Hemp Beverage Alliance in CBD Oracle
We spoke with Lee Johnson of CBD Oracle last week to discuss the misguided policies happening in California.
“Hemp beverages are low-dose products that are designed and marketed to adults only. As an industry, we strongly encourage retailers to age-gate/check IDs. Labels indicate that the products contain hemp-derived THC and include information to empower the consumer, including a QR code so customers can see the test results.”
Read the whole story at CBD Oracle.
California should adopt proven hemp beverage regulations
Minnesota is an excellent model for hemp beverage legislation. We hope the Golden State will look to the North Star state as a guide for moving forward.
Read more about the story at Food Ingredients First.
Hemp Beverage Alliance sponsors Pacific Hemp Beverage Summit
(BEND, Ore.) The Hemp Beverage Alliance is proud to sponsor the inaugural Pacific Hemp Beverage Summit on October 11, 2024.
Organized by local hemp beverage brands Shift Naturals, Ablis and Altitude Functional Beverages, the summit will provide education, networking and collaboration opportunities for hemp beverage suppliers, distributors, and retailers in the Pacific Northwest.
"Hemp beverages continue to capture the imagination of adult consumers across the country," said Christopher Lackner, president, Hemp Beverage Alliance. "We are honored to support the Pacific Hemp Beverage Summit and champion the responsible development of this industry in the PNW."
The summit will take place at Silver Moon Brewing, 24 NW Greenwood Ave, Bend, Oregon 97703. Programming will include panel discussions and workshops with regulatory experts from around the region and the country, local supply chain partners, and HBA leadership. The event will conclude with networking, sampling and live music.
"Bend is the region's hub for beverage innovation, collaboration, and sustainability," said conference organizer Thomas Angel, Altitude Functional Beverages. "We welcome everyone to our perfect part of the world to learn more about the future of drinking."
Registration is now open at www.PHBSummit.com.
The summit follows the Hemp Beverage Alliance's successful conference & festival in Minneapolis, which brought together hundreds of industry leaders from around the Midwest and concluded with Mayor Jacob Frey proclaiming June 8 “Hemp Beverage Day” in the city.
About the Organizers
Altitude Functional Beverages, Ablis, and Shift Naturals are leading hemp beverage producers in the Pacific Northwest. The host facility, Silver Moon Brewing, regularly provides support and collaborative opportunities and events for beverage producers of all categories beyond the craft beer space.
About the Hemp Beverage Alliance
The mission of the Hemp Beverage Alliance is to create a safe and thriving industry through education, advocacy, best practices and partnership. We achieve this mission by providing consumers, retailers, and distributors with the information they need to better understand the industry; developing best practices to create consistency in labeling and manufacturing; working with elected officials and regulators to encourage common-sense regulation; and collaborating with cannabis and alcohol industries to create a marketplace that benefits everyone. More at hempbeveragealliance.org.
Hemp Beverage Alliance urges California to develop legislative solution to allow sale of hemp beverages.
The Hemp Beverage Alliance is the trade association of the hemp beverage industry, with more than 175 organizations working together to create a safe, transparent, and thriving hemp beverage industry.
The Hemp Beverage Alliance is disappointed with the recent mischaracterization of hemp beverages in California. That said, we are heartened by the Governor’s commitment to working with suppliers and distributors to appropriately sell hemp beverages within a regulated environment. Such regulatory frameworks are already in place across the country and can be easily replicated in California.
Minnesota has a thriving regulated hemp beverage marketplace that allows for the sale of products in retail and on-premises locations. In Georgia, similar rules will soon be enacted to ensure the safe, compliant, and age-gated sales of hemp beverages. In all, more than half of the states in the country have regulatory frameworks that allow these products to be sold in retail and on-premises locations.
“A legislative solution must be created immediately to allow the sale of hemp beverages,” said Christopher Lackner, president, Hemp Beverage Alliance. “We look forward to working with the governor, the legislature, the business community and public health leaders to develop a plan that protects children, generates revenue for the state, empowers consumers to make informed choices, and, like alcohol, allows hemp beverages to be purchased only in places where there is proper age-gating.”
