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What’s Behind U.S. Surge of THC Beverage Launches?

Q&A: Cannabis Law Expert Outlines Risks and Rewards; Makes Sense of Wild West Market
May 1, 2025

When Philadelphia-based attorney Seth Goldberg started representing businesses and individuals looking to expand into cannabis 10 years ago, a lot of his work focused on state-licensed cultivators, product manufacturers, and dispensaries in regulated state markets. In recent years, the market has evolved to an emphasis on cannabis as a functional ingredient in food and beverage products. Goldberg’s clients now include a food company looking to expand into THC edibles and a beverage company looking to add a line of THC drinks. THC is the psychoactive component in marijuana. His practice is constantly evolving with shifts in state and federal law and enforcement — or the lack thereof. Without clarity and consistency in the regulation of cannabis-infused food and beverages nationally, entrepreneurs with an appetite for risk have forged a patchwork market for unregulated THC drinks containing psychoactive ingredients such as delta-8 and delta-9. Often, these companies exploit loopholes in the 2018 Farm Bill, which removed cannabis with low concentrations of THC from the Controlled Substances Act and called it hemp. Delta-8 and delta-9 THC drinks are popping up outside of regulated dispensaries in states like Minnesota and Texas. You might even find such products at the local convenience store in your state. “There’s been a real evolution in terms of how cannabis consumer packaged goods are being marketed in 2025 relative to when I got into this is 2015,” Goldberg, a business litigation partner at law firm Pashman Stein Walter Hayden, said in an interview with Beverage Digest. He is co-chair of the firm’s Cannabis & Hemp Law practice. The flood of new THC beverages across the US is now catching the attention of state legislators and regulators. Just this month, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore signed legislation that limits the amount of THC in drinks that aren’t sold by state licensed cannabis distributors. A bill in Tennessee prohibits the sale of hemp-derived THC drinks at convenience stores and groceries. A number of other states including Florida and Georgia have attempted legislation governing this new crop of THC beverages. Hemp-based THC drinks haven’t captured the attention of the Trump administration, however. BD’s Duane Stanford spoke to Goldberg to better understand this exploding THC beverage market...


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2024 All-Channel Results: LRB Dollars and Volume Rose

CSD Volume Declined -0.2%. Dollars Grew +4.8%
April 23, 2025

ABOUT THIS REPORT AND BD’S FACT BOOK, 30TH EDITION. This report is a snapshot of BD’s newly-published Fact Book, 30th Edition. Fact Book offers a comprehensive view of US liquid refreshment beverage industry sales performance by brands, company, and category. Annually, BD compiles estimated volume and value sales data for the US liquid refreshment beverages (LRB) market, as well as categories including carbonated soft drinks (CSD), and energy drinks. The data included in BD’s Fact Book and in this special issue synopsis estimates beverage sales for all measured and unmeasured channels, including packaged retail, fountain, and vending. The fountain channel includes restaurants, sports and entertainment venues, and other foodservice outlets. In recent years, BD has added chilled juice to the annual Fact Book and to this report.


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Risk Grows for SNAP Soda Restrictions

No Slam Dunk. Hurdles and Questions Remain. Is Trump on Board?
April 3, 2025

Momentum is growing within the Trump Administration to cut carbonated soft drinks from the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP. US Health Department Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced late last week...


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Waiting Game for Pepsi Bottlers on Poppi, Alani Nu

PepsiCo to Enter Gut Soda Market With $1.95B Poppi Acquisition
April 3, 2025

A big question for independent US Pepsi bottlers is whether they are in line to distribute two brands at the center of key PepsiCo-related deals this year. The newest deal is PepsiCo’s pending acquisition of prebiotic soda leader Poppi for $1.95 billion, announced on March 17 (BD sent an email news alert to subscribers). The other is the...


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Dynamic 2025 Starts With Alani Deal. Pepsi to Distribute?

KDP Seeks Double-Digit Energy Share With Ghost and More
March 11, 2025

This year is shaping up to be pivotal for the US energy category. An already dynamic 2025 has been marked by Celsius Energy’s pending acquisition of fast-growing Alani Nu. This comes as Keurig Dr Pepper begins to integrate Ghost Energy and Alani Nu competitor Bloom Energy into its distribution network as part of an aggressive push into...


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Future Smarts ’24 Rewind: Highlights From Coke, PepsiCo, Keurig Dr Pepper

March 11, 2025

Beverage Digest hosted its annual Future Smarts conference last December in New York City. The day’s lineup of speakers included leaders from three of the largest US beverage companies — Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Keurig Dr Pepper. The executives sat for interviews on stage with Beverage Digest Editor & Publisher Duane Stanford. Here are highlights as the speakers looked ahead to 2025...


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Briefs: Fairlife; Keurig Dr Pepper; SNAP Risk; Sparkling Water Results and Data; Coke Tax Case; CCEP to FTSE; Target Boycott; $90K Cheeto

March 11, 2025
A collection of recent developments from around the industry to keep you up to speed...
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Tariff Watch: Expanded Aluminum Levies Draw Reaction

Trade Group Calls Change a ‘Curve Ball.’ Coke CEO Sees ‘Manageable Problem’
February 18, 2025

President Donald Trump announced last week that he will impose a 25% tariff on aluminum and steel next month while closing “loopholes and exemptions” for all US trade partners. Exemptions will be eliminated...


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Briefs: PepsiCo Results, Tariff Watch, Monster Succession, SNAP Soda Bill, GLP-1, and More

February 4, 2025
A collection of recent developments from around the industry to keep you up to speed...
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FS24 Hot Topic: Should PepsiCo Refranchise in North America?

Wall Street Panel Discusses What’s at Stake in Pepsi-Coke Share Gap
January 9, 2025

BD hosted its annual Future Smarts conference in New York City on Dec. 16. The day’s discussion threads included the growing carbonated soft drink market share gap between Coca-Cola and PepsiCo in the US. Through the first three quarters of 2024, Coca-Cola held a 40 share of CSDs at US retail after a +0.4 point increase. PepsiCo held a 27 share after -0.7 point decrease. (Keurig Dr Pepper held a 24.5 share after a -0.9 point decline.) As the table below shows,


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