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Tilray's growing focus on beverages is fueling the company's growth.
Tilray said in its earnings report that the company grew net revenue by 26% last year, with cannabis revenue up 24%. It expects net sales to be between $950 million and $1 billion this year.
On Tilray's earnings call last week, CEO Irwin Simon said the company's efforts in beverages are shifting it to a broader business and expanding into new areas.
“So over the last five years we’ve built something really interesting,” Simon said. “It’s a lifestyle company focused on cannabis, which is obviously an alcohol replacement.”
Last August, Tilray acquired eight beer brands from liquor giant Anheuser-Busch. The company is now the fifth-largest craft brewer in the U.S., with a 4.5% market share. And in June, Tilray launched a non-alcoholic beer brand, Runner’s High, which it markets as a healthier alternative.
Simon said the company is focused on growing its portfolio of craft beer and non-alcoholic brands, and would like to capitalize on the lucrative cannabis beverage segment once it becomes legally available. But in the meantime, it is looking for other revenue streams.
“As we looked at other categories and areas where we needed to expand, and as we were going through our strategic planning, we identified what lifestyle, lifestyle opportunities we could deliver within the Tilray brand,” Simon said.
Part of the approach involves launching hemp delta 9-derived beverages that are not derived from the cannabis plant but still contain THC. Simon said the formulations for these beverages are “complete” and ready to be sold once the most appropriate markets are mapped out. He said the company could start selling the beverages in Texas and New Jersey.
In an interview with Yahoo! Finance last week, Simon noted that 27 states now have legalized recreational cannabis, and that Gen Z and millennials consume it more than alcohol. But the CEO said he doesn’t expect a timeline for when the drug could be federally rescheduled.
“I’m not sure, but I’m not optimistic either,” he told the outlet. “Something has to happen.”
Xochitl Hinojosa, the DOJ’s press secretary, told Food Dive in May that the DOJ is interested in changing the law governing the drug. The DOJ wants to reclassify marijuana from Schedule I, which includes heroin, to Schedule III, which includes Tylenol. The DOJ has not said when that might happen.