Across the country and around the world, adults are exploring alcohol alternatives, and many are turning to hemp beverages: seltzers, teas, sodas and mocktails that create an adult beverage experience without the booze. Founded in 2023, the Hemp Beverage Alliance advocates several best practices to steer this new industry, including ensuring products are kept away from children; clear labeling that empowers the consumer; reasonable taxation; and sensible milligram levels in products.
ABOUT
The mission of the Hemp Beverage Alliance is to create a safe and thriving industry through education, advocacy, best practices and partnership. We achieve this mission by providing consumers, retailers, and distributors with the information they need to better understand the industry; developing best practices to create consistency in labeling and manufacturing; working with elected officials and regulators to encourage common-sense regulation; and collaborating with cannabis and alcohol industries to create a marketplace that benefits everyone. More at hempbeveragealliance.org.
Two years in, Minnesota’s THC market hasn’t lost its buzz
In the two years since Minnesota legalized low-dose cannabis drinks and edibles, there seems to be little indication that the popularity of these products is slowing down. From The Minnesota Star Tribune:
“Minnesota is, in some ways, the Silicon Valley of the hemp-derived economy,” said Brian Vicente, founder of one of the nation’s top cannabis law firms, Vicente LLP. “The brands of the future, I think, are being born in Minneapolis today.”
Read the full article here, which includes quotes from several other members of the Hemp Beverage Alliance.
THC seltzers quietly find a foothold in cannabis-cautious South Dakota
Hemp beverages are being embraced across the country, even in the “Mount Rushmore State.” From the South Dakota Searchlight:
About a year ago, bar owner Justin Henrichsen started offering THC seltzers and cocktails at his four establishments in Rapid City, Spearfish and Sioux Falls.
Since then, he’s watched the libations’ popularity spike with each passing month, across age groups and demographics, sometimes outselling wine and on pace with craft beers.
What he hasn’t seen are problems. A year in, he can say something about cannabis drinkers he can’t say about beer drinkers.
“We’ve never had to cut anyone off, we’ve never had a bro come in and try to pound 15 of them, and we’ve never had to kick anybody out,” Henrichsen said. “It’s a non-issue.”
Read the full article here, which includes Hemp Beverage Alliance best practices for serving size, label requirements, and serving only to adults 21 years or older.
Submit your comments to the Georgia Department of Agriculture
As we discussed this week, HBA will be submitting comments to the Georgia Department of Agriculture regarding their proposed comments for hemp beverages.
We strongly encourage HBA members (and non-members) to amplify our recommendations by submitting comments of your own that 1) reflect your perspective and 2) encourage the solutions proposed by HBA.
HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR COMMENT
Click here for suggested language and copy/paste it into an email.
At the beginning of the message, add a paragraph or two about your personal/professional experience, concerns, commitment to safety, etc. The more you can personalize/tell your own story, the better. Here are some ideas to get you started:
Suppliers - How are you making quality products and marketing them in a responsible manner?
Retailers - How are customers reacting when they hear about this new product?
Distributors - How will hemp beverages help your business?
Supply chain - How are you taking steps to make sure products are safe and of the highest possible quality?
Once you’ve added your personal story, send your message to: hemp@agr.georgia.gov
Please note: If you do not include a personal touch to the email, you can still just send it as is. The important thing is that you send it out in a timely manner.
WHEN TO SUBMIT YOUR COMMENT
Do not delay in sending your comments. Please make this a priority and send as soon as possible. In a perfect world, you’d send out your comments shortly after we submit our comments on August 22.
The deadline to submit comments is 4:30p eastern time on Friday September 6.
WHY YOU SHOULD SUBMIT COMMENTS
The Georgia Department of Agriculture is very interested in the hemp beverage industry’s recommendations. Our conversations with them indicate that they will be receptive to what we have to say.
If we collectively support common solutions, there is a greater chance that they will be implemented.
The rule-making process is an important part of the process but it only works when we all participate.
WHO SHOULD SUBMIT COMMENTS
Public comments are open to everyone. You don’t need to be part of the industry to make a comment. That said,
Everyone who is in the industry absolutely should take a moment to make a comment.
CAN I GIVE MY COMMENTS IN PERSON?
In addition to accepting written comments, the Georgia Department of Agriculture will hold a public hearing at 1pm eastern on September 9, 2024 at 19 MLK Drive SW, Room 201, Atlanta, GA 30334
It is very important that you submit your written comments before the hearing.
