Molson Coors Says Farewell To Cannabis And Its Partnership With HEXO, Here's Why

Molson Coors Beverages Co. (NYSE: TAP) decided to pull out of two joint ventures, one with cannabis company HEXO Corp. (NYSE: HEXO) and the other with La Colombe Coffee Roasters.

What Happened?

The multinational drink and brewing company and HEXO put an end to Truss CBD USA after over two years of collaborating due to uncertainty around federal legalization of cannabis, reported Inside Beer.

“Not every project or innovation will meet our ambitions," said Pete Marino, Molson Coors’ president of emerging growth. "What’s important is that we learn from each and build capabilities that will serve us well into the future. The key for us is to go big behind what’s working and smartly pivot out what isn’t working from a scale standpoint, like CBD beverages.”

Marino added that the company will revamp its presence in the marijuana space if and when the regulatory landscape in the U.S. changes and allows chain retailers and distributors to be more open toward accepting CBD beverage brands.

What's Next?

Molson Coors’ decision to exit the US CBD beverage business will be effective Dec. 31.

The Background

The two companies, which first partnered in 2018 to manufacture non-alcohol cannabis-infused drinks for the Canadian market under Truss Beverages, expanded their collaboration by forming a joint venture in April 2022 to focus on the production of non-alcohol hemp-derived CBD beverages for the Colorado market.

The brand debuted in the U.S. CBD market in January 2021 with the launch of Veryvell, a new line of sparkling CBD water and non-alcoholic CBD beverage.

Truss CBD US was majority-owned by Molson Coors and ran as an independent company with its own board of directors and management team.

Benzinga reached out to HEXO for commentary.

Price Action

HEXO’s shares were traded down 3.58% at $0.17 per share at the time of this writing Friday morning.

Molson Coors shares were trading up 1.02% at $53.55 per share at the time of this writing Friday morning. 

Photo: Courtesy of Andrew Teoh on Unsplash