The Calexo team are professionals at pivoting. In their five years on the market, the four person co-founding team has moved their product strategy from a sparkling cannabis beverage sold in licensed dispensaries, to a dual-pronged approach with hemp-derived THC drinks marketed alongside uninfused “Classic” versions.
Just when it settled on a product strategy, the California-based brand was kicked out of its home market when Governor Gavin Newsom dropped the hammer on hemp THC brands altogether in September 2024. So, explained co-founder Ian Colon, Calexo pivoted once again, this time turning its attention to large markets like Texas and Tennessee.
- The brand is now available in over 17 states via its distribution partner Emergent Beverages, primarily concentrated in the Southeast.
- Its online sales have also gone from virtually “non-existent” to over $10,000 a month, Colon claims.
But Calexo has seen some of its strongest momentum outside of typical distribution networks. It has reached over 30 states “independently,” Colon said, from orders via online specialty food and beverage wholesale platform Airgoods.
- The reorder windows from these “mom and pop shops” are getting shorter and shorter, Colon emphasized, which he believes is an anecdotal sign something is working.
“People’s drinking preferences are changing, and I think that 2025 will be, instead of feeling like there’s a crisis, a huge opportunity,” Colon said. “Traditional beer and liquor distributors are going to see their revenue mix changing and it is imperative for them to stay on top of what it is that their audience wants – younger and older.”
With its next run, Calexo will also debut a new can design that aims to better show consumers what is inside with larger descriptors and fruit imagery: “We’re going to have a splash image that shows a pineapple and a mango, and it will get a little bit more clear about what it is that we’re talking about.”
The brand also introduced a variety pack in late Q3, which quickly became its best seller. Colon speculates that while the 6-count variety pack is larger, it feels like a lower commitment than purchasing its 4-count single SKU packs.
As for the year ahead, the Calexo team is working to ramp up the footprint of its uninfused “Classics” line within grocery retail. Colon said the past year was all about building up a base for its hemp beverages, which account for 95% of the business’ sales. But as planned after its second pivot, those uninfused brews are intended to be an essential pathway to locking in retail shelf space, if and when a federally legal THC market becomes a reality.