Ocean Spray backs CBD drink with self-care “health halo”

22 Jun 2020 --- In just a few years, cannabidiol (CBD) has gone from a fringe ingredient to one embraced by the mainstream thanks to its well-being “health halo.” This is evidenced by Ocean Spray Cranberries’ backing of CarryOn, a new brand of sparkling CBD waters. The brand was developed by Ocean Spray Cranberries’ Lighthouse incubator, which was created by the farmer-owned cooperative last year to accelerate accessible health and wellness-focused innovation. NutritionInsight speaks to Rizal Hamdallah, Global Chief Innovation Officer at Ocean Spray, about the rise of this promising ingredient.

“Without a doubt, the CBD market will continue to grow and mature. We believe CBD in beverages will become as ubiquitous as ibuprofen in the home. That is not to say that every beverage will have CBD, but we believe it will become a common ingredient. Ten years from now, you will see a vastly more mature category. Other cannabinoids will be used to drive benefits and I believe you will be able to select specific types of CBD beverages to suit your specific needs,” predicts Hamdallah.

He details that the image of CBD has acquired a “health halo” in the form of self-care. “Mental well-being and self-care should consist of everyday pick-me-ups that can be integrated into one’s daily routine, and so we set out to create a CBD beverage that provides real functional benefits like focus and relaxation.”

According to Innova Market Insights, 38 percent of consumers perceive reducing stress and anxiety to be a benefit of using CBD as an ingredient. Relaxation, sleep aid, and improving mood and emotional well-being are popular benefits of the compound, although pain relief is the top benefit, cited by 45 percent of consumers. 

“The brand was inspired by the belief that mental wellness should be just as second nature as physical fitness, nutrition, skincare and so on. Mental wellness is a key piece of holistic health and self-care. To that end, we saw a gap in the marketplace for a trustworthy sparkling water CBD beverage that tastes good and has clean ingredients. This is while helping to relieve stress and anxiety without unwanted side effects,” explains Hamdallah.

CarryOn now offers two lines of sparkling CBD water. Options for relaxation or a refresh
CarryOn now offers two lines of sparkling CBD water. The first, Elevate, is geared toward keeping consumers calm but sharp. The drink is grapefruit flavor and features choline in addition to the 10 mg of CBD. Meanwhile, blueberry-flavored Descend is designed to provide relaxation without impairment. Accordingly, it contains L-Theanine and 20 mg of CBD isolate. Both drinks have 10 calories per 11.5 fl oz can, as well as providing vitamins C and E and containing no added sugar.

“These lines speak directly to how you feel and how you want to feel. The taste is refreshing and light, not heavy, overly sweet or herbal. We studied flavors and how they make people feel and combined those flavors with real active ingredients like L-Theanine to relax you and choline to refresh and restore you,” explains Hamdallah.

He continues that other CBD brands tend to be either taste-focused and deliver a soda-like sugary drink, or they are all about the CBD and forget about taste and function. “As a brand, we want to encourage everyone to try CBD in a way that is comfortable to them. That is part of the reason we have two different beverages with different amounts of CBD. Our target audience is anyone who is trying to get back to being okay.”

Innova Market Insights also notes that there has been a 165 percent growth in global product launches tracked with CBD (CAGR 2015 to 2019). Notably, 59 percent of consumers are now open to accepting cannabis or CBD as an ingredient. Indian and US consumers are the most open, at 85 percent and 71 percent, respectively. 

CBD beverages have been a particular area of innovation. In October, Dutch start-up Tranz underscored how it bypassed EU regulations on CBD-infused beverages to debut its potentially disruptive drink. Meanwhile, Good Day’s line of CBD-infused beverages is touted as keeping consumers “balanced throughout every part of the day.” Mood33’s line of herbal teas contains full-spectrum hemp extract, premium botanicals and real fruit juices. Finally, Fluent Beverage Company, a joint venture between brewery AB InBev and cannabis company Tilray, is set to commercialize non-alcoholic CBD-infused beverages throughout Canada.

Part of the incubator model
The brand was developed over the last five months, with Ocean Spray’s incubator model having a five-month concept to test-market cadence. However, Hamdallah clarifies that CarryOn is not a current brand within the Ocean Spray family, and its integration into Ocean Spray’s product portfolio will depend on the outcome of the test-and-learn launch. 

“Innovation has been a driving force at Ocean Spray since our internal Lighthouse incubator launched last fall. The goal was to push the cooperative outside of its comfort zone by ideating and bringing a variety of health-focused food and beverage products to market in a five-month timeframe,” he details. 

At the time of the launch, the company detailed that the Lighthouse cultivates a new entrepreneurial culture from the inside out. This is by creating products and brands true to the heritage of Ocean Spray and that are indicative of a new disruptive era with a “build” mentality. A few weeks later, Ocean Spray partnered with Plug and Play to leverage a global start-up ecosystem to solve critical business challenges with a creative, disruptive and agile approach. Last week, the company also unveiled a campaign highlighting its commitment to sustainable processes and regenerative agriculture.

By Katherine Durrell