Minnesota Retailers See Strong Demand For THC Drinks
October 3, 2023Since July 1, liquor stores in Minnesota have been allowed to stock cannabis drinks and many are getting on board. Surdyk’s in Minneapolis offers 66 THC beverage SKUs. “I spend time talking to people in their 70s and 80s as much as I do to people in their 20s and 30s,” says THC beverage buyer Patrick Walsh. “You can go to a barbecue and find people enjoying their craft brews alongside people enjoying THC beverages.”
Popular brands at Surdyk’s are Trail Magic ($25 a four pack of 16-ounce cans) and Modist Melt ($25 a four pack of 16-ounce cans). Surdyk’s began advertising THC drinks heavily during its summer sale this year. “My theme was low-dose, high-volume beverages,” Walsh says. “It’s hot in the summer, and people here are always spending time outside, so you tend to want to drink a higher volume of cold liquid if you’re imbibing. I focused on selections meeting that criteria—16-ounce cans with 3mg to 5mg of THC.”
Two main groups of Surdyk’s THC beverage customers are dosage seekers and the health conscious. “Dosage seekers are looking at dosage for price, and flavor is a secondary decision factor,” Walsh explains. “Other people are looking for lower dosages. They are maybe more health conscious and looking for alternatives to alcohol. I spend a lot of time educating customers about all of the differences and what you can expect from a THC beverage or one that has CBD in it, too.”
Sales of THC beverages are solid and growing at Haskell’s, a 12-store chain in Minneapolis. “I’m getting phone calls from companies in California, Oregon, Illinois, and all over the place trying to get their THC drinks here,” says Haskell’s president Ted Farrell. “We wanted to focus on what’s working rather than suddenly have 400 new items and only 20 of them selling. Most of the brewers here in town realized they could make a THC seltzer really quick.”
The three top-selling brands at Haskell’s are Clr!ty ($22.49 a four-pack of 12-ounce cans), Blncd ($5 a 12-ounce can), and Lupulin ($33 a four-pack of 16-ounce cans). “We want to hold steady and make sure we have a nice controlled flow into the stores,” Farrell says.
The wildcard for THC beverage sales at alcohol retailers will be when cannabis dispensaries open in Minnesota next year. “We are riding this trend as well as we can until dispensaries in Minnesota open next year,” Farrell says. “We might see a bit of a decline in the THC beverage sales. The jury is out until the dispensaries open. It’s a big question mark.”
Regardless, it looks like THC beverages have a promising long-term future in Minnesota. “The strongest brands will survive, and the fly-by-night brands will wane,” Farrell says. “There will definitely be a spot for the THC drinks in all of the stores from now on.”—Kevin Barry
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