Starbucks could be the first big chain to launch cannabis drinks
Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) could be the first fast-food chain to roll out cannabis-infused drinks, according to analysts at Cowan. Although, it may be awhile before customers sip CBD-laced lattes from the Seattle-based caffeine giant.
Cowan released more than 100 pages of analysis on the CBD market on Monday. The firm’s consumer, health care, industrials and regulatory teams estimate non-psychoactive cannabidiol products will conservatively generate more than US$16 billion in retail sales by 2025.
Vivien Azer, Cowan’s senior research analyst specializing in the beverage, tobacco, and cannabis sectors, cites a surge in Google search trends, and a four-fold increase in the number of hemp products for sale on Amazon over the past six years, as evidence of growing interest and use.
These days, the wellness-oriented cannabis compound is being infused into everything from coffee to bath bombs.
“In our monthly proprietary consumer survey, we were surprised to see that nearly seven per cent of respondents in January 2019 reported using CBD as a supplement,” Azur wrote in the report. “This strong consumer interest is validated by the growing number of brands and form factors that are now available through increasingly diverse retail channels, including Amazon, Sephora and Neiman Marcus.”
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