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Top alcohol makers have been sitting on the sidelines of a cannabis beverage boom, watching brands in the fast-growing category like Cann and Wynk make deals with beer and booze distributors, and gain valuable space on liquor store shelves. Now some alcohol companies, seeing their sales falter, are laying the groundwork to potentially enter the lucrative but risky market, a dozen founders of cannabis brands, ingredients suppliers and drinks manufacturers told Reuters. Drinks containing THC, the mood-altering ingredient in marijuana, are restricted to licensed dispensaries in 24 U.S. states where recreational use of pot is legal. But small amounts of THC can also be extracted from hemp, a crop that’s related to marijuana but is legal federally. Beverages containing THC derived from hemp can be sold in many liquor shops, convenience stores and supermarkets. That’s where Big Alcohol sees opportunity, despite some companies having been burned by past cannabis investments. Corona brewer Constellation Brands has been internally researching hemp-based cannabis drinks to weigh its next steps, a source familiar with the company’s thinking said. Absolut vodka distiller Pernod Ricard has met with Brez, maker of drinks with THC derived from hemp, as recently as last month to discuss a possible investment, Brez’s founder Aaron Nosbisch said. “They did not invest now but are circling,” Nosbisch said. Pernod declined to comment on the meeting. Constellation Brands said it does not comment on rumors and speculation. Alcohol makers are still suffering a hangover following America’s pandemic drinking binge, when sales spiked as cash-flush consumers splurged on pricey bottles of liquor for their homes, and then rushed back to bars when lockdown restrictions lifted. Alcohol sales have been falling ever since as inflation and interest rates rose and wallets became stretched. The companies also now face growing warnings from public health authorities who say drinking even small amounts of alcohol is associated with at least seven types of cancer. Overall U.S. beer volumes fell nearly 6% through May of this year, according to the Beer Institute. Volumes of spirits and wine sold in the same time period have declined by 5.6% and 9%, respectively, according to the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America. In a sign of tumult in the industry, the CEO of the world’s biggest alcohol maker, Diageo, stepped down last week as the company struggles to revive growth. But hemp-based drinks are expanding fast. The market for drinks infused with THC from hemp is projected to top $1 billion in sales this year, according to market research firm Euromonitor, and climb past $4 billion in 2028. Molson Coors CEO Gavin Hattersley told Reuters in January he’d be naive to say THC beverages aren’t having an effect “at least in a small way.” Tilray Brands, the fourth-largest U.S. craft brewer with brands including Montauk and Shock Top, is selling its new hemp-derived THC seltzers through its beer distributors such as United Distributors in Georgia, executives told Reuters in an interview. The company’s THC drinks are for sale in 13 states. “Theres not a real leader thats taken ahold of the (market) so far, and thats what we look to do,” Tilray’s CEO Irwin Simon told Reuters earlier this year. Others, including Heineken’s Lagunitas brand and Pabst Blue Ribbon, the fifth-largest U.S. brewer, have lent their names to THC seltzers for sale in dispensaries in California. Lagunitas is looking to grow distribution of its THC seltzer, potentially using hemp, to other states, a representative from Cannacraft, its ingredient supplier, said. A spokesperson for Lagunitas said it has no immediate plans to expand, but monitors market development and looks for opportunities as consumer tastes and regulations change. Boston Beer, the maker of Sam Adams, is one of the brewers with the clearest path to eventually enter the U.S. cannabis drinks market although it has not provided a time frame for doing so. The company is already selling its Teapot brand of THC-infused tea in Canada where weed is legal, and in the last year tested a potential U.S. version made from THC derived from hemp. To test the reformulated product, a panel of trained sensory experts sampled Teapot with both THC from hemp and marijuana, and could not taste a difference, said the company’s head of cannabis, Paul Weaver. “This is a source of growth for our organization, flat out,” Weaver said. CAUTIOUS MOVES Big Alcohol is treading carefully in cannabis drinks because state and federal regulations have shifted, and could change again, said five executives at ingredients suppliers and THC