When I’m not editing Restaurant Business stories and (politely) nagging editors to hit their deadlines as this publication’s managing editor, I’m performing similar tasks over at sister publications CSP Daily News and Supermarket News, where I’m also managing editor.
On the retail side, I’ve added a new beat to my duties in the last year, and it’s an action-packed one: Hemp-THC.
Convenience stores, grocery stores and even some big-box retailers like Target have started selling beverages infused with hemp-derived THC. We’re seeing this, of course, on some restaurant and bar menus in cities around the country where it’s legal, too. (In what many believe to be a loophole, the 2018 Farm Bill allowed for the sale of products, via the mail or in stores or restaurants, that contain no more than 0.3% of intoxicating hemp-THC by weight.)
In the years since, some states have banned the products and others have instituted their own regulations around dosages and age restrictions.
But the future of the segment got significantly cloudier last November, when Congress passed a spending bill that included a last-minute provision to ban the sale of virtually all hemp-THC products, effective this coming November.
We’ve heard a fair amount of outcry from retailers about this looming prohibition. They’re working with lobbyists, reaching out to lawmakers, partnering with advocacy organizations and more. Restaurants, though, have been quieter.
The National Restaurant Association, for its part, said some of its state associations have had conversations about bills that could regulate hemp-THC products, rather than banning them outright.
“We hear a lot of independents about this issue, and we’ve been talking with members of all sizes about the impact the change to the THC definition could have on their business plan,” Association Spokeswoman Vanessa Sink told me via email. “In the end, if there is going to be a market for hemp-derived THC- and CBD-infused products, we want to make sure that it is safe, legal, and accessible to operators who want to participate.”
And indeed, there appears to be a market for these products, one that dovetails with a decrease in alcohol consumption.
As my colleague Patricia Cobe reported last month, 65% of Gen Zers said they intended to drink less than they previously had last year and 39% said they’d forgo alcohol completely, according to Circana data. What’s more, the Chicago-based research firm found that 49% of all Americans said they planned to drink less in 2025, up from 41% the year before.
Hemp-THC beverages, meanwhile, keep on growing. Euromonitor International estimated the U.S. segment was worth $239 million in 2023 but said it was expected to balloon to $41 billion by 2028.
Despite the looming federal ban, big retailers like grocer Sprouts Farmers Market and convenience-store chain Circle-K continue to get into the category and/or expand their selections. I get pitches in my inbox almost every day from hemp-THC suppliers rolling out new drinks.
An Indiana congressman this week introduced a bill that would extend the hemp-THC ban by two more years, giving lawmakers until November 2028 to create a regulatory framework for the products rather than an outright prohibition.
It’s too early to tell whether that proposal will go anywhere. Regardless, hemp-THC seems to have become a segment that’s too big to ignore.
The hottest new lunch spot is … the grocery store.
Between 2024 and 2025, grocery stores grabbed an increasingly large share of short visits during prime lunch hours. Think trips lasting less than 10 minutes between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.
That’s according to data from foot traffic research firm Placer.ai, which noted the grocery uptick coincides with a decline in lunchtime fast-food visits. Traditional grocers saw the biggest boost.
“And while some of QSR’s relative decline in short lunchtime visits could be due to discontent with rising fast-food prices among highly value-conscious consumers, it also suggests that a growing share of consumers see grocery stores—where they can pick up ready-to-eat items—as convenient options during the lunch rush,” Placer.ai concluded.