Interview, Part 2: Bayou City Hemp And 8th Wonder Cannabis CEO Ben Meggs
May 28, 2024In the second part of our interview, Ben Meggs, CEO of Texas-based hemp THC players Bayou City Hemp and 8th Wonder Cannabis, discusses new products, the on-premise market for the emerging category, and expansion opportunities ahead for the company.
SND: How does the new product pipeline look?
Meggs: We have a new THC spirit coming out. It’s called Ocho Verde. Packaged in a spirits-style bottle, each dose has four milligrams of THC, and the idea is you can pour a shot behind the bar and operators can make a $15 drink with it. We’ve found it works well on-premise, and that part of the market is picking up pretty dramatically.
SND: What types of on-premise venues are you in?
Meggs: We are on-premise at all kinds of bars and restaurants, music venues, and sports entertainment venues. It’s very recent that the giant chains are stepping in. Minnesota has been having its heyday in this category, and it’s been a great launching point. But I truly believe Texas will be the tipping point where you’ll see things turn very rapidly.
We also have our own taproom where there’s tens of thousands of people that come through monthly. We’ve had our THC beverages on tap beside beer for the greater part of two years. From the day that we launched the first THC beverage in 8th Wonder, it was immediately and still to this day is the number-one to-go item bought from our own brick and mortar place. And our THC beverage tap sales are quickly approaching those of the beers.
SND: What prompted Bayou City’s purchase of 8th Wonder?
Meggs: When we acquired 8th Wonder, we did it for a few reasons. One was for their expertise in beverages, one was for their capacity. Another one was for their brand identity, brand exposure. They’re a decade-old brewery here, so they’ve got some deep roots. And really the largest reason was they have existing distribution channels. They’ve been with Silver Eagle for the last eight years. And now we’re very excited to be broadcast to Silver Eagle’s 10,000-plus accounts.
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