beverage brands. California, which has legal weed, banned hemp-based drinks last year to try to prevent children from consuming them. Other states have introduced special taxes or restricted sales, ambiguity that has held alcohol companies back from entering the market. Sen. Mitch McConnell, who helped first legalize hemp in 2018 to support farmers in his home state of Kentucky, in July introduced a provision in a government spending bill that could ban intoxicating products using the plant. McConnell wrote in an op-ed published in the Louisville Courier Journal on July 17 that his efforts are aimed at keeping THC gummies that look like familiar candies out of the hands of children. He did not provide comment beyond the op-ed. Big brewers have been burned by past cannabis investments. In 2022, the biggest U.S. brewer Anheuser-Busch inBev exited a deal with Tilray to research cannabis drinks in Canada. The same year, Molson Coors shuttered its U.S. business selling beverages infused with CBD, a compound in marijuana and hemp that does not have psychoactive effects, citing an uncertain regulatory environment. Constellation Brands restructured its investment in Canadian cannabis company Canopy Growth last year after poor sales. Now, however, hemp-based THC drinks are sold widely. Beyond beer’s declining sales, brewers face an additional squeeze from tariffs, which threaten to push up prices for imported drinks, and Hispanic consumers, who are staying home due to fears of U.S. immigration enforcement. HIGH MARGINS Liquor stores are embracing the buzzy beverages to boost their margins as the drinks, typically more expensive than a six-pack of beer, start to outsell other types of alcohol. Jon Halper, CEO of Minnesota liquor store chain Top Ten Liquors, told Reuters in June that THC beverages now make up 15% of his business after the company introduced them two years ago. By next year, they could grow to rival wine, currently in the mid twenty percent of his sales, he said. Thedrinks take shelf space mostly from beer because they are in coolers, Halper said. The margins on cannabis beverages are higher than those for beer and spirits, helping his firm offset softening alcohol sales. Charleston, South Carolina-based Southern Horizon Logistics, a sister company of Budweiser distributor Southern Crown Partners, is now selling more hemp-based drinks than wine and spirits, said Justin Ashby, the company’s chief administrative officer. Ryan Moses, CEO of Nashville, Tennessee-based beer, wine and spirits distributor Best Brands, said that growth from THC-infused drinks has helped offset flat and declining alcohol sales. Instead of possible layoffs, Moses has been able to re-allocate employees to the new category. “It could be as big as the other categories five to 10 years from now,” Moses said. Consumers like Josh Goldberg, 39, of Lindenhurst, New York, are also trading out beer and tequila for THC seltzers. Goldberg made the switch almost two years ago, and hasn’t had a drink since. “It replaces the physical act of drinking with drinking something else,” Goldberg said. Halper, the owner of Minnesota liquor stores, said the customers buying THC-infused drinks tend to skew female and over the age of 35. “The soccer mom has really embraced the category in a big way,” Halper said. Jessica DiNapoli and Emma Rumney, Reuters
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Nestled in forests around the world, a gentle army of giant wooden trolls want to show humans how to live better without destroying the planet.The Danish recycle artist Thomas Dambo and his team have created 170 troll sculptures from discarded materials such as wooden pallets, old furniture and wine barrels.Twelve years after he started the “Trail of a Thousand Trolls” project, his sculptures can be found in more than 20 countries and 21 U.S. states. Each year Dambo and his team make about 25 new trolls, which stand up to 40 feet (12 meters) tall.“I believe that we can make anything out of anything,” said Dambo, speaking from his farm outside Copenhagen. “We are drowning in trash. But we also know that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”An installation of six sculptures called “Trolls Save the Humans” is on display at Filoli, a historic estate with 650 acres of forests and gardens in Woodside, California, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) south of San Francisco.“They bring us back to be connected to the earth and to nature,” said Jeannette Weederman, who was visiting Filoli with her son in July.Dambo’s trolls each have their own personality and story. At Filoli, the troll Ibbi Pip builds birdhouses, Rosa Sunfinger plants flowers and Kamma Can makes jewelry from people’s garbage.