MJBizMag August 2022 - 10

FIVE QUESTIONS with Paul Weaver
Tempest in a TeaPot?
Beverage company rolls out cannabis-infused tea as
Canadian government considers amending purchase limits
By Matt Lamers
P
roduct quality and aesthetics
go a long way when
communicating with new and
potential customers, but you also
need solid budtender outreach,
according to Paul Weaver, head of
cannabis at Boston Beer Co.
" They are the gatekeeper to that
retail purchase, " Weaver said of
front-line marijuana retail workers.
This May, Boston Beer Co., the
producer of Samuel Adams beer
and Truly Hard Seltzer, announced
plans to launch TeaPot, a line of
nonalcoholic, THC-infused teas, in
Canada this summer.
The Boston-based brewer, which
trades as SAM on the New York
Stock Exchange, is one of a handful
of U.S. businesses that have
expanded into Canada's adult-use
cannabis industry.
A proposed change to federal
regulations that would effectively
increase the amount of cannabis
beverage consumers could
purchase by more than eightfold
isn't expected to be ready until
fall, Canada's federal health
department said.
" As far as regulation changes
go for cannabis in Canada, the
hanging fruit doesn't get any
lower than this, " Weaver said of
the shift.
MJBizMagazine spoke with
Weaver about Boston Beer's
strategy and how it hopes to
breathe life into the struggling
infused beverages category.
What lessons from the alcohol
industry do you bring to
cannabis beverages?
Boston Beer Co. is the maker of
Truly Hard Seltzer, Samuel Adams
beer, Twisted Tea and Angry
Orchard hard cider. The way they
approached all of those products
was a slow, methodical, patient
approach in terms of establishing
a great product, helping promote
the category and playing the long
term of building both a brand and a
category at the same time.
It's that philosophy that we're
taking to cannabis beverages. It's
still a very small category, but one
that we believe is a growth frontier
for us.
For now, we're starting slow.
Paul
Weaver
We're starting here in Canada,
which is a new market for us,
building out what we believe
is a best-in-class product. ... So
that one day, when we do have
the permission to enter the U.S.
market or other global cannabis
10 August 2022 | MJBizMagazine
markets, we've got a well-oiled
product pipeline that we can
execute.
What will the proposed
regulatory amendment
change, if anything, in terms
of consumer behavior?
In any (consumer packaged goods)
category-and alcohol certainly
preaches this message-there
are only two types of purchase
behaviors: stock up or impulse
buy. When you're restricted to five
or six cans (current regulations),
you're almost always just buying
on impulse or (for) specific
consumption occasions.
But when you're able to buy
multiple units, when you're buying
by cases, you can just perpetually
have a cannabis beverage in the
fridge. And I think that's the
behavior shift that you're going
to see as the gram equivalencies
open up.
You don't have to plan in advance
and go to the dispensary to buy
enough for that occasion. You can
stock up and just keep them on
hand.
I think that's that behavior shift
that you're going to see by being
able to buy more than five.
Do you think looser
beverage rules would make a
meaningful difference?
I don't think any cannabis company
is going to change their demand
forecasts drastically as a result of
this (proposed regulation change
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