Cannabis Edibles and Drink Review had the opportunity to sit down with ALT (Advanced Liquid Technology) co-founder, Robert B. Davis and Director of Marketing, Cheyne Nadeau.
CEDR: How did ALT come together?
Robert: I’ll start by taking you back to the vision and the mission of ALT for myself and Cheyne and the other partners on the team. And speaking for myself, it greatly benefited me throughout my life and in helping me to overcome some pretty big personal challenges, particularly in the way of addictive tendencies. So that was my passion. We all share a similar set of passions for the plant, for the industry and for the movement.
So that was essentially the catalyst for starting to look at cannabis as an industry that we could do something different in. We started studying the different aspects of the space and came to believe that beverages and edibles are the future. We certainly see them as being the most socially acceptable way of consuming, particularly beverages. And we believe that the comfortable form factor, the technology, all of this lends to an experience you just don’t get with other products.
CEDR: What led you to the retail side?
Robert: We decided pretty early that we wanted to focus on the consumable space, mostly focused on beverages, but with the opportunity to move into edibles (given) our technology. We’ve been building a proprietary Nano Technology over the years that is best-in-class. It’s a clear liquid that can be dosed into any beverage, giving the consumer complete versatility in their consumption and what they pair the nano THC, the active ingredient with.
With this product, we have developed something that’s completely unique for the cannabis space. We’ve designed vials that have dosage marks on each side. The consumer can decide exactly how many milligrams they want. They can pour it into any beverage of their choice. It takes on the flavor of that beverage. They enjoy a five-to-fifteen-minute initial onset, two or three-hour euphoria and a very consistent offset in that range of two to three hours. So, the predictability, the uniqueness of the euphoria and experience, the form factor being portable, being versatile, these were the reasons that we created this product versus trying to figure out a beverage that every consumer is going to like. We’re going to make sure we’ll leave it to the consumer to empower their beverages through this no calorie, no sugar, vegan, vegetarian beverage enhancer. It’s an alternative to smoking, an alternative way of consuming and an alternative way of living.
CEDR: Do people drink it straight up or is it typically put into a beverage?
Chenye: We find that a lot of people do drink it straight up. When you drink it straight up, you have a touch of sweetness on the front end. You get some botanical and a bit of spice on the back end, which comes through the distillate. If you put it in a beverage, six ounces of water, maybe you’ll get a touch of sweetness. If you put it in a cold brew (coffee) or green juice or a smoothie, you’re going to lose that taste completely. The whole idea behind the product from a taste experience standpoint was to keep it as neutral as possible so it could be adaptable to any beverage at any time.
CEDR: Please tell us about your Nano Technology?
Cheyne: The Nano technology we own is proprietary to the ALT products. By basic explanation, it allows us to break down the cannabis oil into nanoparticles. We’ve formulated an incredibly small particle size, which then allows for a much greater bioavailability, much greater absorption by the user.
Given the particle size (and the technology), ALT bypasses the blood brain barrier in addition to the liver. Thus, you’re getting an immediate absorption that translates into a five to fifteen minute average onset with greater, fuller effects. The offset is very predictable as well, which I think is incredibly important. People want to know how long the experience is going to last and how they’re going to feel during and after.
ALT allows for very unique euphoria, again, because of that rate of absorption and far greater bioavailability. We place great pride in our technology and showing this to be one of the fastest acting ingestibles in the market.
CEDR: You describe your product as a Hybrid?
Cheyne: Yes, in the sense that you get both mind and body. We start with the highest quality, 90+ percent THC distillate, to create a pure THC experience. We actually chose that as the base of the products. Later on, we will be adding higher dosage and “effects” based products.
CEDR: Where are you operating today?
Cheyne: We launched in mid-December (2020) in California, and (for now), we are focused on the California markets.
CEDR: I know it’s been a short period of time, but demographics-wise, who’s buying your products?
Cheyne: We think this is for a Canna-Curious consumer who may not be looking to smoke flower or vape and is possibly a fan of edibles. One of the things we’re also seeing is more activity from the medicinal side of the market. Some of the largest category of consumers in California is 55+ with a medical card.
There are a lot of people that are also looking to get THC at certain dosage recommendations throughout the day and don’t necessarily have time to step out and smoke a joint or consume through other methods. When they can take the regimented dose of THC throughout the day with the product, we’re seeing a lot of adoption for people that are using a five milligram dose twice a day or sometimes, 10 milligrams three times a day.
As we go into retail, we’re working hard to educate the budtenders and the managers to suggest our product to these kinds of consumers and to those desiring a premium, versatile, tech forward cannabis experience. We’ve really designed this as a performance enhancing supplement, more-so I would say, than a cannabis product. ALT elevates and enhances. We’re seeing a lot of interest from those with active lifestyles that are on the go.
As an example golfers can throw the five pack in their bag and they’re able to dose whatever they drink on the course. We’re finding consumers pre-yoga, workout, or run to get into flow state.
The products are very discrete, give their form factor. The 5-Pack box is slightly larger than a pack of cigarettes. They’ll fit in your pocket. You can throw them in your purse. You can take them anywhere for an individual or shared experience.
CEDR: How well does it mix into an alcoholic beverage?
Robert: It’s a great addition to a cocktail or an IPA (beer), nicely complementing the terpenes in the beer.
CEDR: What’s the game plan here in early 2021?
Robert: We’re just getting going on the retail and online distribution fronts and so we’re heavily focused on growing our dispensary and online platforms in California and ultimately expanding from there into other states. Nevada and Florida are markets we’re particularly excited about.
CEDR: Thanks for the awesome insights. We look forward to updates!
