The beverage format is becoming a popular vehicle for delivering cannabis, but manufacturers and brand owners need to pay as much attention to their base formula as their active ingredients, says Andy Dratt, EVP and chief commercial officer for Imbibe.
Dratt urged the cannabis industry to focus on food science during his presentation for the Cannabis Drinks Expo, held Aug. 1 at Morgan Manufacturing in Chicago.
“The liquid matters, right? It really matters,” he said. “And as you think about launching products, you get into these debates about you know what’s the dose — low or high? What’s the source — CBD or THC from cannabis or hemp? But you need to put as much thought into the liquid itself.”
Dratt offered several examples of pitfalls that cannabis beverage brands can encounter, such as not pasteurizing a juice-based product or using aluminum can liners that pull cannabinoids from a beverage formulation, throwing off testing results and reducing product quality.
He also noted its imperative to use ingredients that are generally recognized as safe (GRAS) for humans to consume, adding that brand owners and manufacturers must work with their suppliers to ensure the ingredients are safe.
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