The phrase "social drinking" has meant more or less the same thing for the better part of a century, which is to say it has meant alcohol. But a small company based in Los Angeles is now asking whether the ritual might survive a change in ingredients.

Cann, a maker of beverages infused with low doses of THC derived from hemp, has been quietly repositioning itself from the cannabis dispensary to the liquor store shelf — a journey that says as much about regulatory seams as it does about shifting consumer tastes.

Jake Bullock, the co-founder and chief executive of Cann, discussed the company's evolution in a recent interview. Mr. Bullock said the company's initial launch in dispensaries revealed a fundamental mismatch: customers browsing alongside high-potency products were not necessarily looking for a drink containing two milligrams of THC, a dose the company describes as comparable in effect to a glass of wine.

"We focused on how people actually socialize and consume beverages," Mr. Bullock said, explaining that the product was designed around what he called "repeatable rituals" rather than potency.

The pivot came when Cann began exploiting the regulatory distinction between marijuana and hemp — the latter being federally legal under the 2018 farm bill — to enter alcohol distribution channels. That decision, Mr. Bullock said, "dramatically expanded its reach."

(One imagines the wholesale beverage distributors of America did not expect hemp to become a line item quite so soon.)

Mr. Bullock said traditional advertising had proved difficult in a category that many consumers do not yet understand, so the company turned to influencer marketing, with creators sharing personal testimonials that provided "context, credibility, and social proof." The target audience, he added, is less a demographic than a life stage: young parents seeking clearer mornings, older drinkers reducing their alcohol intake, and the growing cohort sometimes called "sober-curious."

The company now sells through a mix of e-commerce, retail chains, and delivery services like DoorDash and GoPuff.

Whether the liquor store of the future will stock THC beverages alongside the seltzer and the shrubs remains an open question. But the aisle, at least, appears to be making room.

Original story published in Adweek: "Cann's Jake Bullock on Reimagining Social Drinking with THC"