A Look Inside the Expanding Cannabis-Infused Beverage Market With the CEO of Hillview, Producer of Hemp-Infused Seltzer Brand Kaló

In this episode, host Jonathan Havens, co-chair of Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr’s Cannabis Law Practice and of the firm’s Food, Beverage and Agribusiness (FBA) Practice, speaks with Ken VandeVrede, CEO of Hillview, a New Jersey-based cannabis company that has developed a portfolio of ethical, forward-thinking cannabis brands, including fast-growing hemp-infused seltzer product Kaló. Ken talks about his family’s commercial agricultural background that led him to first get involved in the cannabis space in 2010 and how he seized on the hemp product opportunities coming out of the enactment of the 2018 Farm Bill. Ken addresses the challenges of the federal and state regulatory framework and how, because the landscape is always evolving, he wants his products and company to be very nimble, specifically with their product labels. Jonathan and Ken also discuss the upcoming launch of Hillview’s new Kaló THC product in certain markets and how, in some ways, specific state-based regulations make it easier to produce a THC-infused beverage than a hemp-infused or a CBD-infused beverage.