THC drinks will have an expanded potential retail set in Minnesota. Despite an existential timeline ticking on the category’s future, beverage retailers continue to add intoxicating hemp drinks to store shelves. Target is the latest to go deeper in the set…at least in its home state.
As Congress’s November deadline ticks closer for intoxicating hemp beverage makers, states are not waiting to pass their own regulations on if and where THC drinks can be sold.
The future of hemp beverages remains in flux as potential legislative bills circulate on Capitol Hill, but for suppliers and distributors in the space, keeping up with demand has been business as usual. Almost.
While some intoxicating hemp brands are positioning themselves as alcohol alternatives, one early adopter of alcohol-free spirits is joining the fray from the opposite direction.
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.
by
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.