Delta-9 hemp beverages have momentum; the question is who can execute. Canopy USA’s partnership with JP Brand Advisors signals a bid to professionalize the category fast and move Wana from promising SKU to reliable national line.
Canopy’s new partnership with JP Brand Advisors (JPBA), a seasoned sales and strategy firm from the wine and spirits world, could mark a pivotal moment for the hemp beverage category and for how the U.S. consumes cannabis.
From Spirits to Cannabis
Brooks Jorgensen, President of Canopy USA, has spent more than two decades navigating the traditional three-tier beverage distribution system. Before joining Canopy in early 2025, he spent 21 years with Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits and later helped build Kiva Brands’ cannabis distribution business. That dual perspective gives him a rare vantage point on two industries that increasingly share DNA.
“The biggest difference between the two is regulation—and the buyer,” Jorgensen said. “What I learned very, very quickly in cannabis is that every state’s a different country.”
For Canopy USA, that patchwork of state laws is both a hurdle and an opportunity. The company’s strategy centers on uniting its brands under one roof: Wana in Colorado, Jetty in California, and Acreage in the Northeast. Each brand focuses on scalable product lines that can transcend cannabis’s fragmented retail model. Among those, Jorgensen sees hemp beverages as the clearest path toward national expansion.
“That Delta-9 beverage piece is going to be a monster in my opinion,” he said.
The “Monster” Market
Hemp-derived beverages, especially those infused with low doses of Delta-9 THC, have quietly evolved from novelty to trendsetter in the functional drink space. Once confined to niche dispensaries, they’re now popping up in grocery stores, liquor aisles, and convenience chains across the country.
Industry groups like the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America have signaled support for distributing hemp beverages through the traditional three-tier system, a move that legitimizes the category in the eyes of major retailers.
“When those types of companies really support a type of beverage, portfolios of brands start to pay attention,” Jorgensen noted. “I’m certain the Bacardis and the Diageos and the Coca-Colas are paying particular attention.”
For consumers, the appeal is straightforward: access and familiarity. Hemp drinks can be sold wherever beer or kombucha is, and they offer the social experience of drinking without the alcohol or the stigma. “Beverage is just socially more acceptable,” Jorgensen said. “Having something in your hand and consuming it in a liquid form, it’s just social. The stigma’s gone.”
From Gummies to Glasses
Wana’s pivot into hemp beverages reflects a broader industry shift from inhalables and edibles toward drinkables. The brand’s current lineup includes non-carbonated lemonades and iced teas, designed with mainstream palates in mind.
“We moved into lemonade, strawberry lemonade, and iced tea as our flavor profile,” Jorgensen explained. “One, it’s a great masking agent. Two, it’s refreshing. We’re also following the trend of leaving carbonation, which tends to be happening on the seltzer side.”
The company’s roadmap points toward “effects-based” formulations—smaller, functional beverages aimed at sleep, relaxation, or pain relief. Jorgensen predicts two-to-four-ounce shots will eventually dominate the shelf space currently held by tall seltzer cans.
Though Wana’s hemp products are currently available in Tennessee, Georgia, and New Jersey, Canopy USA plans to expand rapidly as national distribution ramps up. That’s where JP Brand Advisors comes in.
JP Brand Advisors
Led by industry veteran John Palatella, former North American president of Patrón, JPBA brings decades of experience in getting new brands into national retail systems. Their team, filled with alumni from Southern Glazer’s and other top distributors, has deep relationships across the country from Total Wine and Kroger to BevMo and Costco.
“What JP Brand Advisors brought was experience and relationship,” Jorgensen said. “I hired them for speed. They know what they’re doing. They’ve done it for a long time.”
The partnership will help Canopy USA navigate the complexities of the three-tier system, securing distribution agreements with major wholesalers and building a national accounts strategy. JPBA’s infrastructure—covering supply chain logistics, incentive design, and distributor management—essentially gives Canopy USA a plug-and-play path into mainstream retail.
That expertise, Jorgensen added, is essential for crossing from the cannabis ecosystem—dominated by dispensary sales and inconsistent regulation—into a retail environment where professionalism and polish are paramount. “Delta-9 beverage does not share a lot of synergy with our cannabis business,” he said. “It’s a separate route to market. It’s a different consumer. It’s far more professional, it’s far more sophisticated.”
Betting on Stability
While the hemp-derived market still exists in a legal gray area, Jorgensen is confident the risk is low. He points to recent state decisions like Texas’ veto of restrictive legislation and Pennsylvania’s hemp-friendly language as signs the tide has turned.
“If they were going to put the genie back in the bottle from a regulatory perspective, we feel like it would’ve already been done,” he said. “It feels like it’s here to stay.”
That confidence allows Canopy USA to focus on building brand equity rather than hedging for political reversals. “Sales will solve everyone’s problems,” Jorgensen said. “We’ve got to be very good at offering value to the retailer and developing brands.”
Perfect Timing
For the hemp sector, partnerships like this one illustrate a key turning point. As beverage alcohol veterans enter the space, they bring structure, discipline, and a playbook refined over generations. At the same time, cannabis companies gain access to a network that was once impenetrable.
JP Brand Advisors’ collaboration with Canopy USA isn’t just about expanding Wana’s shelf space—it’s about legitimizing hemp beverages as a permanent fixture of the functional drink landscape. The convergence of CPG polish and cannabis innovation could finally make hemp beverages a category, not a curiosity.
And as Jorgensen sees it, the timing couldn’t be better. “The demand is so great,” he said. “People are shopping brand to brand; they haven’t quite figured out their favorite yet. There’s enough to choose from, and the upside is tremendous.”
