Vancouver-based licensed cannabis producer Sproutly Canada Inc. has partnered with New Brunswick brewer Moosehead Breweries Ltd. to create a joint venture that will produce cannabis-infused drinks, the companies announced April 30.
The partnership is the latest in a string of agreements between drinks manufacturers and cannabis companies in the lead-up to Canada fully legalizing marijuana.
The eagerness to get into the sector is fueled by reports such as one last year by听Canaccord Genuity, which estimated that
The government has committed to legalize edibles, extracts, topicals and drinks by Oct. 17, although the rollout of those products is not expected to be until early 2020.
Last week, Vancouver-based Invictus MD Strategies Corp. , Simmons鈥� MoneyBag Sodas and听Rock Steady Sodas, to make听non-alcoholic, CBD-infused beverages to be distributed across the U.S. and Canada.
The trend toward these kinds of partnerships has also prompted B.C.-based companies such as Tilray Inc., Emerald Health Therapeutics and Chemesis International Inc. to jump on the research bandwagon to improve technology for infusing drinks with active cannabis ingredients.
Sproutly鈥檚 partnership with Moosehead is to create a joint venture in which each company owns an equal 50-50 equity stake.
Matthew Oland, one of Moosehead鈥檚 senior executives, has been appointed to be the joint venture鈥檚 CEO. His venture will develop, produce and market non鈥恆lcoholic cannabis-infused beverages in Canada using Sproutly鈥檚 proprietary, naturally produced, water-soluble cannabinoids that the company calls 鈥淚nfuz2O,鈥� the companies said.
The largest of the partnerships between cannabis producers and drinks makers was hatched last year, when the beer, wine and spirits giant Constellation Brands Inc. invested $5 billion in Ontario-based licensed cannabis producer Canopy Growth Corp.
Molson Coors Canada, the business unit of the global brewing behemoth Molson Coors Brewing Co., was also active last year by forging an agreement with Quebec鈥檚 Hydropothecary Corp. to form a joint venture to develop non-alcoholic, cannabis-infused beverages in Canada.
Despite the many ventures partnering to be ready to produce cannabis-infused drinks, perfecting听these drinks is difficult work.
One problem is that many people do not like the taste of cannabinoids, such as CBD. A second challenge is to infuse the cannabinoids into water-based drinks because the cannabinoids are oil-based in their purest form.
The need to make cannabinoids water soluble stems not just from consumers鈥� desire for homogenized drinks with a consistent texture听but also because water soluble drinks provide intoxicating effects much faster than do non-water-soluble drinks.听
Drinks that are not water soluble have a delay in the effects of oil-based cannabinoids, which bind with fat in the human body before they鈥檙e absorbed. That means that they are not felt for 90 minutes or more. Alcohol, in contrast, fuses with water and is absorbed quickly into the bloodstream to create intoxicating effects.
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