1st BATCH OF FILES AVAILABLE NOW!

It's been a conundrum in alc-alternative space: many items are subtly crafted to serve as social elixirs but still may leave users disappointed at the lack of an effect, that proverbial buzz. THC bevs solve the issue for some users, but category's tenuous legal status may extend to outright cancellation by mid-Nov. Does this all finally spell opportunity for kratom bevs to move out of the shadows of smoke shops into broad availability? A group of entrepreneur-brothers aims to find out via New Brew Euphoric Seltzer brand. The 12-oz sleek-can line was launched by Justin Wolf, its LA-based CEO, and his brothers Adam, as COO, and Alex, who's not actively involved in day-to-day. They recently recruited the Atlanta-based alcohol vet Adam Cohen as CCO, just off a 3-yr run at Partake Brewing NA beerco. "Powered by ancient plants for effects you can actually feel," brand promises. It's formulated as blend of 25 mg kratom leaf, 85 mg kava root and organic fruit juice, along with green tea (to tune of 30 mg caffeine) and organic fruit juice, in Yuzu, Mango, Berry and Guava flavors. Pricing sweet spot is $5.99 per can. Light sweetening via cane sugar, agave and hints of stevia and monk fruit yields liquid with just 10-20 calories per can. Outside high-dosage brands confined mainly to smoke shops, New Brew is vying with handful of other RTD players that mainly employ artificial sweeteners like sucralose in highly sweetened, confectionery-like flavors, in contrast to New Brew's natural ingredients and subtle recipes, Justin indicated. So far, co has been relying on angel investors for its financing, including such backers and advisors as Waiakea Water founder Ryan Emmons, Basemakers operator Max Baumann and mixed martial artist Max Holloway.Founding story bears a familiar ring for alc-alternative space: Justin came out of tech world as Google partnerships exec and concluded that he needed to move away from alcohol. He found his immersion in psychedelics moving him to explore plant-based tonics that might serve social rituals well. He first stumbled across kratom in a kava bar in Mexico and found it left him feeling good but not impaired. So with help from DrinkLabs on technical side, he and his bros devised a moderately dosed liquid that might draw other users who, like him, wanted to avoid or reduce their alcohol use without stinting their social life.A 1,000-can pilot run brought enough encouragement for Wolf bros to greenlight launch. With Cohen in the mix, they've been deliberately building out DSD network in markets with higher proportion of indie retailers and on-premise accounts. As reported, they recently brought aboard Dora's Naturals and its new Exhale Bevs arm for NY (BBI, Mar 23). Also in mix are LA Distribution in LA, John Lenore in San Diego and DB Miller in Austin. Snowball works entire state of Colo while CSO (Convenience Store Outfitters) works entire state of Ariz. For now they're mainly targeting indie accts tho they have enlisted some kratom-friendly c-store operators like Murphy's Gas and Circle K. It's not unusual for some accts to do 3 cases per month, Wolf indicated. Cohen's resume boasts extensive time on both beer and spirits sides, including Coors, Molson Coors, Sazerac's 375 Spirits arm and most recently Partake. He told us he's targeting top 20 beer states with strong bases of indie liquor stores and other retailers.In discussion while in NY, where Justin has relocated for a month to support Dora's launch, Wolf and Cohen emphasized that there's no legal ambiguity about kratom or kava, tho kratom has been surrounded by some controversy over the years. In high-dosage forms sold in smoke shops it often served as an off-ramp for those trying to kick synthetic opioid habits. An effort by DEA a decade ago to put it up for scheduling as illegal was headed off, with states given regulatory discretion. A DEA drug fact sheet currently lists Kratom as "a Drug and Chemical of Concern," noting that "in the US, the abuse of kratom has increased markedly in recent years."With the skepticism in mind, New Brew is bending over backward to offer high degree of education and usage warnings, covering uncommon amount of can's real estate with cautionary statements about ingredient's habit-forming nature and other issues. "Over-transparency," Cohen styled it. It's denoted as being strictly for 21+ users. Cans being run by new copacker in Texas will sport warning symbol that New Brew team hopes will be adopted by other segment players trying to act responsibly.

PROFILE: New Brew Euphoric Seltzer Explores Whether Kratom's Time Has Finally Arrived; Seeks DSD Partners in States with Active Indie Account Bases

Publishing Info