May 17, 2019 4 min read
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One of the many exciting cannabis industry developments in recent years has been the rise of infused beverages. According to a report by Zenith Global, the cannabis-infused beverage market is expected to grow to $1.4 billion by 2024.
Recognizing the lucrative potential of the market, existing beverage companies are investing billions of dollars into the cannabis industry. By far the largest investment has been made by Constellation Brands, the distributor of Corona beer. Hoping to corner the market, Constellation has pledged to invest roughly $4 billion into Canopy Growth (NYSE: CGC), one of the world’s biggest cannabis companies.
Infused beverages offered little in the way of refreshment when first introduced to the market, often tasting more like cannabis than the drink it was meant to recreate. However, as the cannabis industry has matured, so has its infused products. Now consumers can casually sip on an infused beverage without even noticing the taste of THC. A brand that exemplifies this evolution of taste in infused beverages is House of Saka, which officially launched last month.
Related: Mary Jane: How the Cannabis Industry Can Win Women Over
House of Saka, guided by an all-female advisory board with more than a century of combined experience in wine, cannabis and luxury branding, is the first luxury infused cannabis wine made for women by women. Infused with a proprietary, patent-pending water-soluble formulation, the brand sources its wine from some of the most beautiful vineyards in the Napa Valley of California.
“House of Saka is poised to be a trailblazer,” said Terry Wheatley, president of Vintage Wine Estates and a member of House of Saka’s board of advisors. “Having been in the wine industry for over 40 years, I believe infused beverages and House of Saka specifically are the future.”
House of Saka derives its name from an ancient race known as the Scythians. Also known as Saka, the Scythians were a group of fearsome warriors that inspired legends about a mythical race of female warriors known as the Amazon and are known as one of the earliest people to use cannabis spiritually and for ceremonial rites of passage.
House of Saka officially debuted their signature Pink and Sparkling Pink cannabis, and CBD infused alcohol-free beverages on April 18, 2019. Fortuitously coinciding with the rise of the full Pink Moon, the launch party was appropriately named High Fete: The Most Luxurious Evening in Cannabis.
Related: Why Do So Many Americans Now Support Legalizing Marijuana?
Located at the exclusive and isolated Triple S. Ranch in Calistoga wine country, the private sit-down dinner was planned by wine country’s top event planner, Nicki Wolfe.
“With Napa/Sonoma County as a world destination for all things wine hospitality and tourism, it was a no brainer for me to segue the same attention to detail into a luxury event for House of Saka,” said Wolfe. “The design was based on sensuality and Spring, old and new, vintage modern…but the subtext for the event was the boldness of the product and the fearless female leaders of the brand itself.”
Featuring a sumptuous menu that was as extravagant as the décor, the only thing more impressive was the guest list itself. The event included a veritable who’s who of top executives from throughout the wine industry, beer industry, and cannabis industry.
“It was amazing to be apart of the launch for the House of Saka’s brands. I loved the entire concept and direction of the brand from the moment I saw it,” said Cannacraft co-founder Dennis Hunter. “House of Saka’s female focused and luxury designed products are something that CannaCraft fully endorses. We feel infused beverages and luxury beauty products will define a large segment of the cannabis market in the near future.”
As the event concluded, House of Saka co-founder Cynthia Salarizadeh thanked her guests as her partner, Tracey Mason, gave a moving speech about the brand’s mission.
“From that start, we envisioned House of Saka to set the bar for female-centric, infused-luxury products in both the cannabis and CBD space,” said Mason. “Brands like House of Saka are the future of the industry and a platform from which we hope to inspire female entrepreneurs and draw women toward the extraordinary plant that is cannabis.”
