Out with sugar. In with weed.
With changing perceptions of sugar and alcohol, there’s huge (and growing) demand for non-traditional beverages that people can feel better about consuming. Beverage brands are harnessing a new spirit of experimentation, as well as fresh opportunities in the cannabis space to create beverages people actually want. Take a look at The Garden’s roundup of modern-day drinking.
With phase two of legalization underway in Canada, it’s the dawn of cannabis beverages — no calories necessary. Watch out for Truss, a joint venture between Molson Coors and HEXO Corp., set to release 6 cannabis beverage brands, starting with a CBD spring water (in partnership with Flow Alkaline Water) that will launch before the end of the year.
After several scandals involving high-alcohol sugary drinks, Health Canada moved this summer to restrict alcoholic content in single-serving beverages to 4.5%. But it’s not just regulators demanding change. Not all customers are thirsting for sugary beverages anymore.
“In the most recent reported sales figures, White Claw outsold every craft beer brand. In July, White Claw claims it outsold Budweiser. Yes, Budweiser.” Hard seltzer is the brewed equivalent of vodka soda, and for calorie-conscious consumers, it’s an opportunity to take the guilt out of going out.
With claims that Millennials overall are sick of drinking, there has been a visible rise in mocktail culture in restaurants and no alcohol drink options at the liquor store (isn’t that called pop or soda?). The latest development? Booze-free bars like Getaway Bar in NYC where fancy ingredients replace alcohol content for a guaranteed no hangover night out.
