Michigan’s marijuana market is among the biggest in the nation — sales averaged more than $300 per capita last year on more than $3.05 billion in total sales, the most of any legalized state.
But it’s not top shelf in THC beverages, a growing market segment nationally that reached more than marginal sales figures in states like Minnesota. In Michigan, infused liquids, which include THC tinctures as well as THC beverages, accounted for less than 0.34% of the $286.8 million in recreational marijuana sales last month.
Michigan’s marijuana market is among the biggest in the nation — sales averaged more than $300 per capita last year on more than $3.05 billion in total sales, the most of any legalized state.
But it’s not top shelf in THC beverages, a growing market segment nationally that reached more than marginal sales figures in states like Minnesota. In Michigan, infused liquids, which include THC tinctures as well as THC beverages, accounted for less than 0.34% of the $286.8 million in recreational marijuana sales last month.
Matt McAlpine, president of Emerald Canning and former COO at Blake’s, said the company aspires to own 2% to 3% of the total Michigan cannabis market — which would have represented about $60 million to $80 million in sales in 2023.
But regulatory hurdles are stymying Emerald Canning’s plans, as THC-infused beverages, often called “alcohol alternatives,” are currently only available for purchase at licensed marijuana dispensaries, not traditional retail stores like groceries or gas stations.
“To be competing with alcohol, it needs to be displayed with alcohol,” McAlpine said. “To really succeed, we need to get these into the hands of consumers in an appropriate setting.”
Michigan’s marijuana market is among the biggest in the nation — sales averaged more than $300 per capita last year on more than $3.05 billion in total sales, the most of any legalized state.
But it’s not top shelf in THC beverages, a growing market segment nationally that reached more than marginal sales figures in states like Minnesota. In Michigan, infused liquids, which include THC tinctures as well as THC beverages, accounted for less than 0.34% of the $286.8 million in recreati
Yet Mount Clemens-based Emerald Canning Partners, a joint venture between cannabis company Pleasantrees and hard cider giant Armada-based Blake’s Hard Cider Co., is banking on a liquid future in the weed market.
The company invested $6 million to construct a 20,000-square-foot canning operation at the old Gibraltar Trade Center in Mount Clemens with plans for further expansion.
Matt McAlpine, president of Emerald Canning and former COO at Blake’s, said the company aspires to own 2% to 3% of the total Michigan cannabis market — which would have represented about $60 million to $80 million in sales in 2023.
But regulatory hurdles are stymying Emerald Canning’s plans, as THC-infused beverages, often called “alcohol alternatives,” are currently only available for purchase at licensed marijuana dispensaries, not traditional retail stores like groceries or gas stations.
“To be competing with alcohol, it needs to be displayed with alcohol,” McAlpine said. “To really succeed, we need to get these into the hands of consumers in an appropriate setting.”
The former Gibraltar Trade Center building near I-94 and River Road in Mount Clemens houses Pleasantrees medical and recreational marijuana dispensary, as well as operations for Emerald Canning Partners.
Inside, Emerald Canning Partner’s operations at the old Gibraltar Trade Center building look like any other canning operation, not too dissimilar from what patrons of local craft brewers see beyond the glass of a taproom.
The process starts with reverse osmosis water from a 1,200-gallon holding tank. THC-infused drinks are highly sensitive to oxygen, McAlpine said, so as much oxygen is removed as possible, down to only five parts per billion. Beer is roughly 50 parts oxygen per billion.
Then the ingredients are added to make the drinks a tea, seltzer or cider. There is no fermentation process like making a beer or hard seltzer.
In the final stages, the THC emulsion is added, a pretty precise process to make sure the correct amount of the psychoactive ingredient is mixed. Pleasantrees THC distillate is turned into an emulsion by a third-party provider. In a cooler at Emerald Canning rests canisters of the emulsion containing between 2 million and 3 million milligrams of THC — the equivalent of up to 60,000 joints.
By Dustin Walsh a senior reporter for Crain’s Detroit Business, covering health care with a focus on industry change and operations, as well as the state’s emerging cannabis industry.