Even as his brand put up month after month of seven-figure sales and became one of the buzziest names in the red-hot THC beverage category, BREZ founder and CEO Aaron Nosbisch knew he had a challenge.
“The hardest part about selling BRĒZ today is the fact that there’s THC in it,” Nosbisch told BevNT in an exclusive interview.
That realization precipitated “a fundamental shift for the brand,” he said, but one that was always “seeded” into its identity as a maker of “Feel Good Tonics,” which the company trademarked last month. This morning, BRĒZ announced the launch of two new hemp-derived THC SKUs (Amplify and Drift) and a pair of non-infused, functional options (Elevate and Dream) that will position the brand deeper in retail grocery.
BRĒZ’s four additions play into two different need states, relaxation and energy, with THC and THC-free options for each.
For sleep, BRĒZ has THC- and CBD-free Dream in a cherry-chamomile flavor and its sibling product Drift with 5mg THC and 75mg CBD. For uplifting energy, the brand is launching strawberry-mango flavored Elevate (THC/CBD-free) and Amplify, a watermelon-lime beverage with 5mg THC and 5mg CBD.
“The intention was always to create more functional beverages, but function is a very broad concept,” Nosbisch said.
All four drinks incorporate adaptogenic and nootropic ingredients to strengthen their intended effect. Amplify pairs hemp-derived THC with camu camu, acerola cherry, maca, ginseng and cordyceps to “feel awake, activated and tuned in,” the brand states on the packaging. Whereas, Elevate removes the THC and CBD and employs taurine and guayusa for an 80mg caffeine boost.
For winding down and calming, Drift uses L-tryptophan, ashwagandha, tart cherry, reishi and passionflower with THC for a “hypnotic tonic” approach to a relaxation beverage. Non-infused Dream employs a similar formulation, substituting the ashwaganda for L-theanine, lavender extract and magnesium.
The brand’s three varieties of non-infused beverages (Flow, Dream and Elevate) quietly launched two weeks ago into all Sprouts Farmers Market locations in the Forage innovation set.
From there, BRĒZ plans to go further in natural grocery and then aim for the adult non-alcoholic (ANA) sets in mass retailers like Target and Walmart where other functional ANA brands like De Soi, Ghia, Kin, Free AF and hiyo have been successful, Nosbisch said.
“Grocery is where you buy this stuff right now,” Nosbisch said.
Building A Retail-To-Digital Feedback Loop
Nosbisch calls the non-infused line a “Trojan Horse into mainstream grocery,” providing the brand a way to nationally distribute while using its email database and subscriber list to create a feedback loop for the portfolio.
“[BRĒZ] has spent so much money advertising, promoting online that we built pent-up demand,” he said. “As soon as consumers see [the brand] on the shelf, they’re already familiar with the product, whether they have tried it or not.”
In the same way, the brand can turn on its digital consumer base and direct them towards new retail launches as BRĒZ enters new markets with both its THC-free options and, where legally allowed, its intoxicating hemp varieties.
This approach provides a firewall for the brand, protecting it from state or federal regulation that inhibits the hemp-derived THC category.
The strategy plays into a belief that functional beverage consumers are looking for “effect-driven” options and will respond best when “presented with an emotional case” to try something new, Nosbisch said.
“It’s about depth marketing,” he added. “You reduce the education hurdle by focusing on selling the emotion and the outcome. Then, as people want to know more, you give them the information.”
Starting in micro-dosed THC and expanding into the various dosages and formats has allowed BRĒZ to establish a “foundation of medium expression.” Having launched in April 2023 with a 7.5 oz. can of 2.5mg hemp-derived THC, the brand has expanded since then into a variety of dosages (5mg and 10mg THC), formats (750ml. multiserve THC spirit and 1.69 oz. shots) and a non-psychoactive functional mushroom drink Flow.
BRĒZ reported it hit about $1.6 million in retail revenue with about 30% to 40% of sales coming from that channel. Expecting to do about $50 million in sales this year, Nosbisch guesses that 50% or more of its revenue will be in retail by the end of the year.
Before its portfolio expansion, BRĒZ was deriving 80% of its sales from the infused side. The national distribution of its non-infused, functional beverages is expected to become a “significant portion of revenue” and restructure BRĒZ’s identity into a family of products as opposed to just a THC drink brand.
“It’s not that people don’t want THC, they are just still stigmatized by it,” he said. “I’m trying to build a billion-dollar business. It’s really hard to build that when there’s such a stigma around THC.”