The weed beverage market took a bit of a faceplant a few weeks back when Finore Mining (FIN.C) failed to get through their due diligence on Kushtown USA. The announcement that it was backing out of the deal hurt the long halted stock, but also did some damage to others around it, with Tinley Beverage (TNY.C) not being immune.
Also hurting was the momentary concern that Donald Trump’s jackbooted weed cops may start booting in doors, allayed when his peeps admitted, a few days later, that it’d be unlikely they bother.
So Tinley may just be a nice opportunity now, but it’s developments at the company side that should have you a bit jazzed.
With their own weed and hemp-based drinks moving through development and into the market proper, there’s not a lot of similarities between Kushtown and Tinley. Sure, Kushtown has sodas and sauces and that’s nice, but everything still kinda tastes like weed.
Tinley’s jam is to remove thast weedy taste, and to turn their drinks into things your grandma might buy. And, as we can see, with more and more people moving away from booze to weed, and with more people discovering non-smokeable ways to consume it, this is a big deal.
Tinley’s Hemplify drink has been picked up at stores across California, and that’s great as they build out that arm of the business. It’s packed with your vitamins and omegas and its vegan friendly and non-GMO and all the good stuff.
But no. Hemp isn’t what’s going to turn Tinley inside out.
THC booze, kids.
Tinley ’27 is not just an idea anymore, the product is actively being prepped for launch. CEO Jeff Maser told me last week they’re literally waiting on the latest batch to arrive from their formulation partners, and then will be doing hardcore taste testing, packaging and launching.
The products under development as things stand are a rum (think Kraken), an amaretto (Maser says this one has by far the best results in taste tests), a margarita mix, and a spiced whiskey (think Fireball). These would indicate the company is veering hard at the demographics of young adults, women, and casual drinkers, rather than trying to make this a weedhead brand.
There will be no leaf branding. There will not be slogans aimed at telling you to lose your mind on the product. The concept is adult, sophisticated, casual, and clean.
“We don’t have anything against the smoker crowd,” says Maser. “That’s just not what we’re trying to corner. If you and I go for a drink after work, we’re not trying to lose our mind, and even if you might like a smoke, it’s kind of antisocial to head out to the street for one. What we’re looking to provide is that ability to get your buzz while you’re drinking, not from alcohol, which has side effects that aren’t positive, but from the THC.”
And to make sure you don’t lose your mind, Tinley has formulated the drinks to be the THC equivalent of their alcohol replacements. In other words, The same buzz you’d get from a shot of Kraken, they’re trying to give you with the Kraken substitute. Responsible. Clean. Adult.
Tinley stock has drifted of late, mostly due to the issues with US politics, and the swing and a miss from Finore, but also because weed has had a bit of a settling period. Most companies are down.
But most companies aren’t gearing up to not just release a suite of new products, but for those products to be genuinely new in every sense. Nobody has done de-alcoholized booze with a THC kicker before, mostly because nobody is equipped to.
You’d need the facility to make the drink. You need the tech to make the drink not taste like the underside of a cow’s groin. You need the know-how to get the drink to market (which Tinley has honed on the Hemplify brand, and added to with execs that worked at drinks distributor Cotts in the past). And you need the legal framework that allows you to source weed, and turn it into the drink (which Tinley secured when they acquired what is now the Tinley Collective).
To this, as I was writing this story (actually, after I published the story), Tinley released a bad ass news release that reiterates the above, with the signing of Critical Mass to deliver product ASAP:
Critical Mass will provide the scale and expertise needed to manage the Company’s growing operations for its cannabis and hemp CBD beverages.
Key developments include: The Company’s previously-announced bottling run will be 100,000 units, comprised of its new lemon-lime flavor as well as its two existing flavors
The Company expects to place a purchase order for its CBD coffee creamer and is proceeding with its previously-announced CBD energy shot The Company is working to release its Tinley ’27 cannabis drinks by the April 20 (“420”) weekend, and is endeavoring to complete batches for delivery to dispensaries prior to this launch
The Company has secured multiple sources of THC to ensure redundancy and quality
The 25-store trial with a major convenience store, announced on December 5, 2016, has successfully concluded, and an additional distributor has purchased half a pallet to supply the majority of these stores for continued sales In just its second quarter of product availability
The Company has listed its products in premier stores including Bristol Farms (all 10 stores), Erewhon (all 3 stores), Sprouts (Chula Vista and Eastlake), GNC’s LuckyVitamin.com and several convenience stores and dispensaries totaling approximately 100 stores
LA Distributing Company and the Company’s sales force has now expanded and is working to place in additional independent stores and national accounts
Significant press continues to emerge detailing the increasing shift by consumers from alcohol to cannabis, which supports the Company’s strategy of creating alcohol-free, cannabis-infused versions of popular alcoholic beverages
The Company’s year-end financials due April 28; the Company does not require financing at this time
Tinley wasn’t always a company. For a long time it was an idea that a company might one day spring from.
It’s springing. The work has been done. Time to gear up.
— Chris Parry
FULL DISCLOSURE: Tinley is an Equity.Guru marketing client.
Chris, could you address those who might be tempted to compare TNY to P&D stars MINE from 2014’s greenrush? I even read on some hub that TNY might be releasing a THC coffee creamer. Hire Katy Perry to represent/promote as well? Thanking you bigly.
P&D stars MINE? Can you decode that?
Pump and dump stars MINE. Back in 2014 Minerco inc (OTC:MINE) wrote the script that TNY is following….. or seemingly so…..
I think that’s unfair. There aren’t a lot of beverage/weed stocks out there. Silly to suggest any one is a copy of another. Virgin territory and Tinley has kept their news pretty fair.
Good morning Chris. Not saying TNY is a P&D, I’m holding a fairly large position. I do see the resemblance between MINE’s market and TNY’s, though. Thank you for your reply!
any word on how their financials are shaping up? are they earning any money at all? expecting a run up to their earnings release?
I wouldn’t think they’re going to be earning enough for it to be a factor and, in fact, they’ll be spending enough on product dev to probably deliver a loss for the quarter. Next Q will be the important one.