Cann co-founders Luke Anderson (left) and Jake Bullock (right),
Jake Bullock
Age: 34
Title: CEO
Company: Cann
Luke Anderson
Age: 35
Title: Co-founder
Company: Cann
The beverage sector of the cannabis industry has seen explosive growth during the past two years, and Luke Anderson and Jake Bullock, the co-founders of the infused beverage company, Cann, have been at the forefront of its evolution.
“We have hit many huge milestones within the industry since inception. Over the last year, we have experienced explosive 232% year-over-year direct-to-consumer growth, served our 10 millionth can and have our sights set on becoming the No. 1 social beverage in New York,” Bullock says.
“Another massive 2023 milestone was being the first cannabis brand to win Food & Wine’s 2023 Drink Innovators this April,” Anderson adds.
The two co-founders became friends while working together in San Francisco in 2013. While they both enjoyed going out with friends, they wanted an alternative to alcohol and its harmful side effects. As they watched the cannabis industry flourish, they noticed the beverage sector was sparsely populated by overly potent products that used the same “regressive heteronormative” marketing as alcohol products.
“All of this created the environment where we knew there was an opportunity to create Cann,” Bullock says. “We are still only at the beginning stages of understanding the complexity and power of the cannabis plant, but seeing how it can help people reduce unwanted alcohol consumption and reduce the toxicity of a very common habit is really exciting.”
Anderson says the company’s mission is simple, “to change the future of social drinking.” To do that the duo gets its products in front of likeminded consumers who want to spend an evening out having a drink with friends, but without the negative side effects.
“We target ‘healthy hedonists,’ consumers who want to have fun but want a product without artificial ingredients,” Bullock says. “About 80% of adult drinkers want to drink less and we are meeting them where they’re at.”
“By creating products that are low-dose, we can offer a euphoric, much more controllable, uplifting experience for both seasoned and first-time cannabis users similar to other mainstream adult beverages like beer or hard seltzer,” Anderson adds. “With our omnichannel retail strategy consisting of local partnerships and direct-to-consumer, we are able to get more cans in more hands and reach new potential consumers.”