Aaron Nosbisch Reveals BRĒZ Marketing Secrets: A Beverage Exploding Toward $20 Million

Aaron Nosbisch Reveals BRĒZ Marketing Secrets: A Beverage Exploding Toward $20 Million

Bryan Fields: That's when the game will shift. I have a feeling that people will see alcohol like they do tobacco in about five years. Bryan Fields: What's up guys, welcome back to another episode of The Dime. I'm Bryan Fields, and with me as always is Kellan Finney. This week we've got a very special guest, Aaron Nosbisch, founder of BRĒZ. Aaron, thanks for taking the time, how are you doing today? Guest: I'm doing great, man. I'm super grateful to be here. Thanks for having me, excited to dive in. Kellan Finney: Aaron, how are you doing? I'm doing really well, grateful we get to talk to Aaron today and get to cover another one of our favorite topics in terms of hemp beverages and the impact they're probably going to have on the industry as a whole. How are you doing, Bryan? Bryan Fields: Yeah, I'm excited, and I think it's not the impact they're going to have — I think it's the impact they're having now, and it's just a matter of whether you're part of the wave or you're just pretending like it's not crushing you. But before we dive into some of the fun parts of the conversation, Aaron, we've got a little East Coast/West Coast battle — you have to choose a side. East Coast or West Coast, which one do you go with? Guest: East Coast, baby, all day. I'm down here in South Florida, so it's hard to beat. I mean, I love the West Coast, don't get me wrong, but there's just a vibe over here, man. Bryan Fields: I was going to try to bring it up — we talked earlier and I was like, Florida's East Coast, I got no angle. Let the record reflect that. So Aaron, for our listeners unfamiliar, can you give a background about yourself and the origin of BRĒZ? Guest: For sure, man. So my name's Aaron Nosbisch. I've been building businesses and brands for a while. I've been in cannabis professionally for about six years, but I've been smoking since I was twelve, and I love this plant and I love business and I love helping people, and I think the combination of these things does just that. I'm the founder and CEO of a business called BRĒZ, which is a hemp-derived THC, CBD, and nanoemulsified Lion's Mane beverage. It creates a happy, euphoric feeling in about five minutes and then it goes away in about an hour, which makes it approachable and stackable just like your favorite cocktail or beer. We launched eleven months ago and we've sold 1.5 million cans already, which is about $5 million in revenue — profitable, which is rare in this space, cannabis in general — and we're pacing for $20 million for the year. It's holding on to a rocket ship with a rope. Bryan Fields: There's a lot to unpack. Where did the idea come from, and what were the first steps from idea to first product? Guest: The core of the idea is I've always been a cannabis consumer and love cannabis, and I'm also really big into functional mushrooms and other ancient compounds that lead to net positive effects. But I was also a drinker for a period of time — I joke that I went pro and retired early from drinking. The thing about drinking is it can be so fun, so valuable to connection and life, but so costly, and unfortunately the cost outweighs the good it provides. So in my head I realized there had to be a better beverage, a better way to feel better without feeling worse — that's the origin of BRĒZ. I've tried a lot of cannabis beverages, and unfortunately most don't create that same social, bubbly, happy feeling and camaraderie you get with alcohol or drinking culture. So we really focused on creating a blend that was uplifting and happy and social while also being relieving, calming, fast-acting, and stackable — that's the effect combo of the alcohol game. That's what differentiates us: we have a much more social, uplifting product than most in the space. Once I realized that was possible through a different compound than alcohol, I knew it was only a matter of time before this whole alcohol industry gets disrupted — it's one of the biggest industries in the world, $250 billion in the US alone, $1.5 trillion across the globe. I've also been in CBD and hemp for a long time; my other company is called Lucid, the largest cannabis social advertising firm in the world — we run about 90% of all cannabis ads on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Google, etc. So I've had a landscape view of the industry for a while, rode the CBD wave, and realized quickly this isn't a fly-by-night thing — it's going to change the world. Bryan Fields: Were you always an adaptogen consumer — lion's mane and other nootropics — and was it natural to incorporate that into a hemp/THC beverage? Why do you think no one else has taken that same path? Guest: Yes, I've been using adaptogens and other conscious compounds for a long time. There are thousands of them — the pharmacopeia is huge and ancient — and a lot of amazing compounds get ignored, partly due to lost knowledge on how civilizations used them or how to properly extract or brew them to reap the benefits. I was also in aromatherapy earlier in my career and scaled brands in that space, so I've always been in this alternative, therapeutic wellness space. With BRĒZ, I think the keen thing we brought to the table is that because we've focused on helping people feel better and reducing human suffering, our focus was on crafting an experience rather than selling a commodity. I think that's the problem in the current THC beverage space — a lot of those brands didn't go through the CBD wave, so they didn't see what happens when thousands of brands sell the same thing: cluster confusion, deep market saturation, and a price war over who can sell the "highest quality" for the cheapest price. When we got into the THC beverage space, I knew I wasn't interested in being exclusively a cannabis brand, but a functional experience brand using a wide range of adaptogenic, nootropic, fungi, and herbal ingredients that create positive experiences, mixing those with cannabis — treating all of it as ingredients to create an experience. That's our focus today and what differentiates us: we're not selling another THC drink, we're creating functional experiences that improve people's lives. Bryan Fields: How long was the R&D process — mixing and matching ingredients — and did you have specific people you tested it on to validate it? Guest: It was really fun and wild, honestly the fastest thing I've ever done. I came up with the idea in January. I was going to conferences in the cannabis and psychedelic space — we're really invested in the psychedelic community, that's a lot of our energy — and I was at a psychedelics conference in Miami, walking around talking about the beverage I was working on and looking for the right partners. It was about 10pm and I was about to leave when a guy walked up and said he'd heard people talking about what I was up to, and that he did some beverages — he showed me a Lion's Mane extraction, saying very few people had ever done it. We started talking, and I told him I wanted an indica-type beverage with myrcene, the terpene found in cannabis that creates more of a heavier, relaxed feeling — I didn't want something heady. So he went back and formulated some products. Our original flavor idea was lemon basil, which sounds way better than it tasted. He came back with a drink that was Lion's Mane, THC, and CBD, also rich in rarer minor cannabinoids like CBT, CBC, and CBG, plus nano-emulsified myrcene — and you'd take two sips and it felt like a truck hit you. I was disappointed because no one's going to drink that at a bar, they'd fall asleep in the corner. So we kept iterating — I was traveling, Travis was blending, sending me samples — and we decided to add nano-emulsified limonene to bring in a happier, faster-acting, uplifting experience. Travis eventually called and said, "Aaron, it's done." We decided to bring 200 cans to Benzinga — this was about a year ago — and if people liked it we'd launch on 4/20, three days later. I tried it and it was refreshing, crisp, lightly sweet without being syrupy, and I felt happy and uplifted but chill and calm — the cannabis experience and alcohol replacement I wanted. We literally printed labels from a 48-hour label site and hand-applied them to cans to hand out. Feedback was great, though the taste back then was more bitter — something people don't realize is that smaller cannabinoid particles, which enable fast-acting absorption through the tongue and cheeks, are naturally more bitter. We refined it and launched on 4/20, and the company has basically doubled every month since. Every time you double, everything in the company breaks and you have to rebuild — that's true of any fast-growth industry, not just cannabis. Bryan Fields: One of the biggest challenges is that non-cannabis consumers are often trying a product like this for the first time, and that first impression is so influential. Walk us through go-to-market — was there a target market in mind, and how did Lucid help set the roadmap? Guest: We launched in small batches of about 1,500 units. I took all the business cards from Benzinga and manually entered emails into my list, launched on 4/20, sent 200 emails, turned on some ads, and went for it — we did about $6,000 in revenue on day one, which was a lot for a launch like that, and scaled from there. In terms of target market, I think of it as a psychographic rather than a demographic. A lot of people focus on things like "men 27 to 35," but I think there's something more core in humanity and psychology that transcends age, location, and gender — the desire to feel better without paying a high cost for it. There's a strange cultural trauma that feeling good is bad. I wanted to target people interested in feeling good who didn't want to pay such a high price for it — and the obvious