Vodka soda RTD Sprinter Spirits reported it had secured over $4 million in new investment as part of a $12 million round it is currently raising, per a Securities and Exchange (SEC) Form D filed on Friday.

One of the largest retailers in the country is dipping its toe into the intoxicating hemp beverage category. In its home state of Minnesota, Target has stocked the shelves of 10 stores in the Twin Cities region with intoxicating hemp drinks from 10 different brands, marking a potentially seismic shift in distribution for the category.

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has announced an executive order to ban all intoxicating hemp products in the state, effective Tuesday October 14.

Call it a late career shift or just a beverage-alcohol professional trying something new, but the former brewmaster for White Claw is launching an energy drink.

While the two Republican senators from Kentucky square off on how hemp could be regulated in the upcoming Farm Bill and conservative Texas lawmakers relitigate the state’s approach to intoxicating cannabis derivatives, another GOP congressman is laying the early groundwork for legislation to legalize it.

Hold on to your coffee cups. Keurig Dr Pepper is solidifying its position as one of the world’s largest coffee companies on Monday in announcing an $18 billion deal to acquire JDE Peet’s, expected to close early next year.

Cannabis beverage brand Uncle Arnie’s is planning to nearly double its team from 40 to 75 employees after closing a $7.5 million Series A investment round co-led by Mindset Capital and Delta Emerald Ventures.

It’s still Not Beer, but now with a buzz. Dallas-based beverage brand Not Beer is expanding beyond alcohol-free sparkling water for the first time with Not Beer Vibed, a 10mg THC/10mg CBD seltzer available online in 12 oz. slim cans.

Jones Soda is offloading its Mary Jones marijuana beverage brand to privately held cannabis business MJ Reg Disrupters LLC as the drink maker “streamlines operations” and “focuses on core soda offerings.”

While 30 major store improvement projects are slated to be completed in 2025, 60 “underperforming” Kroger stores will be closed over the next 18 months.

Almost exactly eight years since acquiring Whole Foods Market, Amazon is on the verge of restructuring the natural grocery chain’s leadership.

Despite rising regulatory hurdles nationwide, optimism still exists for intoxicating hemp beverages, as evidenced by smaller investment funds’ desire to back brands in the nascent category.

What’s the best route from online to on-shelf sales? For many intoxicating hemp brands, the solution appears to be finding space with beer and liquor distributors. Having leveraged DTC distribution to meet the unique needs of the category, hemp brands are now considering how to marry online sales with the larger opportunity within beverage-alcohol retail.

Not that long ago, the idea of buying cannabis online – especially in a drinkable format – would have seemed like an unlikely pipe dream. Now, order-by-mail has become a primary mechanism for distributing intoxicating hemp beverages.