NEED MORE INFORMATION?
Visit https://agr.georgia.gov/legal/notice-intent-amend-repeal-and-adopt-hemp-and-hemp-product-rules
https://agr.georgia.gov/legal/notice-intent-adopt-consumable-hemp-product-rule
Hit up our #georgia Slack channel
Email chris@hempbeveragealliance.org
HBA on WIOD News Radio
Minnesota is often seen as the land of hemp beverages. But Florida also is quickly establishing itself as a strong marketplace for the cateogory.
The Alliance sat down with News Radio 610 WIOD’s Manny Munoz to discuss what these drinks are, why they should only be sold to adults 21 years or older, and how “starting low and going slow” is the key to success.
Meeting recap
We had a bit of a Google Chat bungle today so we’re posting the meeting recap on the blog. Enjoy!
Welcome and call to order
Click here for agenda. We’ve got a lot of new members in the group, including new distributors, brands, and service providers. Check out our website to see the full list of brands, distributors, ingredient providers, can/label/package makers, co-packers, supply chain partners, professional service providers, retailers and associations.Treasury Department reporting requirements for small businesses
Brian Wolski gave a presentation on important requirements from the Department of Treasury. This is a new law with potentially significant penalties. We encourage everyone to be aware of this issue and talk with your legal counsel about it (HBA does not provide legal counsel or advice). Click here for Brian’s presentation.Trade show branding opportunities
Matt Strumpf/Strike Visuals are new members but have already been very active in helping folks out with trade show materials and other visual elements. Matt gave a great overview of best practices in trade show presentations. He’ll send out some information later this week to everyone so you can see what they can do for you.State advocacy
Ted W. gave an update on California (still plugging away), Adam T. gave an update on New Jersey (nothing new from last week), Eapen and others weighed in on Iowa (lawsuits will be decided end of the week). Missouri advocates have a call on Thursday July 25 @ 10am if you want an update on what’s going on there. To participate in this call, fill out this Google form.Up-to-date information on these and other states can be found in our Slack channels. Shoot me a note if you want to discuss in further detail.
Midwest Hemp Fest
Tara Falk invited Midwest brands to participate in the Great Midwest Hemp Fest in Madison, Wisconsin - September 28 & 29. Tara expects several thousand people to attend this event, which will include a hemp beverage pavilion/tent showcasing drinks from Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Iowa and Minnesota. Click here for an application to participate. Email tara@rrproductionsgroup.com to learn more.Benzinga Capital Conference
Javier Hasse spoke about Benzinga’s event in Chicago on October 8 & 9. They’re organizing a hemp/THC beverage contest and are offering $100 off for HBA members. Click here for details. Email javierhasse@benzinga.com for details and to get that $100 code.Data gathering
There is an increasing need for real data on the size of the hemp beverage industry. Matt Kurtzman talked to the group about moving forward with a strategy to aggregate data from HBA brands and put it to good use for advocacy, marketing, and investors. The first step is to fill out this form to determine who is interested. From there, we’ll fashion a strategy to make this happen.Membership
Please renew your membership if you haven’t already. Be sure to fill out the form that you’re directed to after you pay. Please note: We’ve heard from a few folks that Chase credit cards may bounce back with a “fraud alert.” Let us know if you’re having trouble paying and we’ll help you resolve. If you need a proper invoice sent first, you can email accounting@hempbeveragealliance.org. Todd Miller (“Miller”) is our bookkeeper and can take care of that. If you want to mail us a check, please send to PO Box 12664, Denver CO 80212. Just give us a heads up so we know it’s coming.
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HBA member spotlighted in Spectrum News - North Carolina
Our good friend Reilly Dunn is doing the hard work in North Carolina.
All across the country, hemp beverage companies like Reilly's are starting small businesses, investing in equipment, hiring people, and contributing to the economic vitality of their communities. With a focus on quality, safety, and transparency, these companies welcome smart regulation and are working with legislators to keep products away from children, ensure products are safe & contaminant-free, and provide a tax structure benefits the entire state.
Thank you, Reilly and Sasha, for your dedication to our industry (and for the shout out in this local story).