the white knight.
KG: You think cannabis can save these breweries?
KL: It’s either stay static or have a 5 or 7 percent growth but you’re not hitting a grand slam, treading water. The market is charged for a next wave of opportunity. They see value in what we’re offering because we’re pioneers in a whole new category of product offerings. We don’t know what the future will bring, but the data suggests it’ll be in alternative beverage offerings that are socially integrated.
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