West Australian functional beverage company, Kommunity Brew, has entered a partnership with Perth-based pharmaceutical company MediCann to produce a range of hemp-infused beverages. Production is expected to commence as early as Spring 2023.
While MediCann is already operating in the hemp-infused food space, it says the Kommunity Brew partnership will take them into the beverage industry for the first time.
The partnership follows another milestone for Kommunity Brew, which recently launched an AU$1 million capital raising EOI with equity crowd funding platform Birchal.
The collaboration between the two young businesses will put them at the forefront of the emerging hemp wellness drink trend in Australia with predictions it will follow the lead of the US market which was worth a massive US$400m in 2022.
Kommunity Brew founder and CEO, Mason Bagios, said the company’s new brewery, which opened in Lathlain last June, had increased their production capacity to 750k litres per year and they are well poised to take their successful approach to full flavour functional beverages to a new level.
“We’ve got the experience, the equipment and an incredible team so attracting investment to enable us to expand our marketing and distribution footprint across Australia and internationally is the next logical step.
“The demand for no-alcohol, low-sugar, good-for-you drinks is exploding across the world, and this is a fantastic opportunity for us to position WA as a global leader in this industry,” said Bagios.
MediCann founder and director Matt Shales said terpenes, which are naturally occurring compounds found in hemp and other plants can be infused into beverages to deliver flavour and therapeutic effects such as anti-inflammatory, anti-anxiety, antioxidant and anti- depressant.
“Terpenes aren’t new ingredients, but the data we have on the way they interact with the human body is new.
“They’re unique because you can achieve a diverse range of real flavours, but more importantly they play a functional role in the body and can provide us with incredible daily benefits,” said Shales.
Bagios said partnering with MediCann gave Kommunity Brew access to leading product knowledge and the highest quality terpenes available in Australia.
“It’s our ability to get products to market quickly that is allowing us to embrace innovative partnerships like the one with MediCann.
“We believe our potential in the functional beverage market is unlimited and we would love to see as many Australians as possible be part of our journey and share in the rewards through the equity crowd funding.
“As our name signifies, our dream has always been to build a community of like-minded people with a passion to change Australia’s drinking culture and now those people can have some skin in the game.”
