($150M Market Cap)
In August, the Southern California Terra Tech Corporation, a self-described “vertically integrated cannabis-focused agriculture company,” announced its partnership with a beverage production company, the Valiente Group LLC based in Woodway, Washington. Valiente specializes in cannabis infusions; other than that, it is quite difficult to find out anything about the company.
The collaboration between these two companies is to produce a line of cannabis-infused beverages under Terra Tech’s IVXX brand. The intended products include an apple cider, lemonade, Margarita mix, zero calorie lemon-lime soda, cherry-lime sparkling water and a sparkling wine—all non-alcoholic. According to Terra Tech, “the sparkling beverage contains no alcohol, yet has a flavor profile similar to champagne and will be marketed in luxurious packaging suitable for bottle service at a nightclub.”
The infusion technology that makes these products possible is called SŌRSE, a patent pending emulsion technology of Tarukino Inc, a Seattle-based company tied to Valiente Group. On its way toward making cannabis oils water soluble, SŌRSE removes residues and flavors so that when the resulting clear liquid is infused into a beverage, no cannabis influence can be tasted.
Terra Tech’s CEO, Derek Peterson sees the non-alcoholic, cannabis infused beverage market “among the least crowded,” and as an opportunity. Therefore, the company has grand plans for its large-scale production and bottling facility it commissioned to be built in Santa Ana, California, for product distribution within the California market and with plans for future expansion into neighboring legal cannabis states like Nevada. The company says it can make these moves because it “operates through multiple subsidiary businesses including: Blüm, IVXX Inc., Edible Garden, and MediFarm LLC,” in Nevada and California. For instance, Edible Garden cultivates a brand of local and sustainably grown hydroponic produce, sold through major nationwide grocery stores that includes ShopRite, Walmart, Ahold, Aldi, Meijer, Kroger and Stop & Shop.
According to Terra Tech, the active ingredient in SŌRSE infusions is among the strongest combinations of cannabidiol (CBD) on the market—CBDs are the medically accepted compounds in cannabis that do not get you high. But Terra Tech’s press release concerning its cannabis-infused sparkling wine includes this: “The company anticipates many adults making the switch to cannabis beverages as they learn cannabis allows them to socialize or unwind in the evening without many of the negative attributes associated with alcohol consumption.”
Also, the company says it is developing a flavorless, odorless 5 milligram and 10 milligram single shot of SŌRSEd cannabis liquid that can be added to any beverage or craft cocktail for at-home infusion.
Seems very much like along with CBD, the Terra Tech infusions include tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the stuff in cannabis that gets you high. Obviously, this new Terra Tech bubbly is for the recreational marijuana market.
