Cannabis Startup Cann Sells 150,000 CBD Products Despite 'Hurting' Industry

Forget smoking pot, Cann puts a kick of cannabis into a drink that it believes will dethrone booze as the beverage of choice for social drinkers.

The cannabis-infused drink that the San Fransisco, California-headquartered startup makes is completely alcohol-free, foiling instances of bad hangovers. The product contains healthy doses of THC and CBD and is packed in a way that would suit sitting next to cans of beers in the grocery store -- even though that wouldn't be legally possible.

And the company, despite being in business for barely a year competition, has already sold 150,000 cans. This fast growth allowed Cann to attract investors that provided them a $5 million capital boost. New York-based venture capital firm Imaginary and private growth capital fund JM10 Partners led the seed round.

"We feel beverages like Cann provide the perfect product for the cannabis-curious," said Gregory Thomaier, founding partner of JM10, in a press release.

The sales that Cann recorded comes amid a wailing industry too. Freer regulation on marijuana boomed an industry that mixes cannabis to almost anything people can get their hands, which covers ice cream to tech.

At a $4 retail price per can or $24 for a six-pack, Cann is three bucks cheaper than another non-alcohol alternative in Kin Euphorics, as per TechCrunch. And it offers the same "feeling of vigor and well-being in about 10 minutes" without the extra calories, and its dosage is, according to Luke Anderson and Jake Bullock, a manageable 2MG of THC and 4MG of CBD.

"With sophisticated flavor profiles, premium all-natural ingredients, and micro-dose of THC, Cann is uniquely designed to be approachable even for someone who has never previously considered cannabis as a part of their social lives -- and appealing to that consumer is what it takes for a product to break the 'stoner' stigma and cross over into the mainstream," said Cann co-founder Luke Anderson.

With the $5 million funding, which is more than eightfold its sales, Cann plans to expand operations in California and legal states. The company said that it would use the capital to improve production capacity and broaden and accelerate product development.