Move over, Miller -- it’s CBD time.

Molson Coors Beverage Co., the beer maker better known for popular brands like Coors and Miller High Life, has a new candidate for a big-time brand. But the drink, known as Veryvell, contains CBD instead of alcohol.

Pete Marino, president of the emerging growth division for Molson Coors, said in a phone interview that the company seeks to create a new mega-brand within three years. Veryvell is one of the non-alcoholic candidates from the division, which has already produced La Colombe coffee drinks and ZOA Energy drinks.

As the cannabis industry expands into the rest of the U.S. market, traditional manufacturers and other businesses are getting involved. For manufacturers, there is an opening for logistical, quality, and production help. Whether it’s in healthcare or packaging, outside industry is now applying traditional business methods to cannabis to further legitimize its place in the contemporary market.

Recently, Cannabis & Tech Today sat down with Roger Throckmorton, Chief Brand Officer at International Plastics in Greenville, SC, to discuss better packaging options for the cannabis industry and why the “barrier bag” is key.

Cannabis NB has reported sales of $19.3 million in its latest fiscal quarter, figures that land amid uncertainty about its future as a Crown operation. 

The figures push sales for the last 52 weeks to $72.7 million – a 79 per cent increase over 2019 – and position the agency to end the fiscal year in "a strong position," Cannabis NB's acting president and CEO Lori Stickles said.

Although the quarterly results are not audited, Stickles says the agency earned a net profit of $2.8 million during the final 13 weeks of 2020 and expects to return $10 million to the province by the end of the fiscal year in late March.

Aphria Inc. reported better-than-expected second-quarter results Thursday as the pot giant’s sales continued to grow in the competitive Canadian cannabis market. 

The Leamington, Ont.-based company said it made $160.5 million in revenue, a 33-per-cent increase from the same period a year earlier. The company also posted $12.6 million in adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA), marking a sizeable increase from the $1.9 million reported last year. 

Aphria reported a net loss of $120.6 million in the second quarter, which it attributed to rising general costs, an increase in share-based compensation, as well as expenses related to its acquisition of U.S. craft brewer Sweetwater Brewing Co. in November. 

This year, 49% of B2B marketers are replacing live events with webinars in response to the pandemic, according to data analytics company Statista.

It’s not a pivot that’s been easy to do.

Most event planners are focused on customer experience, lining up all-star speakers, and hosting in the best possible location for their demographics.

If one had to choose between attending a conference in Burlington, Vermont or Las Vegas, Nevada, most would be inclined to choose Las Vegas because of it’s relatively centralized geographic location, affordable air fares, and abundance of after-hour activities.

A consumer poll conducted by vertically integrated cannabis and hemp company Glass House Group, prior to the holidays found that a significant number of customers planned on giving the gift of cannabis. With more than 630 respondents citing flower, edibles, and pre-rolls as top choices for their holiday gifts, results suggested that cannabis gifting was among Christmas 2020’s hottest consumer trends. This pointed to the mainstreaming of cannabis and it turns out the polls were true.

The year 2020 was a dud in many, many ways due to the pandemic. However, it was a record year for the emerging cannabis industry. Cannabis entrepreneurs around the globe sold a record amount of cannabis and cannabis-infused products.

Unfortunately, no countries legalized cannabis for adult use in 2020, but a number of countries either allowed medical cannabis industries to launch or expand. Many cannabis industry projections from years ago focused on the year 2020 and virtually every one of those projections proved to be too conservative.

So what does 2021 have in store for the emerging cannabis industry? Ultimately, only time will tell. Below are some things to consider.

This coming year will bring major consumer-driven shifts to the hemp industry. Experts estimate that the CBD market is set to reach $18 billion by 2025 and include CBD for all uses, including topical, pet products, pharmaceuticals, and nutraceuticals. 

Here are some industry trend predictions I have for 2021: