HEXO Corporation’s VP of strategic business development, has recently been noted saying that he has high expectations of the company’s joint venture into the cannabis beverage sector with the Canadian Alcohol producer Molson Coors Brewing Company. Jay McMillian has said he expects this move to project the company into a global drinks expansion.

Making a statement at the World Cannabis Congress in Saint John on Monday, McMillian expressed that Canada has a huge advantage in the market, being able to develop and produce CBD based beverages at a much larger scale than any US producer, This mainly due to the US federal laws require products to be manufactured and sold in the same state, where cannabis is legal. McMillian continued to say that being defined as a Canadian based company will be a major selling point for the major consumer players, looking to enter the cannabis space, as Canadian companies have a much more relaxed law surrounding the industry.

McMillian said while at the WCC “Canada is this great experiment, this great place where we can come and establish these high-quality products, this great distribution, be able to see how it works across different demographics, get that feedback from the consumer and then we will move into other jurisdictions whether that’s into the UK, the U.S. or Latin America,” this in addition to a recent report from Deloitte predicted that the market for the next generation cannabis based and infused products (including beverages) will be worth an annual $2.7 Billion.

Ottawa have recently released their final regulations that are to be put into effect regarding cannabis products that are targeting the edibles, beverages and vape sectors. The new lines of products and regulations are set to become available on the 17th of October of this year, exactly one year after the total decriminalization and legalization of recreational use.
In August of 2018 HEXO made the announcement of a partnership with Molson Coors and their plans to create and distribute non-alcoholic CBD infused beverages for Canadian consumers.

Currently cannabis based beverages that are available in the states that have legalized the recreational use of the product have faced heavy criticism, mainly due to the inconsistency of the product, in terms of flavor and potency. With this huge partnership with one of the most well-known alcohol producers HEXO are planning on creating a sustainable product that will really set the standard for future products.

Henry Xing – AMT Associates