crowd there is alcohol users. So we wanted to build a drink for ourselves that would give that happy, pleasurable experience without the consequence — invite mainstream culture to a better ride. To this day, our demographic is split almost right down the middle — 51% female, 49% male — typical age range 25 to 45, but also strong interest from 65-plus. We only sell to 21-plus, not due to regulation currently, but a self-regulated desire to keep the industry safe in these early stages. About 80% of people who drink BRĒZ rarely to never use cannabis — they're first-timers or people who had a bad edible experience. We wanted something safe enough for mom to try but stackable for your ideal high. The nano-emulsification process is almost a new medium of delivery within cannabis that isn't given much attention in the regulated space, but is used almost exclusively in the hemp beverage space — you feel effects in about 5 minutes and come down in about an hour, much faster and more controllable than an edible. Nine out of ten people who try BRĒZ love it — we don't get reports of people feeling terrible. Bryan Fields: With the philosophy of selling a feeling, there are federal implications around what claims you can make. Walk us through your history with the FDA. Guest: The FDA doesn't have a problem with selling feelings or experiences — they have a problem with claims to treat diseases or conditions. You can't say your product relieves anxiety, cures insomnia, or fixes pain. I've been in the wellness space a long time, and this applies broadly — you have to be creative with language around therapeutic qualities without claiming to treat or cure disease. We say things like BRĒZ creates a euphoric, happy, mood-lifting, stress-relieving experience — none of that treats a disease. Personally I'm a very libertarian, conservative-progressive person, big on human rights and not a fan of being told what to do — that's part of my problem with the regulated cannabis industry. Our can literally says "microdose cannabis and mushrooms in a can," which raises eyebrows. About seven or eight months in, someone called and said two FDA agents were at my door. I emailed them, and they told me I was being investigated after someone complained about an ingredient in our product — not about our ads or label claims. They did a full deep dive into our brand, processing, blending, recipes, batch records, and lab tests. Thankfully we've always had a keen focus on safety and compliance — licenses, lab testing, batch recordkeeping, GMP certifications. Everything passed with flying colors. They did tell me that current FDA regulations technically don't allow THC and CBD in a food product, period — meaning even CBD beverages sold in Walgreens, CVS, or Whole Foods are technically not allowed — but that they haven't enforced this since the 2018 Farm Bill, and there's a constant tug-of-war between Congress and the FDA over regulation while the industry keeps growing. After five or six weeks they closed the case — nothing wrong, but a reminder it's not technically allowed even though it's not being enforced. I later found out a law firm filed the complaint with the FDA over an ingredient, and the FDA said they suspected it might have been a competitive brand trying to slow us down. We filed a Freedom of Information Act request to learn more. My theory is there's a weird war between the regulated cannabis industry and the hemp industry — possibly lobbyists or big MSO-type players trying to slow us down. That's not the energy of this plant. We're all on the same mission to free this plant and give people access to therapeutic herbs, whether you're an MSO, a hemp beverage brand, a gummy brand, or a CBD brand. Bryan Fields: What's driving that MSO anxiety, and is the market actually zero-sum? Guest: A lot of MSOs — multi-state operators running cannabis licenses and dispensaries in multiple states — invested heavily and did the legislative work, and some worry hemp brands are siphoning their market share through interstate commerce and e-commerce. But hemp-infused THC beverages comprise less than 2% of total dispensary sales, because people going into dispensaries want bang for their buck and higher-dose THC, not low-dose beverages. Meanwhile, our consumers are mainstream alcohol consumers who are cannabis-curious but wouldn't otherwise walk into a dispensary — a sippable, familiar format is an easy entry point. We see this as market expansion, not a zero-sum taking. Ironically, any MSO could freely participate in the hemp industry too — a cannabis license doesn't prevent a hemp license — and some larger companies quietly do run hemp operations while publicly seeding an anti-hemp narrative to smaller single-state operators. We need to drop the weapons and realize we've always been on the same team — this is an expansion opportunity for everyone, unless your agenda is being a monopolist, in which case you should get out of cannabis. Bryan Fields: One