Beer giants like Heineken and Constellation Brands are duking it out in the billion-dollar market for marijuana-infused drinks
- Big beer companies are looking to develop marijuana-infused beverages as a way to revitalize their businesses.
- Constellation Brands, the third-largest beer company in the US, this week invested $4 billion in Canopy Growth, a Canadian marijuana cultivator, to develop marijuana-infused beverages and other products.
- And Lagunitas, Heineken's California-based brand, recently developed a hoppy, THC-infused sparkling water. And Molson Coors recently entered a joint venture to produce marijuana-infused beer for the Canadian market, among other deals.
- Investors are excited about the prospect of creating a whole new class of marijuana consumers, though some questions still remain.
Big beer companies want in on the exploding legal-marijuana market.
Beer and liquor giants like Molson Coors, Heineken, and Constellation Brands - the company behind Corona - have pursued a flurry of deals to develop marijuana-infused drinks that they hope will give them a slice of the rapidly expanding pie.
Constellation, the third-largest beer company in the US, this week paid $4 billion for a 38% stake of Canopy Growth, the largest publicly traded marijuana grower, to develop marijuana-infused beverages and other products. It's the largest corporate investment in a marijuana cultivator to date.
A handful of smaller firms and startups are seeking to build out products lines as well, either by developing their own brews or through strategic acquisitions.
"It's the next big evolution of the cannabis market," Keith Dolo, the CEO of consumer cannabis company Sproutly, said in a recent interview. ...
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