One of the largest retailers in the country is dipping its toe into the intoxicating hemp beverage category.
In its home state of Minnesota, Target has stocked the shelves of 10 stores in the Twin Cities region with intoxicating hemp drinks from ten different brands, marking a potentially seismic shift in distribution for the category. The hemp-derived THC set will be sold in Target Wine Beer & Spirits stores, according to Minnesota ABC laws.
To mark its entrance to THC drinks, Target partnered with several Minnesota beverage brands, including Trail Magic, Gigli, Birdie, Stigma, Indeed and Surly. Also filling out the shelf are Cann, Hi Seltzer, Wynk, Find Wunder, Senorita and Wyld.
All brands are sold exclusively in multipacks and range from 2mg to 5mg THC per serving.
“This is a monumental day for the category and the culmination of years of hard work by brands and wholesalers building a category rooted in safety and meeting the needs of a changing consumer,” Trail Magic co-founder Jason Dayson told BevNET. “A national retailer like Target entering this category shows that regulation, rather than prohibition, is the best path forward.”
Some locations will be placing THC brands in the cold case, while others will have them available on the floor. Participating store locations include Blaine, Lino Lakes, Chaska, Maple Grove, Plymouth, Rochester, Shoreview, St. Louis Park, West St. Paul and Woodbury.
“To see a Fortune 500 company like Target offer THC beverages to its customers is something THC beverage brands used to fantasize about just a few years ago, so it’s surreal to see this all come to fruition and a testament to the marketplace Minnesota has built,” said David Gonzalez, a Minnesota-based hemp industry stakeholder.
Target is working with Hoheinstein’s and Johnson Brothers as the regional beverage alcohol distributors for the set.
Writing on Substack, Aaron Edelheit, CEO of Trail Magic investor Mindset Capital, called it “a great day for the hemp beverage industry.”
“I expect more big fish to jump into the hemp beverage waters soon—and I expect many will follow Target’s lead,” he wrote.