area I'm impressed by is your marketing — copywriting, storytelling, positioning, and speed to iterate on ads. How do you target and segment an audience that isn't really filterable on ad platforms? Guest: You're right, it's not really filterable in the traditional targeting sense. We built a product for people like myself who want an alternative to feel better — it's more like, "hey, we've got a bonfire, come sit by it," than aggressive targeting. There's an Alex Hormozi quote I like: experts always do the fundamentals. The fundamentals are creating a great product and brand that reflects that energy, a website that lets you feel it before you taste it, and then ads that feel like a FaceTime conversation with a friend rather than a sales pitch — "this is who we are, this is what we're about, if that resonates, come on over" — and then letting the algorithms of Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Google do their sophisticated work. The smarter these platforms get, the less it's about aggressive targeting and segmenting, and the more it's about creative and brand quality paired with some technical skill. Bryan Fields: Copy like "3pm on a Monday, brain fog" seems to position exactly when and where the product fits into someone's schedule. Guest: For sure. Having confidence in a product I know is going to hit lets me communicate at that level. We also do counter-positioning — like pointing out that a lot of other "functional" drinks promise something and don't deliver, and ours actually does. A lot of these marketing principles distill down to one thing: marketing is an analysis of authentic human behavior and how to optimize it — but a much better play is just being an authentic human, harder said than done. Bryan Fields: March saw huge sales growth for you — what drove that acceleration? Guest: In March we did $1.1 million in revenue, about 95% from our website and a little from retail — and we're actually pacing for $1.3 to $1.5 million this month. A few key things are driving growth: subscription is core to our model. BRĒZ is on the premium end of hemp-derived beverages, but subscribers get 20-25% off depending on frequency, and about 30% of our revenue is subscription-based — that creates a built-in compounding growth effect. We also cracked TikTok. We have a non-infused version of our product with just Lion's Mane, no THC or CBD, which let us launch on TikTok Shop and Amazon. We made some videos, put ad dollars behind them, went from zero to 100-200 sales a day, then got shut down for being perceived as a cannabis brand. After talking with TikTok, they agreed to let us sell the Lion's Mane-only version on their shop. We used TikTok's affiliate program to get creators to sample the product and make videos, then ran those as ads. Within 15 days I was spending more on TikTok than on Facebook and Instagram combined. Bryan Fields: Were there lessons learned from previous cannabis beverages on the market that you applied? Guest: The big one was that most existing cannabis drinks were too heavy — more indica-leaning, relaxing, couch-locking — very different from the dopamine-driven, social, stimulating feeling you get starting to drink alcohol at a bar. But I also didn't want a heady sativa product causing anxiety or paranoia. The key was finding the right co-active ingredients — when compounds like THC, CBD, and nano-emulsified limonene interact, they create a third, harmonious experience rather than just stacking two effects. That's what really differentiates BRĒZ. Bryan Fields: How challenging is it to scale manufacturing when demand is exploding on channels like TikTok? Guest: It's challenging, but experience helps a lot — I'm 30 but have been doing e-commerce since I was 13, so 17 years of experience in a space that hasn't been around that much longer. We had a strong team, especially Travis focused on product, and we made intentional decisions early — like placing reserve orders for hundreds of liters of cannabis oil up front to ensure supply as we scaled. We have a strong 3PL fulfillment partner, Tondo, out of Delaware, and a great co-packer, Best Bev, in New York, which can produce up to a thousand cans a minute — New York's proximity to Delaware keeps the supply chain efficient. We're one of the few DTC-focused beverage brands in the world, maybe the biggest, and that's let us break through faster than the traditional beverage distribution model, which typically requires multiple co-packers and distribution hubs around the country. As we expand into retail, we're investing in new co-packers, fulfillment centers, and warehouses. Bryan Fields: When do you think you'll see broader retail presence? Guest: We're in about 70 stores today, working with a handful of big distributors, and we just hired four salespeople. We're the most premium-priced product in the category — a six-pack of our 7.5-ounce is $40, a six-pack of the 12-ounce is $60 — versus most brands in the $15-30 range. We