The legalised cannabis industry, which now covers nine US states and the whole of Canada come July 2018, has been touted as the fastest growing new consumer products market in the word. A sector that leading cannabis brand producers believe could be worth close to $50 billion in the US alone.

For some analysts legalised cannabis is the biggest ever threat to the future of the drinks industry.

But for others, noticeably the major drinks companies looking to diversity into new areas of business, it potentially opens up a completely new market of cannabis-infused drinks that are completely on trend with consumers they currently fail to reach. A new drinks sector that appeals to those consumers who don’t drink alcohol at all, are looking at alternative drinks to help them cut down and, or, looking to live more healthy lives.

Analysts predict the legal cannabis market could be worth $24.5 billion by 2021, is set to grow at least 30% a year and was worth $9.7bn in 2017 (Arcview Market Research).

Figures that economic analysts predict will encourage more US states, noticeably the 30 states that currently allow the legal use of cannabis for medical reasons, and other countries, particularly across South America, to follow suit and give their own economies a much needed boost.

There is a pressing need for the drinks industry to respond, and better understand both the potential challenges and opportunities that legalised cannabis now brings.

The legalised cannabis market is wide open for drinks producers and brand owners to play their part.

Constellation Brands, the world’s biggest drinks company, has shown how important and significant it sees the legal cannabis market with the $190m stake it has taken in leading Canadian cannabis business, Canopy Growth, for just 9.1% of the $2bn business.

First event of its kind

Cannabis Drinks Expo in San Francisco, July, 2019 will be the first event to tackle the issue head on. It will give the worldwide drinks industry, and North America in particular, the chance to come together and look at ways it can both address the threat of legalised cannabis and find ways to create relevant products and markets of its own.

It will also be the first time that drinks producers, manufacturers, brand owners, distilleries and brewers can come together and discuss and debate legalised cannabis.

The chance to assess, analyse and implement ways they can, individually and together, take advantage of what is effectively a new major consumer goods market.

The legalised cannabis industry is not only alive and kicking, it is set to grow at great speed. But it remains a contentious issue and how fast the cannabis market will grow is also very hard to predict. Making it even important that drinks businesses, and retailers across both on and off premises, plan their counter strategies for the next three, five and 10 years.

Cannabis Drinks Expo will also bring the entire drinks supply chain together. Providing a platform for everyone in that supply chain to assess how they can all work together to tackle legalised cannabis head on and take advantage of any new opportunities that the new cannabis supply chain now brings.

It will also provide a platform and meeting place for major players within the legal cannabis sector to come forward, meet their counterparts within the drinks industry, share ideas and potentially find ways they can work together.

For more information visit Cannabis Drinks Expo.