“Each of them has a story to tell,” said Filoli CEO Kara Newport. “It inspires people to think of their own stories, what kind of creatures might live in their woods and make that connection to living beings in nature.”Dambo’s trolls don’t like humans because they waste nature’s resources and pollute the planet. The mythical creatures have a long-term perspective because they live for thousands of years and have witnessed the destructive force of human civilizations.But the six young trolls at Filoli have a more optimistic view of human nature. They believe they can teach people how to protect the environment.“They want to save the humans. So they do this by teaching them how to be better humans be humans that don’t destroy nature,” said Dambo, 45, a poet and former hip-hop artist. “They hope to save them from being eaten by the older trolls.”Dambo’s trolls are hidden in forests, mountains, jungles and grasslands throughout Europe and North America as well as countries such as Australia, Chile and South Korea. Most were built with local materials and assembled on-site by his team of craftsmen and artists with help from local volunteers.“My exhibition now has four and a half million visitors a year globally, and it’s all made out of trash together with volunteers,” said Dambo. “That is such a huge proof of concept of why we should not throw things out, but why we should recycle it.” Terry Chea, Associated Press
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At the new Tesla Diner in Hollywood, a retro-futuristic drive-in, you can catch a short film lasting about 30 minutesthe typical length of a charging session at a Superchargerwhile you plug in your car. You can also get lunch (on the menu: a Tesla burger with electric sauce) while you use one of the 80 chargers on site. Its not the only attempt to reinvent the gas station in the age of electric cars. A startup called Rove opened a charging center last year that includes a lounge where drivers can pull out their laptops and catch up on work. Ionna, a coalition formed by automakers, is building Rechargery sites that also include lounges and coffee. The concept is simple: If it takes longer to charge an EV than to pump gas, gas stations need to become a better place to hang out. But this probably isnt the future of EV chargingor only a small part of it. Elon Musk has said that he wants to build a network of new diners if the Hollywood location is a success. (Dont hold your breath: It took seven years for Tesla to build the one that just opened.) It could be helpful as an interim solution. But most EV charging will ultimately look different. First, faster charging is on the horizon. In China, BYD is rolling out EVs with batteries designed to charge in five or six minutes, and building a network of ultra-fast chargers to support the vehicles. Solid-state batteries, under development now, will also enable fast charging when they eventually come to market. If faster-charging battery technology becomes widespread, the typical gas station model wouldnt have to change. Its more likely, though, that gas stations will become less and less important, as charging becomes embedded everywhere else. Already, around 80% to 90% of EV drivers in the U.S. charge at home most of the time. Its more convenient than going out of your way to a charging station. Its cheaper. Its also better for your cars batteryand the electric gridto charge slowly, over hours rather than minutes. (New tech may help batteries degrade less with fast charging, but the power demand from chargers is still a challenge for the grid.) For EV owners who live in apartments, shared chargers in garages are becoming more common, so they also have the option to charge at night. Curbside chargers on streets are also beginning to roll out in some cities. If drivers plugged in at work, and slowly charged during the day, the network of cars could help store extra solar power without the need to build as much large-scale battery storage infrastructure. And when someone needs a fast charge, that can happen at the places they already go. Some stores have had EV chargers for years, and more retailers keep rolling them out. Starbucks is building chargers at some stores. Fast food chains from Dunkin’ to Chick-fil-A have started adding chargers at some locations. Walmart plans to install chargers at thousands of its stores. Cars spend 95% of their time parked. And unlike gas cars, EVs don’t need supervision while they’re refueling, so they can take advantage of that unused time. Instead of creating entertainment for new charging stations, maybe we just need to keep adding more chargers to the places where cars already park.
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