One of the latest trends in cannabis consumption is cannabis beverages, but research argues these drinks are not just a “trend,” showing that in 2023, the global cannabis beverages market was valued at $1.16 billion. However, in 2024, this market is expected to reach $3.8 billion by 2030.
What is driving this demand for cannabis-infused drinks? Individuals today are gradually becoming more focused on their wellness, growing wary of what they put in their bodies. An example demonstrating this is data that shows only 62 percent of adults under the age of 35 reported drinking alcohol, which is a decrease from 72 percent just two decades ago.
But it is not just cannabis beverages on the rise. Consumption as a whole has been increasing, with a study from 2022 finding that 17.7 million people reported daily or near-daily use of marijuana, while 14.7 million people reported drinking at the same frequency.
Cannabis Tips the Scales
As individuals steer away from alcohol, the scales continue to tip toward cannabis use—threatening the livelihood of Big Alcohol, which reported it is experiencing a slump in sales of wine and spirits.
This decrease in sales is partly due to many individuals choosing to live an alcohol-free lifestyle, with 45 percent of millennials now requesting non-alcoholic products. Another key factor in sales stalling is the increased access to legal cannabis, which includes cannabis-infused beverages.
Thus, it should come as little surprise that Big Alcohol is looking to step into the cannabis beverage market, as The Boston Beer Company did in 2022. The company, which owns brands Samuel Adams Boston Lager, Twisted Tea, Truly Hard Seltzer, and Angry Orchard, introduced its TeaPot cannabis-infused iced teas in Canada.
It is only a matter of time before Big Alcohol diversifies its revenue and breaks into the cannabis beverage market, especially as cannabis legalization continues to spread throughout the country. The move by Big Alcohol could help make up for profit loss on the declining alcohol sales.
Big Alcohol: Progress or Problem?
A move by Big Alcohol to enter the cannabis beverage market points to both progress and problems. While the move could help normalize the use of cannabis, provide cannabis drinks to a wider audience, and provide better distribution channels, concerns about what could happen to smaller cannabis brands rise.
Having Big Alcohol in the corner of cannabis-infused beverages might push for clearer, safer regulations. However, its prioritization of profit over quality raises other concerns, particularly if Big Alcohol begins to dominate the cannabis-infused beverage market. Infused drinks may become watered down and less effective for marijuana consumers, not to mention that the additives in Big Alcohol’s wine, beer, and other spirits are not healthy. In fact, alcoholic beverages are known to “contain a variety of carcinogenic contaminants that are introduced during fermentation and production, such as nitrosamines, asbestos fibers, phenols, and hydrocarbons.”
These additives and the potential to decrease the quality of products in this sector are concerns for many cannabis business leaders. Monica Olano, founder and CEO of Cali Sober Mom and cannabis reform advocate, was quoted in the Cannabis Regulator article, “Cannabis Businesses Selling Out to Big Alcohol,” stating, “Studies have shown that alcohol brands use additives in their products that are linked to cancer. Are we going to let the hemp and cannabis industry sell out to [Big Alcohol] and potentially taint our wellness product with harmful additives? This would erase a lot of hard work the industry has done to create safer, healthier alternatives to alcohol with a focus on wellness.”
The fact, though, is that Big Alcohol’s move into the cannabis beverage market is likely to bring both opportunities and challenges. The concern should be from consumers, who need to be careful when purchasing cannabis-infused beverages, especially as more alcohol leaders enter the game. Consumers looking to indulge in a cannabis drink for wellness benefits will want to make sure there are no harmful additives in the drinks they choose.
