Office Hours returns Tuesday, June 2 at 3 p.m. ET. Jeff Klineman, BevNET’s Editor-in-Chief, will bring veteran investment bankers Jay Novak and Brandon Ng from Houlihan Lokey on the livestream to discuss the current fundraising and M&A market and take questions from viewers.

While both the CBD and cannabis industries have attracted increased attention from consumers, investors and retailers alike, brands within these categories still face a range of unique operational challenges. Jeremy Goldstein, the COO and co-founder of both CBD brand Caliper Foods and Cannabis company Stillwater Brands, sees the potential for massive growth if the FDA “gets off its hands.”

Rowdy Mermaid Kombucha announced today it has raised an additional $3.5 million from investment firm KarpReilly in a “second and final tranche” of its Series A funding round, bringing the total financing to $7 million. In February 2019, KarpReilly led the Colorado-based brand’s initial Series A round and co-founder Allan Karp joined Rowdy Mermaid’s board of directors.

Matt Plitch, founder of sustainable dairy brand Neutral, envisions carbon neutral food and beverage as the next big food movement. As a “global food revolution” in line with the recent rise of veganism, he sees a future in which grocery stores will have a carbon neutral aisle and “neutralists” can shop for products with net-zero carbon emissions.