An influential group of beverage-alcohol retailers and distributors are supporting legislative efforts to keep hemp-infused beverages alive despite their prohibition, slated to take effect in November 2026.
Intoxicating hemp beverages have gotten another vote of confidence, this time from Sprouts Farmers Market, which is slated to become the first national grocery chain to offer the drinks starting next week.
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.
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Lukas Southard, Jeffrey Klineman and Martín Caballero
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.
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.”