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Popular soda brand Jones Soda unveils new cannabis infused drinks

by Travis C | Mar 11, 2022 | 420 Culture & Travel, Blog, Cannabis Business, Cannabis News, Culture, Industry News, Legalization

Jones Soda company releases new cannabis infused drinks

You may have seen their bottled sodas at your local grocery store. Now Jones Soda is dipping their feet into legal cannabis with a line of new products.

Mary Jones — the new brand from Jones Soda — will introduce cannabis-infused drinks, gummies and syrups to California consumers on April 1. According to the company’s marketing chief Bohb Blair, the company is hoping their recognizable branding will help them gain a chunk of the cannabis drink marketshare that is increasing constantly.

As a smaller, craft soda company, Jones Soda’s 2021 revenue was only .04% of what Coca-Cola pulled in, at just $14.8 million. However the company is using its smaller size to their advantage.

While larger companies like PepsiCo and Coke are hesitant to enter the cannabis drinks market due to federal legality, Jones is more willing to take the risk.

Blair believes that the company’s brand recognition as a quality, craft soda company will give them the edge over existing soda drinks. The current products on the market, according to Blair, are light on flavor and low on dosage. This leaves the door open for Mary Jones to capitalize.

“Health claims aren’t our equity, full flavor is,” Blair said. “We had some conversations early on: Should we be putting CBD in this? And no, it’s not who we are.”

The initial launch will include four different product lines: 12-ounce bottles of soda infused with 10 milligrams of cannabis; 16-ounce cans of soda infused with 100 milligrams of cannabis; syrup designed to mix with other drinks or on food with 1000 milligrams of cannabis per bottle; and gummies infused with five milligrams of cannabis, shaped like mini Jones Soda bottles.

While they are starting in California dispensaries only, Mary Jones already has plans to expand to every legal state in the country.

“We have been putting all of these pieces in place since we announced our intention to establish a cannabis division last July, and we fully expect the brand to deliver solid strategic growth for the company,” CEO Mark Murray said in a statement.

Because the new line of products will only be sold in dispensaries, Jones Soda isn’t worried about consumers mixing up the labels. To distinguish the new products from their traditional line, the Mary Jones branding is a different design, with THC dosages printed in large font.

As a publicly traded company, it is a bold move for Jones Soda to enter the cannabis-infused products market, However they aren’t the first.

Molson Coors, Anheuser-Busch and Boston Beer — the maker of Samuel Adams — have all started their foray into the legal cannabis industry. However there haven’t been any well-known soda companies that made the move, until now.

While still small and lesser known than the big names, Jones Soda has a name that is recognizable on grocery store shelves. As long as Mary Jones can utilize that recognition on dispensary shelves, the new line of products will likely bring a fresh take on cannabis-infused drinks to the market.

Another Big Beverage Maker Is Getting Into Cannabis

by The Real Dirt | Jun 3, 2021 | Blog, Business, Cannabis News, Hemp, Industry News, Legalization

boston beer company potentially making cannabis infused drinks

When Constellation Brands announced it was investing in pot producer Canopy Growth back in 2017, it marked a major turning point for the industry, with outsiders beginning to show a lot more interest in cannabis. Since then, Molson Coors has gotten involved in the development of cannabis-infused beverages, as has Anheuser-Busch. With the volume of beer sales declining by 2.9% last year, the industry could benefit from more growth opportunities, so it may not be surprising if companies turn to a hot new sector like cannabis.

One more big name that is starting to explore cannabis is The Boston Beer Company(NYSE:SAM). Last month, management announced it would be dipping its toes into the industry and begin researching nonalcoholic beverages. Is a move into cannabis drinks inevitable for Boston Beer, and if so, does that make the stock a must-buy?

Is Boston Beer going to start developing cannabis-infused beverages?

On May 14, Boston Beer announced that it was going to set up a subsidiary that would be a “research and innovation hub” for cannabis beverages in Canada (where pot is legal federally). The company did not offer a date as to when it might sell the beverages, but that’s understandably hard to estimate right now given the federal ban on cannabis in the U.S. And while management is researching cannabis beverages north of the border, they haven’t given any indication of plans to sell them there.

The focus appears to be on the U.S. market. CEO Dave Burwick stated in the release that the company “[wants] to be ready for future opportunities in the U.S.”

Boston Beer is simply focusing on innovating the next wave of products and making sure that it is ready to go when the federal government legalizes marijuana in the U.S. Although more states are legalizing pot (New York, New Mexico, and Virginia are among the latest to pass legislation), it’s unclear when pot will be legal federally; President Joe Biden has only gone so far as to talk about decriminalizing pot, not outright legalization.

Many potential partners out there

While Boston Beer is going to create a subsidiary, it’s possible that it could also join forces with a cannabis company to expedite the process. Many cannabis producers would likely be eager to partner up with the top beer maker.

In the past, Aurora Cannabis was looking for a deal and was even rumored to be in talks with Coca-Cola. Sundial Growers, which is sitting on lots of cash, presents another option — management there could be looking to make a big move to bolster their sales numbers. And those are just some of the bigger names out there; Boston Beer wouldn’t have a problem finding potential suitors to work with if it went that route.

Why cannabis looks to be a great fit for the company

Boston Beer has been growing phenomenally over the years; sales of $906 million in 2016 grew to nearly double that in 2020, reaching $1.7 billion. In its most recent quarter, for the period ending March 27, the company has still done incredibly well.

It posted sales of $545 million ,which were up 65% year over year due to a 60% increase in shipments. Boston Beer’s willingness to change and adapt to consumer trends have led to this fantastic growth. The most recent example is hard seltzer products; its Truly brand has captured more than 28% of the market, according to the company’s latest results.