Molson Coors CEO: cannabis beverages may be $3 billion market in Canada

Molson Coors’
products.
AP Photo/Steven
Senne

The CEO of Molson Coors is bullish on cannabis-infused beverages.

Speaking on Wednesday during the company’s third-quarter earnings
call, CEO Mark Hunter said the cannabis market could total $7
billion to $10 billion in Canada alone.

Nonalcoholic cannabis-infused beverages could account for as much
as $3 billion, or 30% of the total market.

“We decided as a business that we did not want to be a spectator
as this new market opened up,” Hunter said. “And we clearly
wanted to be a participant.”

A specialized growth-oriented team at Molson has been “chasing
down an opportunity in cannabis,” he added.

In August, Molson Coors
entered into a joint venture with HEXO, a Quebec-based
marijuana cultivator, to produce cannabis-infused beverages for
the Canadian market.

Read more:

Beverage giants like Heineken and Constellation Brands are duking
it out in the billion-dollar market for marijuana-infused
drinks

Canada legalized marijuana for all adults on October 17, though
products like beverages, edibles, and vaporizers won’t be
available until next fall.

Hunter said Molson Coors, through the joint venture, was
“well-placed” to take a meaningful share of that market when it
opens up.

“We’re already in research around the portfolio and the beverages
that will be offered,” Hunter said. “We’ll be in a ready-to-go
position and one of the first on the playing field as that market
opens up.”

Molson Coors’ foray into the cannabis space comes
as beer sales have declined slightly across the industry.

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