consistently hear it's "worth it." People will pay $1,000 for aged brown liquor that sat in a barrel in a basement, so why can't we sell a $60 cannabis-and-mushroom six-pack? People don't want budget drugs, they want premium products, ingredients, and experiences. Bryan Fields: What's the most expensive lesson you've ever learned? Guest: I hired a really bad PR company once — I won't name them — that was very expensive, about $25,000 a month, with slow, dragged-out results, maybe four pieces of coverage over three or four months. But probably the most expensive lesson in my life overall was that alcohol isn't worth it — it's a tricky, powerful drug that feels good but causes a lot of havoc, and it's strange that it's so culturally acceptable. I'm grateful I don't drink now and that my drinking years weren't longer. Bryan Fields: Dream BRĒZ session — three people, dead or alive? Guest: Joe Rogan, Snoop Dogg, and — dead or alive is tough, I'll just go alive — Elon Musk. Me, Joe, Snoop, and Elon sipping some BRĒZ, smoking some jays, vibing and probably solving a lot of the world's problems in the process. Bryan Fields: If you could put anything on a billboard to reach billions of people, what would it be? Guest: The first thing that comes to mind: "There's a better way to feel better — drinkbrez.com." Bryan Fields: What question do you wish more people asked you? Guest: "Why are you doing this?" I'd answer that we're really trying to reduce human suffering and maximize human potential. A lot of people suffer from subjective and objective oppression that keeps them from their potential, and it's not about a victim mindset, it's about recognizing that removing some of that oppression gives people the opportunity to thrive — and when people thrive, everything gets better for everyone. It's mind-blowing how fast the stigma around cannabis is disappearing, and it's time to free people still incarcerated for non-violent drug offenses and move toward a more conscious existence. Bryan Fields: Prediction time — what's needed for the full unlock where hemp beverages are a staple in households worldwide? Guest: Major grocery channels and their distributors need to be willing to carry these products, with legal support to do so. When our products are sold at your local grocery store, people will try them, like them, share them with friends, and that will change culture. A little distance from the oppressive cycle of alcohol leads to clearer thinking and more conscious choices — that's when the game shifts. I have a feeling people will see alcohol like they see tobacco in about five years. Legislators are going to need to actually try these products and understand them firsthand, then create clear, safe regulations — less regulation, more testing, more access. I think the toothpaste is already out of the tube; mainstream culture is realizing how much safer these products are than alcohol, and the fuse has already been lit. Kellan Finney: I agree with a lot of what Aaron said. One other major catalyst will be the unification of cannabis and hemp — federal legalization will create more retail opportunity, but there's still a war of attrition between dispensary cannabis operators and hemp brands selling similar products through traditional retail. Once that's resolved, it'll be a huge benefit for the industry as a whole. Imagine how much quicker we'd get there if we worked together. Bryan Fields: I think the unlock has already happened — what you're seeing in Minnesota, with these products being sold in grocery stores exactly as Aaron described, is the first unlock. As it becomes more commonplace, generations like Gen Z who drink less will push these products in front of older generations, who'll try them and realize they get that same euphoric feeling without the hangover — maybe drinking these more regularly than their usual red wine. Five years might not even be aggressive enough given how fast things are accelerating. Guest: Feeling is understanding — it's one thing to educate and teach people, it's another to just pass them a can and let them try it. Our big focus for policy isn't lobbying a corrupt system directly — though we'll share information with lobbyists as needed — it's getting more people the opportunity to try BRĒZ and similar products, which is what we support through Lucid. People's adoption and experience of these products is what actually changes policy, and if it doesn't change policy fast enough, people will ensure that it does. That's our bet. Bryan Fields: Aaron, for our listeners who want to try BRĒZ, where can they find you? Guest: Drinkbrez.com — B-R-Ē-Z dot com. Use code EUPHORIA for $5 in store credit off your first order. I'm super confident you're going to love it, and as a reminder, we offer a money-back guarantee if you don't. Feel free to try it and let us know what you think. Bryan Fields: Love it. Thanks for taking the time, this was a lot of fun. Guest: Yeah man, thank you for having me.