Founder's Spotlight - Jack Sherrie - Drink DELTA

Can you share the journey that led you to start Delta Beverages? What was the initial inspiration behind creating THC-infused beverages?

Jack: Getting involved in the hemp industry wasn’t an accident, I chose this opportunity as the 2018 farm bill was passed right as I graduated from college. I remember thinking to myself, “When am I going to have an opportunity to get involved in an industry at its infancy? This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.” I have been an entrepreneur my whole life. I worked in my field of study (computer science) after college, but constantly was looking for other opportunities to present themselves. I started a hemp extraction company distilling and refining hemp-derived crude oil. We were always a couple steps ahead of the competition, at a time where hemp extraction techniques were in their infancy. To be honest, there was a little bit of luck involved as the timing was great. Delta 8 THC infused products were just taking off and we launched the first delta 8 THC drink called D8 Seltzer. Working in the lab, I knew that beverages would be the future of THC consumption as they have the ability to give consumers the therapeutic effects they are looking for, in a short period of time. One of the biggest inspirations behind creating a legal THC drink was creating a healthier solution for consuming cannabis. Smoking has a lot of negative health implications, and as I’m getting older I was looking for a solution that has fast-acting effects and something that has less social stigma.

Delta Beverages has achieved significant success with over 13 million in sales. What were some of the biggest challenges you faced in scaling the company, and how did you overcome them?

Jack: In the beginning days, there were many challenges, simple things that normal businesses are able to do, such as have access to a bank account or merchant account services were very difficult to come by. Convincing retail store locations that hemp-derived beverages were legal was also a challenge. But I would say, by far the biggest challenge was finding reliable co-packers. Most co-packers, or at least the good ones, are controlled by a board of directors and convincing them to take on a new category was the most challenging. I remember a conversation with one co-packer saying that he loves the product and our company but Red Bull refused to allow the co-packer to run the product before theirs. At this point, we are too large for a co-packer to ignore. We will end up producing 4.5 million cans this quarter, which is simply amazing!

As a fitness enthusiast, how do you balance your personal commitment to a healthy lifestyle with the demands of running a successful beverage company?

Jack: I have always been into fitness and I don’t think I have missed more than a couple of days, unless sick or injured, in the past 15 years. When I was younger, I focused on strength training; however, as I have gotten older, it’s more about leading a healthy lifestyle. I have been consistent with my exercise routine and a lot of this has helped me run a successful business. There were many times in the company’s history that were challenging and without consistency, we may not be here today.

Delta Beverages emphasizes a balanced blend of THC and CBD. Can you discuss your product development process and how you ensure the use of high-quality, natural ingredients?

Jack: My experience in building a hemp extraction facility gives us an edge. We focus on the balance between THC and CBD to create beneficial therapeutic effects. By controlling the cannabinoid ratios, we offer products that provide specific benefits, whether relaxing or uplifting. We use hemp-derived Delta-9 THC, identical to marijuana-derived THC, ensuring compliance with legal standards and maintaining high quality.

With recent changes in regulations around THC, how has Delta Beverages adapted its business strategy to stay compliant and continue delivering quality products?

Jack: Most people don’t even know this is going on, but one of the biggest threats to legal THC is actually large marijuana companies or the institutions/hedge funds in charge. Companies such as Curaleaf have even been public about their approach to trying to monopolize the industry ‘before it even gets started’. Luckily, there are governors and senators such as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis that are aware of their tactics and prevent them from buying up licenses, distribution, and supply chains. Right now, simultaneously large marijuana companies are also getting involved with hemp THC and “hedging” against marijuana while simultaneously paying an extreme amount of lobbying dollars to fight hemp-derived THC products. Remember, hemp THC is the same molecule, but it stands for fair business commerce as THC continues to be regulated. The hemp THC business community is putting budgets together to help fight against the large marijuana monopolies. We are currently lobbying in multiple states. As a company, we also recognize that our 20MG drink may be too much THC for a beginner cannabis user and we have launched our DELTA LIGHT range of 4 flavors in a 5mg variation for a stackable experience. As states continue to regulate the industry, it’s important for us to have a lower milligram drink, despite a lot of our fans loving the stronger drinks.

As a leader, what piece of advice would you give to someone looking to start their own THC-infused beverage business?

Jack: Competition is high right now. When we started, there were only a couple of brands. Today, there are hundreds of hemp-infused beverage brands. The beverage industry is very expensive and becoming profitable typically only comes at scale. My best piece of advice is to perfect proof of concept online direct-to-consumer first, while simultaneously targeting a specific geography for retail. Something we did well, and I didn’t realize the impact of the model at the time, was building a direct-to-store online portal for our retailers. Basically, stores could go online and have products delivered directly to their store. Once we had a handful of stores in an area, we would reach out to distributors to sell our products. It’s difficult to pitch a distributor on your product when you don’t have any sales data of stores in their territory, but if you have 100 or more stores and sales are going well in their territory, it’s hard for them to ignore.

Besides Delta Beverages, what other brands do you enjoy and why?

Jack: There is a regional brand called Levity out of Charleston. I like that they are taking a unique approach by selling their beverage products in a liquor bottle. I know that they are also offering canned products such as mocktails which are great. There are a lot of brands that do not have a unique value proposition and are simply “following the pack,” so to speak. It is unfortunate that the beverage industry is very expensive and capital intensive. The beverage industry is not for the faint-hearted. Either you get to profitability as quickly as possible and stay consistent, or you better be charming and great at raising capital. Remember, this isn’t a get-rich-quick scheme. You have to be in this for the long haul and be prepared for the most exhilarating rollercoaster ride of your life.