Target started selling THC beverages at a handful of its Minnesota liquor stores last week, the first such items at any of its 2,000 stores nationwide.

The Minneapolis-based chain joins thousands of other retailers — including grocery stores, liquor stores and gas stations — in the state offering THC drinks. But Target’s pilot run brings a new level of mainstream visibility to the low-dose cannabis market.

“It’s a monumental shift for the industry,” said Jason Dayton, co-founder of Minneapolis Cider, which makes the Trail Magic THC brand. “To have a retailer of the scope and size of Target deciding that they can legally sell it, that it’s good for their stores and their guests, is really validating for the years of work everyone in this category has put in.”

Minnesota helped pioneer THC beverages with hemp-specific laws that brought the industry out of a legal gray area in 2022. That ushered in a major boom in breweries and other brands launching low-dose THC drinks and gummies that bars, restaurants and retailers of all stripes could sell.

“I don’t think any of us had on our bingo card that in three short years, you’d see these on Target shelves,” Dayton said. “As a former Target employee myself, I know they have a strong legal team. They put in the legwork, and we hope this shows other retailers this can be done.”

Minnesota brand Surly’s Take Five THC drinks and California-based Cann are also part of Target’s initial batch of 11 brands sold at 11 stores, the company’s first foray into cannabis anywhere in the U.S.

“At Target, we’re always exploring new ways to meet our guests’ evolving preferences and needs,” a company spokeswoman said in a statement. “As part of that effort, we’re testing a limited selection of THC beverages in a small number of Minnesota stores to better understand guest interest in this emerging category.”

The state has approved all 72 Target stores in Minnesota to sell hemp-derived products, according to an Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) list. But that is likely a placeholder, pending a decision on broadening sales. All retailers that want to continue selling hemp-derived THC products next year must apply for a paid license by the end of the month.

The OCM spokesperson said the agency could not say whether Target has applied for a license and can only share information after a license is granted.

Target’s THC launch comes after several quarters of flat or declining same-store sales. It gives the retailer a chance to attract new customers and boost in-store traffic by tapping a growing industry — one that exceeded $1 billion in sales nationally last year.

In Minnesota, cannabis sales have totaled roughly $15 million per month this year, according to the Department of Revenue. Most of those sales are still from low-dose, hemp-derived products as the full recreational marijuana market slowly opens up.

Hemp is the low-THC version of marijuana that the 2018 Farm Bill made federally legal. Some lawmakers who consider deriving THC, the main high-inducing ingredient in cannabis, from hemp as a loophole are now trying to close it.

Most national retailers, including Walmart, have stayed out of the cannabis market. Total Wine & More was an early adopter once Minnesota allowed liquor stores to sell hemp-derived THC in 2023. Cub, Lunds & Byerlys, Kowalski’s and Fresh Thyme, along with several co-ops, sell THC drinks.

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