In this episode of the Ready To Drink Podcast, Nate Fochtman sits down with Brandon and Dylan, co-founders of Goodmellow, to break down what it actually takes to build a hemp-derived THC beverage company in today’s fragmented regulatory and distribution environment.

This is not a conversation about chasing trends. It is a grounded discussion on operational reality, disciplined growth, retailer relationships, and why the next phase of the hemp beverage category will be decided by execution, not excitement.

Brandon and Dylan share how they approached formulation, positioning, and route-to-market with a long-term lens, why brand credibility is earned at the store level, and how founders must think differently when building in a federally undefined but rapidly commercializing space.

We discuss:

- Why THC beverages must behave like a real beverage business, not a novelty product
- The importance of retailer trust and repeat purchase behavior
- Building a brand without relying on inflated category narratives
- Distribution sequencing and market-by-market discipline
- Regulatory uncertainty and what operators should be doing right now to prepare
- How Goodmellow is navigating growth while protecting brand integrity

The hemp beverage sector is entering a phase where fundamentals matter more than headlines. The founders who understand supply chain, velocity, and accountability will shape what this category becomes.

If you are a beverage operator, distributor, retailer, or investor trying to understand where this space is going, this is a conversation worth paying attention to.

Subscribe for more founder-level conversations with the people actually building the modern beverage landscape across alcohol, functional, and hemp-derived categories.

Support the show

Presented by The FreeMind Group - FMGStrategy.com