Ready To Drink Podcast
The Ready To Drink Podcast is built for founders, operators, and leaders navigating the next era of beverage. Hosted by twenty-year industry veteran Nate Fochtman, the show pulls back the curtain on what actually drives growth - distribution strategy, regulatory navigation, sales velocity, and consumer trust. These are honest conversations with the people doing the work, building brands that last in a crowded and regulated marketplace.
Ready To Drink Podcast
Building a Profitable THC Beverage Brand & Why the Industry Must Step Up Now I Chris Fontes
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In this episode of the Ready To Drink Podcast, Nate Fochtman sits down with Chris Fontes, Founder & CEO of High Spirits, for an unfiltered conversation about what it really takes to build a hemp-derived THC beverage company in today’s uncertain regulatory landscape.
Chris shares how High Spirits bootstrapped its way to profitability, why staying lean beats chasing venture capital in this category, and what operators must do right now to protect the future of the industry.
This is not a marketing conversation. It is a founder-level discussion about grit, advocacy, distribution realities, and the short window the hemp beverage sector has to legitimize itself through responsible regulation and industry alignment.
Topics Covered:
- Why THC beverages are reshaping adult beverage consumption
- Bootstrapping vs. raising capital in emerging categories
- Retail-first strategy and scaling without heavy overhead
- The fight for clear legislation and why operators must engage now
- Trade associations, certification, and self-regulation as survival tools
- Lessons from alcohol industry evolution applied to hemp beverages
- Parenting, stigma, and normalization of cannabis in modern culture
- What separates brands that will survive from those that will disappear
Chris also discusses his leadership roles across major hemp and cannabis trade organizations and explains why certification, compliance, and collaboration are essential to the industry's credibility.
If you are a beverage founder, distributor, regulator, or investor watching the convergence of alcohol alternatives and cannabis normalization, this episode delivers real-world insight from operators doing the work on the ground.
Learn more about Chris & High Spirits: DrinkHighSpirits.com
Learn more about U.S. Hemp Authority: https://www.ushempauthority.org
Learn more Nate & The FreeMind Group: FMGStrategy.com
Subscribe for more conversations with founders building the future of adult beverages.
Presented by The FreeMind Group - FMGStrategy.com
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