Two Roots and Truss Beverage Co. Partner To Bring Cannabis Beer to Canada

Non-alcoholic craft beer maker Two Roots Brewing and cannabis beverage company Truss Beverage Co. announced a partnership this week to bring hemp-infused, non-alcoholic beer to Canada. The line will launch under Truss’ new Bedfellows Liquid Arts brand with two THC and CBD-infused beers — Bedfellows Haus Mates and Bedfellows Indie Pals.

Truss Beverage Co. was formed as a joint venture between Molson Coors and Canadian hemp company HEXO Corp. in 2018 with the intent to produce cannabis-infused beverages for the U.S. and Canadian markets. Since then, Truss has built a drinks portfolio that includes lemonades, sparkling waters and tonics under brands such as Veryvell, House of Terpenes, Little Victory and Mollo.

However, Bedfellows Liquid Arts marks Truss’s first brand collaboration. The Bedfellows’ Haus Mates beer contains 7.5 mg of THC and 2.5 mg of CBD and is made with a Helles-inspired liquid produced by Two Roots, while the Indie Pals variety is a higher-potency, IPA-esque beverage with 10 mg of THC and 2 mg of CBD. Both varieties are bottled in 335 mL glass bottles and, according to a press release, the premium beverage brand is positioned to drive innovation in the category by combining “the best products across North America.”

For Two Roots, collaborative cannabis-infused products are nothing new. The non-alcoholic craft beer maker also has a seven SKU line of THC- and CBD-infused beer under its sister brand Two Roots Cannabis, developed in partnership with Cannabinears and available at dispensaries in Nevada and California.

“When creating the Bedfellows brand, we were inspired by the notion of two unlikely partners coming together to bring something entirely new and unexpected to the Cannabis-infused beverage category,” said Lori Hatcher, Head of Marketing at Truss Beverage Co., in a press release. “As experts in creating the best-crafted cannabis beverages, we’re thrilled to partner with Two Roots to launch our first collaborative cannabis brand, which we know consumers have an appetite for.”

The San Diego-based brewery also produces a line of non-infused, non-alcoholic beers distributed through the Anheuser-Busch network and has experienced rapid growth since its debut in 2019. Most recently Two Roots expanded distribution of its non-infused line internationally to South Korea and multiple countries in Europe.

Truss has also seen significant growth in the U.S. CBD market with its Veryvell brand, which debuted online with a line of infused sparkling beverages in 2020 and recently expanded its reach to retailers across the country.

Molson Coors and HEXO formed Truss with the sole purpose of producing cannabis-infused beverages and, according to Molson Coors’ CEO Gavin Hattersley as of the company’s Q2 earnings call, seven of the top 10 cannabis beverages in Canada are from Truss’ portfolio. The company now holds over 50% of the share of the Canadian cannabis beverage industry, Hattersley said on the call.

In addition to brand growth, Whole Foods’ latest upcoming trends report predicts that momentum in the non-alcoholic and alt-cocktail beverage category will continue to increase along with a heightened consumer demand in 2022. Additionally, the global cannabis beverage market is expected to grow almost 17% over the next five years, reaching a $2 billion valuation by 2026, according to ​​a recent report from Global Industry Analysts Inc.

Chief Marketing & Revenue Officer at Two Roots Beverage Co. Maikel van de Mortel also highlighted this upward popularity of relaxation-focused, social “adult beverages.”

“Like Truss, we are dedicated in our pursuit to deliver a premium beverage experience, which has resulted in the winning of many prestigious national and international awards for our portfolio of brands,” van de Mortel said in a press release. “We’re excited to be part of Truss’ journey to bring their first collaborative cannabis beverages to Canada.”