Interview, Part 2: Cantrip CEO Adam Terry

In the second part of our interview, Cantrip cofounder and CEO Adam Terry discusses the brand’s portfolio of hemp THC seltzers and sodas, the new product pipeline, and how industry players are banding together to try to establish firm ground rules for the emerging hemp-derived THC beverage category.

SND: Which offerings within the Cantrip range are driving growth?

Terry: We’re going to be focused primarily around the 3mg, 5mg, and 10mg ranges. We’ve also expanded into sodas in addition to our original seltzer line. There was a big opportunity because not that many people have been making sodas, especially in Minnesota, but there’s a glut of seltzers in the marketplace.

It’s gotten very competitive, and our sodas tend to outcompete seltzers in certain marketplaces. Our sodas account for a large portion of revenue in Minnesota, to a little bit more evenly split in other marketplaces where there’s less overall competition. But people are really gravitating towards our sodas, which are sugary products.

SND: Is Cantrip planning to release any new products in the coming months?

Terry: We’re bringing back an old flavor that was very popular called Grapefruit Hibiscus. Its original dosing was 3mg, but we’re going to bring that up to 10mg. There’s fewer seltzer offerings in the 10mg range, and Grapefruit was very popular when we had it in Massachusetts. We’ll probably launch in April. I also have a Diet Cola coming down the pike. Our cola has been very popular at 10mg.

SND: How do you extract the THC for your beverages?

Terry: We use THC directly extracted from hemp. So in essence that 0.3% Delta-9 THC maximum in a plant is taken, concentrated down through a series of chromatography and distillation processes, and then that gets emulsified and then diluted back into the beverage. We never use conversion chemistry in our process.

The other route some use is basically to take the CBD in the plant and isomerize it through reaction chemistry into Delta-9. I don’t think we have enough data to say that’s safe or unsafe, and lots of products, such as vanilla flavor, are created that way. But in order to keep it as close to what would be considered a naturally extracted product in the marijuana industry, we source only from suppliers that can get us directly concentrated THC.

We belong to a group called Hemp Beverage Alliance (HBA). We want to create internal standards within the industry such that you can trust a product. The HBA is only going to work with people who are trying to produce these products safely and transparently. The law is not settled in a lot of places, so we want to talk about advocacy. Consumer safety, efficacy, and education are three of the most important tenets of this to make sure that we’re producing to the same quality standards that someone might in a dispensary.

Tagged : cannabis, Cantrip, hemp THC beverages

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