Although the concept of THC-infused beverages was predicted early on to be the exciting, modern approach to cannabis commerce that was going to take the industry to new heights of profitability, we\u2019re probably not going to see this sector crushing it too hard later this year when it is rolled out in the northern nation.<\/p>\n
Health Canada recently\u00a0published rules<\/a>\u00a0that cannabis beverage-makers must adhere to in order to sling stoner sips in the coming months, and we\u2019ve got to tell you there is certainly going to be a lack of sex appeal when these products hit the shelves in mid-December.<\/p>\n Canadian beverage makers are scrambling around trying to figure out how to brand their products to make them appealing to the consumer when the\u00a0edibles markets open up later this year<\/a>. But there are strict limitations that they must follow with respect to packaging that some fear may make these products a tough sell. For starters, none of the beverages can use familiar terminology like \u201cbeer\u201d or \u201cwine\u201d to give the consumer some point of reference as to what the product might taste like.<\/p>\n Furthermore, all of the THC-infused drinks must be packaged according to the same guidelines as other pot products sold in Canada. This means they will be presented in opaque, child-proof containers with plain labels. Toss in the fact that these drinks will likely be given generic names like \u201cBarley Soda,\u201d and it is easy to see why there is some concern about whether there will be any fanfare.<\/p>\n \u201cYou have to essentially mirror the packaging of dried flower,\u201d Hill Street Beverage Co.\u2019s Terry Donnelly\u00a0told<\/a>\u00a0Global News. \u201cThe beverage has to essentially look like toilet bowl cleanser.\u201d<\/p>\n Unlike in the United States, where 11 states have legalized marijuana for recreational use, the Canadian government has taken a bizarre approach to its cannabis trade. While a consumer stepping inside a retail reefer outlet in the states can find brands like Willie\u2019s Reserve and Marley Natural \u2014 all with their own unique packaging and graphics \u2014 the Canadian cannabis scene doesn\u2019t allow any of that. \u201cIt\u2019s almost like you\u2019re buying something dirty in brown paper bags,\u201d Neil Selfe, founder and chief executive officer of Infor Financial Group Inc,\u00a0told Bloomberg<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s like liquor in the \u201960s.\u201d<\/p>\n Not only are the words \u201cbeer\u201d and \u201cwine\u201d prohibited from being mentioned on Canadian cannabis beverages, but so are all of the alternatives. Beverage makers cannot plaster their products with labels like \u201cLager,\u201d \u201cChardonnay,\u201d or \u201cRiesling.\u201d Essentially, any descriptive term that has been used on a bottle of alcoholic anything (or tobacco for that matter) is off limits to the cannabis industry. Health Canada says\u00a0this is happening because<\/a>\u00a0\u201ccombining cannabis with other substances can increase impairment or increase the risk of problematic use and associated harms.\u201d<\/p>\n There were hopes that Health Canada would relax the regulations a bit for the\u00a0edibles sector<\/a>\u00a0ahead of last Friday\u2019s announcement, but the final rules show that the government still believes the plain jane approach is best for weed. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has maintained throughout all of the discussions about Canada legalizing the leaf, that it has nothing to do with business. He only wants to stop criminal organizations from profiting and prevent minors from using it. Whether this model has been a success is another story. The Canadian black market still appears to be thriving,\u00a0according to reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n In some ways, it could be argued that the restrictive nature of the packaging rules gives cannabis companies an opportunity to establish something of their own. But since the concept of branding has been eliminated from the equation, cannabis firms are really left in the dark as to what is acceptable to print on labels and what isn\u2019t. Some companies are actually toying with names like \u201cBarley Soda,\u201d or as Donnelly jokes \u201cliquid fermented extract of cereal grains.\u201d But ultimately, these firms are confused about the terminology they can use without being shut down by regulatory forces. \u201cIt literally leaves us guessing. We have created the names, we have invented new words to describe our beverages, and we hope that consumers will understand what they are,\u201d\u00a0Donnelly said<\/a>.<\/p>\n It is the branding and marketing restriction that is and will continue to prevent Canada from becoming the global leader in cannabis, explains Selfe. \u201cIt\u2019s a real consumer product in big U.S. states where it\u2019s legal, and it isn\u2019t that way yet in Canada despite the fact that we were first,\u201d\u00a0he said<\/a>.<\/p>\n Some believe that the cannabis beverage market was a dead dog long before Canada released its rules on packaging. It was just last month that Aurora Cannabis CEO Terry Booth told investors that the company was starting to\u00a0second-guess the market potential<\/a>\u00a0of cannabis drinks. Most of this squashed enthusiasm seems to be about the fact that it is going to be a long time before marijuana is sold in social situations the same as alcohol. But nevertheless, Booth assured the company\u2019s money men and women that \u201cthe proven market is certainly not in beverage.\u201d<\/p>\n But the THC-beverage scene could still take off. Some of the\u00a0latest data<\/a>\u00a0from market research firm Deloitte still has this sector pegged as being part of a $1.6 billion stake in the Canadian cannabis market. \u201cCannabis-infused beverages\u201d could be worth \u201c$529 million,\u201d said Jennifer Lee, a partner and Deloitte Canada\u2019s Cannabis National Leader, and Consumer Advisory and Analytics Practice National Leader.<\/p>\n How it all shakes out in the end, we will just have to wait and see.<\/p>\n TELL US<\/strong>, have you ever tried a cannabis-infused drink?<\/p>\n The post Canadian Pot Drinks Restricted From Using Terms Like \u2018Beer\u2019 & \u2018Wine\u2019<\/a> appeared first on Cannabis Now<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Although the concept of THC-infused beverages was predicted early on to be the exciting, modern approach to cannabis commerce that was going to take the industry to new heights of profitability, we\u2019re probably not going to see this sector crushing it too hard later this year when it is rolledContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":58,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[34,50,4041,111,10007],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36226"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/58"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36226"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36226\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36227,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36226\/revisions\/36227"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36226"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36226"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36226"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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\nRead More: Canadian Pot Drinks Restricted From Using Terms Like \u2018Beer\u2019 & \u2018Wine\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"