Cannabis Drinks Expo in San Francisco, July  25, 2019 will be the first event to tackle the issue head-on. It will give the worldwide drinks industry, and North America in particular, the chance to come together and look at ways it can address legalised cannabis and find ways to start the fight back against this enormous threat to the future of the overall industry.

It will also be the first time that drinks producers, manufacturers, brand owners, distilleries and brewers can come together and collectively look at ways they can also benefit from legalised cannabis. Assess, analyse and implement ways they can both individually and together take advantage of what is effectively a new major consumer goods market. 

With so much uncertainty and unpredictability surrounding the legalised cannabis market it makes Cannabis Drinks Expo a truly must-attend event for leading players from all areas of the main drinks industry as well as all the other support sectors and services that rely on it.

With so many moving parts to understand, the one-day event is being carefully designed in order to cover all the key issues surrounding the legalised cannabis market.

It means there will be dedicated sessions and time given over to:

• The medical and political background that has made cannabis already legal in certain countries, and US states.

• The likelihood and timescale of legalised cannabis being introduced to other countries around the world and what changes in policy and political direction will be needed to make it happen.

• The new and emerging players within the legalised cannabis sector. How do they see the market growing, what type of products are most likely to succeed and what research and development is being done to bring those products to market?

• What impact is legalised cannabis having on the traditional alcoholic drinks market in the areas where it has ben introduced. What steps are drinks companies taking to address legalised cannabis in those countries and what strategies do they need to follow in the future.

There will also be the opportunity for drinks businesses to network with these emerging, leading cannabis players to see where there might potentially be ways for the two sides to actually work together. Be it the production of cannabis-style drinks, or the distribution of cannabis across the current drinks retail and on-premise supply chains. 

On the face of it the emergence of a booming legalised cannabis market can be seen as a major threat to future alcoholic drinks sales. But it could also prove to be a new route to market, the catalyst for new products that are more relevant to the changing taste and needs of drinkers, particularly those entering the market for the first time.

Cannabis Drinks Expo will be a melting pot of seminars, debates and TED-style talks from political and medical leaders, major drinks industry figures, retailers, restaurant and bar chains, brand developers, FMCG consumer experts and future trends analysts and cultural commentators.

But most of all it will provide a platform for drinks businesses from all sides of the industry to network and meet their counterparts from the cannabis sector and better understand their needs, challenges and opportunities.