Interview with Brian Post

Let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there. How did your company get started and why?

Cruise Beverage was founded in 2019 by two Chicago natives with expertise in beverage compliance and formulation. The partners combined have developed hundreds of beverages for major brands and wanted to bring a “Craft” process to CBD beverages.

What is your product and how would you describe it?

We created the first and only nitro infused craft CBD beverage on the market. The nitro infusion creates a smooth, creamy beverage that tastes great. The organic green bean coffee caffeine creates a calm, clean energy. Cruise Beverage B Happy comes in 4 fun flavors: Blissful Blood Orange, Loosen Up Lemon, Mellow Mango and Peaceful Pear.

How have you pivoted your business this year?

With COVID we had to overcome two obstacles: Not being able to meet distribution partners as we aggressively expanded across the Midwest and acquiring ingredients. Thankfully Greg, our head of R&D, was able to leverage connections he had developed over the years working at Sethness Greenleaf and Synergy Flavors to keep our production runs going.

What is your next challenge to overcome?

Managing great relationships with our retail partners as we rapidly expand across the country. Our retail partners and distribution partners are extremely important to our expansion and without great partners, we are just another beverage brand struggling to find a place in the market.

What do you predict for the food industry over the rest of the year?

We will see more curated shopping experiences both online and brick and mortar. People want to experience a fun shopping experience and brands will need to find ways to be part of these curated shopping experiences. We participate in a lot of sober curious curated events, we see people looking for healthier options, so the wellness market will continue to grow across the board.

Learn more at: https://drinkcruise.com/