States rush to rein in booming hemp drink market with alcohol-style regulations
The Hemp Beverage Alliance was featured in an article in Pluribus News on the hemp beverage regulatory landscape:
Hemp-infused drinks are a fast-growing segment of the adult beverage market, with the potential to become a $4 billion industry by 2028, according to one forecast. The industry’s challenge has been getting the products into customers’ hands given the state and federal regulatory uncertainty.
Christopher Lackner, president and CEO of the two-year-old industry group the Hemp Beverage Alliance, said his members are increasingly engaging with alcohol wholesalers to strategize ways to give hemp beverage brands access to liquor retailers.
“What we are seeing is that when these products get on retail shelves next to other 21-plus products, they do very, very well,” Lackner said.
The fledgling alliance comes as states seek to create order out of chaos following the legalization of hemp for purposes of feed, fiber and grain in the 2018 federal farm bill.
###
