Paul Weaver, Head of Cannabis at Boston Beer Company – Interview Series

As the American cannabis industry the $35 billion threshold, it shouldn’t be surprising that major beer/alcoholic beverage companies are starting to make their way into cannabis. Given a somewhat similar history, both intoxicants with a history in federal prohibition before becoming a multi-billion dollar industry that employs hundreds of thousands, the companies and their professionals’ insights and inclusions will only increase as cannabis legalization further spreads. One such established professional from both the international beer industry and finance/banking is Paul Weaver, Head of Cannabis at Boston Beer Company.

Your educational experience is quite interesting. What interested you about studying History at Arizona State University and what later inspired you to return to school for your MBA? 

Growing up in Phoenix, I was always fascinated by history. History is a fascinating subject when applied to business; the repetitive cycles of industry and the tendencies of human nature is useful context when charting your company strategy.  Later, I received an MBA after being in the workforce for eight years. I took a break in my early career to get my masters, which not only helped round out my professional acumen (finance in particular) but proved a useful rationale to take my career in a new direction.

Your professional journey of finance/banking to alcohol and eventually cannabis is quite uncommon as well. During your time with Bank of America (BAC ) and Capital Group, what would you say were the most valuable lessons in professionalism and business that working for those institutions taught you? 

I worked in financial services from 2002-2010 and had a front row seat to a boom and bust cycle of the economy.  Working at a mutual fund company in 2008 taught me a lot about the fragility of capital markets and corporate perseverance.  It toughened me up for sure, but also taught me I didn’t want to work in finance any longer.

After nearly a decade in finance/banking, what were the deciding factors that made you want to switch to working in the alcohol industry? Did you have any initial concerns about leaving the finance/banking industry after such a considerable time period? 

After working for 8 years in various financial services jobs, I knew I wanted to work in something tangible. To make and sell a physical product you can actually touch and feel is much more satisfying to me than the hypothetical esoteric world of banking.  It was definitely intimidating to take a leap into a new industry, but I immediately felt at ease working in the beer industry.  Perhaps my time at Arizona State University was secretly preparing me for a career in beer the whole time.

During your time with Molson Coors, what beverage brands did you oversee the marketing of and what were your most successful campaigns/marketing efforts and projects? Why do you believe that those campaigns in particular were successful? 

Working at the Molson brewery taught me an incredible amount about the global beer industry, the power of brands, and a process for innovation. I had the opportunity to work on brands like Coors Banquet, Blue Moon, Molson Canadian, among many others. The most successful project I worked on, by far, was bringing Coors Banquet to Canada. That iconic beer is only brewed in Golden, Colorado and sacred in the eyes of the Coors Family. Bringing their baby into Canada was as much an exercise in product innovation as stakeholder management.

In terms of strictness and enforcement, how does the Canadian alcohol industry compare to the American alcohol industry? Are there similarities between the two nationwide industries and does lowering the legal drinking age by two years truly change all that much industry-wide and nationwide?

The American alcohol industry is a 50 state industry with a tiered distribution system and centralized federal oversight. The same is true in Canada. You have 10 provinces with their own unique routes to market, all supervised by the federal government. The biggest difference between the Canadian and American alcohol industry is the role of the provincial governments in distribution.  The American alcohol industry is run through a “three tier model” with independent distributors separating brewers from retailers. In Canada, the provincial governments serve as the distributor (and often the retailer as well). But despite having a different legal drinking age (18-19 years old) and a penchant for supporting Canadian brewers, the consumer culture of beer is very similar.

So what caught your professional attention about working with Canopy and what do roles such as Senior Innovation Manager usually entail? I noticed you worked a similar role with Molson Coors, so what were the largest main differences between the two roles? 

I believe product innovation is a transferable skill across industries. Launching a new product in any organization requires a clear vision, strong timelines, and excellent communication. But we take for granted how established most industries and marketplaces are. When I was at Molson Coors there was a clear structure for bringing a product from idea to inception with a decades old beer industry in which to launch. At Canopy Growth (CGC ) we had to create processes for innovation at a time when industry conditions for cannabis were completely unknown. It was like building an airplane mid-flight without knowing what or where where the landing strip was.  

Because federal rescheduling is such a hot button issue here in the US, how has federal legalization impacted the Canadian cannabis industry? Does a federal legalization truly solve or expedite many of the common issues that cannabis businesses face or does it bring additional challenges?  

Federal legalization in Canada has been a success. It’s not without flaws, but it’s a model nonetheless. Since legalization, the Canadian cannabis industry has contributed over $43 billion to the national GDP. No country in the world has greater access to safe, high quality cannabis products than Canada. The greatest benefit of a nationally legal market in Canada is the ability to scale and ship across provincial borders. Canada has a population of about 40 million people.  A cultivator in PEI (population 150,000) can grow in his/her facility and ship to that market. The same can’t be said for growers in Vermont or Maine. One practical benefit of federal legalization in Canada has been the ability for small markets to innovate and compete.

After decades of producing beer brands and more recently seltzer brands too, what interested The Boston Beer (SAM ) Company about getting into the cannabis drink game?

Boston Beer Company has been on the forefront of beverage innovation for over 40 years. Samuel Adams was the catalyst for the craft beer revolution, Angry Orchard brought cider to a mainstream audience, and Twisted Tea has grown to now be a Top 10 Beer in America.  As our drinkers’ needs evolve we remain committed to meeting their needs with the best tasting, highest quality products. THC drinks offer a truly comparable alternative, but it’s a category that can be intimidating and riddled with stigma. We created our TeaPot iced tea brand to be easy to understand, easy to find, and easy to consume. Ultimately, we believe cannabis is a force for good in the world and want to make products that are easy to understand and accessible to any adult. 

Why are the TeaPot and Emerald Hour brands and cannabis drinks in general special for consumers? 

Leading with taste is how we measure our success, and we pride ourselves on ensuring our products simply taste better than the competition. Beyond that, TeaPot and Emerald Hour are very different products meeting very different consumer needs.

TeaPot makes infused iced teas for different times day. Our drinker is looking for a great tasting, non-carbonated, low-dose cannabis beverage that is easy to understand and easy to bring to their social gatherings. It’s deliberately not-intimidating, and bucks the trend of “stoner brand” culture.  

Emerald Hour makes full-strength non-alcoholic cannabis cocktails. Many cannabis consumers, particularly experienced users, have a different relationship with alcohol than most.  Our drinker prefers THC, and we strive to give them a top-shelf cannabis cocktail experience that also delivers an amazing effect.  Part of the secret sauce is Emerald Hour’s use of live rosin and solventless cannabis diamonds, premium inputs that warrant a premium price.

Although they’re two different industries with two wildly different legal statuses in the US, what are some similarities when it comes to successful marketing/advertising and operation for cannabis and alcohol brands alike?   

It’s easy to find comparisons between alcohol and cannabis, it’s why so many cannabis industry professionals have a background in beverage alcohol.  Both are regulated package products designed for adult consumption with varying degrees of legal restrictions and marketing regulations. Both deploy marketing strategies focused on aspiration and lifestyle. The key differences between cannabis and alcohol advertising is the available media platforms and the role of education. Cannabis brands can’t purchase ad space on Facebook or spend millions on a super bowl ad, we rely on word of mouth advertising and grassroots marketing to get our brand out there.  Furthermore, these products are still relatively new to the vast majority of drinkers, and the leadership in cannabis has a responsibility to educate what responsible consumption means for their products. 

Thank you for joining us, Paul! For more information on Boston Beer Company and its cannabis drinks, please visit the TeaPot website.