A fresh wave of cannabis products are hitting the market infused with both THC and CBD for a range of uses in recreation, pain management and stress relief.
Reinventing the smoothie
Root Blends operates under the mantra ‘what feeds you’ and builds on that to deliver what it calls ‘smoothies reinvented.’ Founder, former professional rugby player and trained chef Alastair Greer first began using CBD oil as a cure-all for his pain and injuries.
He chose to get into the smoothie game because he saw an opportunity to transform the treat from something that is too often “over-sweet with very little thought to nutrition” into a functional beverage with beneficial, relevant ingredients.
Root Blends now produces four smoothie kits that come in Protein, Mint Protein, Skin & Hair and Calm Blend as a part of its business-to-business and business-to-consumer channels. The Skin & Hair and Calm blends contain marine collagen peptide and Calm also contains 25mg of hemp-derived CBD.
The cups contain the listed ingredients, such as fruit, vegetables, seeds and plant protein, and are advised to be blended with any preferred liquid and then poured back into the single-serve cups. Greer’s choice to include both the CBD and collagen in his varieties is based on his personal, daily use of each and the trends he saw among customers.
“As CBD becomes more and more in the market, we really see it as an ingredient over anything else. I think that’s where the most excitement is going to be and we’d love to delve deeper into that,” he told BeverageDaily.
A future in wellness
The smoothies provide no ‘high’ as experienced with THC and THC-infused products, making the regulatory work less complicated than brands developing recreational cannabis edibles.
With the nationwide marijuana legalization recently taking effect in Canada, there is a lot of confusion around the subject. Greer anticipates some logistical challenges in selling the smoothie kits in the US, including how to properly ship the products.
He also recognizes the prejudice people may carry against cannabis products because of a lack of education about the category. It took him a month to initially try out the CBD oil for his sports injuries because he was apprehensive about using an adjacent drug.
Greer sees a market for his smoothie kits growing among the female 22-45 year old age group and those who most care about clean ingredients and their overall health. Root Blends also has a steady B2B channel with distribution in spaces like hotels, gyms, delis and coffee shops.
“The future for CBD is in the wellness world. I don’t think it’s in the party world,” Greer said.
