Wendy Berger gave us
an interesting lead on cannabis-infused beverages as a growth area, a nice
middle ground between the immediate high of smoking and the delayed onset of
edibles. I was curious about what's available out there now and what the
technical challenges are in production.
Beverages are
currently 6% of edibles sold now, and one analyst at Canaccord Genuity thinks
it could be estimated market of $600M by 2022, split roughly 40/60 between CBD-
and THC-based (source).
Problems:
- Hemp oil's grassy flavor is hard to mask
- Cannabinoids (e.g., THC) are oils in their natural form and don't mix with water, so getting a well-mixed gulp requires frequent shaking
- Texture and look of infused drinks tends to be murky or opaque
Interesting
products:
- Nano-emulsion processes that can break cannabinoids into smaller particles, and mixing them into water-based liquids using surfactant chemicals - but surfactants themselves taste soapy
- Cannabis-infused syrups and sweeteners
Some leading
CBD-infused drinks:
No comments:
Post a Comment