Interview: Hemp THC Brand Cantrip Focuses On Connecting At Retail
February 25, 2025Boston-based Cantrip is among a number of hemp THC beverage brands rapidly expanding across the U.S. market. Retail sales of hemp THC beverages in the U.S. surged from $100 million to approximately $380 million in 2024, year-on-year, according to an estimate from data tracker Brightfield. Cantrip has placed an emphasis on brick-and-mortar retail, gaining shelf space in retailers like Total Wine, BevMo, and other chains as it aims to market the hemp THC category to new consumer audiences. The brand’s 5mg THC seltzers and sodas retail at $10-$14 a four-pack, depending on the market, with its 10mg versions ranging from $19-$25. Sales grew 350% last year, according to founder and CEO Adam Terry, while profit doubled. SNDC executive editor Daniel Marsteller recently spoke with Terry to see where the company is headed in 2024.
SNDC: How is the overall market for hemp THC beverages developing?
Terry: Interest is still expanding as more people become aware of this category. We’re still at a time in the market where not nearly all of the consumers who will be interested in these beverages are currently aware they exist yet.
In 2024, we did see a couple big markets shut down unfortunately, but we also expect some of those to come back online with new regulatory frameworks this year. We’ll see a lot of states trying to turn back any bans they have and create a system that drives tax revenue and brings in money for the state, and effectively regulates a product that is going to show up in consumers’ hands whether they ban it or not.
SNDC: What are a few of the fastest-expanding markets for Cantrip?
Terry: New Jersey is a standout marketplace for us. It’s grown a lot in the last year. We work with the Anheuser-Busch distribution network there. Tennessee is another growing marketplace, as is much of the Southeast. I’m seeing big growth numbers in Florida right now for our brand as well.
Minnesota is a big marketplace, our third- or fourth-biggest state, but it’s probably the most saturated market in the country. There’s a billion brands. Not all of them will survive. I’m turning my eyes to bigger prizes. I’m happy that we have a strong position there, but I’ll be spending more resources trying to grow Florida and New Jersey, for example.
SND: How has Cantrip’s distributor lineup developed over the past year?
Terry: We saw a huge dry January this year in retail and we’re really focused on building that channel. We’re seeing big increases in a lot of states where we’re digging in deeper. Around this time last year, we probably had four or five distributors. Now we have 33 distributors nationally, some of which are inactive. I have four in California that I’m not currently selling anything to because there’s a ban on the category there.
A switch flipped last year among distributors participating in the industry. The lightbulb turned on for beer and wine wholesalers. They’re getting involved at the legislative level to codify things. We’re seeing the lift. We see an average of 15% to 20% sales lift at liquor stores carrying THC products in a time when traditional alcohol sales are on the decline.
My business grew 350% last year, and we doubled our profitability, which means that our net profits had a 700% increase year over year, and that’s partially because we stopped operating in dispensaries by the end of 2023. So we no longer had that drag on our business.
SNDC: How is the online segment performing?
Terry: Our direct-to-consumer business has plateaued a bit. Many of our competitors are crushing it online and they’re expanding those businesses. Cantrip is pretty focused on brick-and-mortar. A lot of states have bans on direct-to-consumer, some of which may start actually being enforced, and I expect more states to enact bans on that area. We don’t sell to places that have banned it, which is one of the reasons that our direct-to-consumer business is somewhat limited compared to our competitors.
We’ll have more with Cantrip CEO Adam Terry in the second part of this interview.
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