Martín writes news articles and feature stories covering the non-alcoholic beverage industry for BevNET. A graduate of Boston University, Martín's previous work has appeared in USA Today, The Boston Globe and The Boston Herald.
While bev-alc is in flux, zero-proof partying is still in full swing with the announcement of a new multi-year partnership that brings Hiyo Social Tonics into Live Nation venues across the country.
Even for an industry born out of risk and uncertainty, hemp beverages are now officially in uncharted waters. As part of the funding bill to reopen the government signed into law last night by President Donald Trump, hemp-derived products will be required to contain less than 0.4 mg THC per container, as of November 13, 2026. Swept away like a storm in the night, the multi-billion-dollar, hemp-derived THC industry is waking up this morning to the stark reality that, barring the creation of a legal federal framework, they will be virtually extinct within a year.
A last-ditch effort to remove language prohibiting virtually all THC beverages failed in Congress, placing the intoxicating hemp industry’s fate in the House’s hands.
Intoxicating hemp beverages could be sacrificed in a deal to reopen the federal government. As political factions in Washington, D.C., spar over how to end the longest-ever federal government shutdown in U.S. history, legislators – led by Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) – are attempting to use the situation to shape the future of hemp and intoxicating THC products and restrict the market created by the 2018 Farm Bill.
Hemp beverage manufacturers are rallying grassroots support to help defeat a potentially industry-killing ban on intoxicating hemp products currently working through the U.S. Congress.
Of all the hurdles (self-inflicted and otherwise) facing beleaguered hydration drink brand Prime, sugar may not appear to be the most obvious. Nevertheless, the influencer-led, Congo Brands-owned company is seeking to spark a sales and popularity rebound with Prime Zero. Meanwhile, soccer superstar Leo Messi’s Más+ by Messi will shift to slim cans next year.
As one joint is lit, another one is extinguished. I think that’s how the saying goes.
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.
California drinks manufacturer Manna Beverages has shuttered operations and terminated all employees across two production sites, citing underperformance and mounting debts.
The Trump administration’s drive to narrow the scope of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) may cost food retailers nearly $1.6 billion upfront and $759 million annually, according to a survey conducted by three grocery industry trade groups.
Phorm Energy, the new beverage joint venture backed by Anheuser-Busch InBev and UFC boss Dana White, has chosen its fighter. The energy drink brand, a spin-off of 1st Phorm that’s produced by A-B, on Monday morning revealed three-time MMA champion Michael Chandler as its newest partner and a central focus of new content and marketing.
Three years after the Massachusetts-based THC seltzer brand was acquired by multi-state operator Ayr Wellness in a $20 million deal, Levia is back in the hands of two of its original cofounders, Kristin Rogers and her husband Eric Rogers.
The thriving partnership between Celsius and PepsiCo is entering a new phase. The two companies announced an expansion of their long-term strategic alliance this morning that positions Celsius Holdings as PepsiCo’s “strategic energy lead in the U.S.”
If beverage entrepreneurs somehow thought the THC drink business would be more “chill” than the non-infused side, they might soon learn a hard lesson.
