MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee has long been synonymous with beer and brewery culture, but a new type of drink is gaining popularity in the city and across the nation. THC and CBD beverages are carving out their own market niche, and one Milwaukee company is leading the charge.
Goodland Extracts, A Milwaukee-based company that produces these cannabis-infused drinks, has expanded to 14 states and plans to triple that number in 2026. The company is on pace to sell 700,000 individual cans in 2025, with products available in bars, restaurants, and major retailers like Sendik's and Piggly Wiggly.
"It's a relatively new market. Where do I see it going? I see it being an 'and' right? Right now, you have alcohol, and wine, and spirits, and, you know, THC beverages," said Ryan Pattee, the president of Goodland Exctacts, said.
The rapid growth in sales coincides with declining alcohol consumption among Americans. According to a 2025 Gallup poll, 54% of Americans said they consumed alcohol compared to 67% in 2022. Goodland Extracts believes Americans are seeking alternatives, a trend supported by their distributor, Gala Ventures, a sister company of Bader Liquor, which sees high growth potential in these beverages.
"The public's acceptance of THC beverages is also really growing, and people are just realizing it's not as bad. It doesn't have the stigma that everyone else thinks it does," said J Danger Wolf, Business Development Manager with Goodland Extracts, said.
Watch the story to see what Goodland Extract's products look like...
The company's success extends beyond sales numbers. Goodland won the LA High Spirits Competition with the best overall THC/CBD infused drink for their Cherry Pie Soda.
"Beat out any teas, any coffees, any seltzers, anything that's infused our Cherry Pie beat that out as the number one beverage based on blind taste test," Wolf said.
From processing to products
Goodland Extracts started in 2019, originally focusing on processing hemp for other companies. Farmers would sell them hemp. Goodland Extracts would extract and ship the raw ingredient that would eventually become THC or CBD products across the country.
"We are in Martha Stewart, Cheech and Chong, Willie Nelson, they have used our products in some of their products that they make," Wolf said.
It took them three years to process 1 million pounds of hemp. In 2025 alone, they will process 700,000 pounds.
The success of their extracts business led them to create their own products, including sodas, seltzers, tinctures, and a gin-flavored non-alcoholic cannabis spirit. This expansion resulted in the creation of Goodland Food and Beverage.
Legal framework
The legality of these products stems from the federal 2018 Hemp Farm Bill. While hemp and marijuana are both types of cannabis, hemp contains less than 0.3% of the psychoactive ingredient THC, vastly lower than marijuana.
"So as long as that THC was derived from hemp at a low dose amount and not from marijuana, which is a high dose amount, that is what makes it legal," Wolf explained.
As Goodland continues expanding nationwide, the company is carrying on Milwaukee's historic beverage industry tradition in a new way.
"There's enough room for everybody, alcohol, wine, spirits, these hemp-derived beverages," Pattee said.
This story was reported on-air by James Groh and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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