Canadian cannabis producer Hexo Corp. and brewer Molson Coors Canada have launched new beverage products under their Truss Beverage Co. joint venture, marking increased competition in Canada’s much-hyped marijuana beverage market.
The lineup of five drink brands unveiled Tuesday includes both CBD and THC products. All will be sold in Canadian marijuana dispensaries, not in mass retail outlets.
Most of the drinks contain 2.5 milligrams to 5 milligrams of THC, characterized as a “medium dose.”
The “XMG” beverage brand contains 10 milligrams of THC, the maximum allowed under Canadian law.
Like competitor Canopy Growth, which is backed by liquor giant Constellation Growth, Truss is courting new or infrequent cannabis consumers with products that don’t rely on combustion.
Whether cannabis beverages will change the game for producers such as Hexo and Canopy remains to be seen.
Cannabis beverages accounted for just 1.5% of market share in Alberta in June, 1.1% in British Columbia and 1.4% in Ontario, according to Seattle data analytics firm Headset.
The beverage release comes as Hexo and Denver-based Molson Coors Beverage Co. plan to release a separate line of hemp-derived CBD beverages in the United States.
