Yeah. Ready? Yeah, ready.
Okay.
So, thank you for being here.
Yep.
Can I ask you a lot of questions that we've already done over, but that's okay.
Absolutely.
Let's start off easy though.
What got you and Eagle Park into doing THC beverages?
We started off doing them over two, two and a half years ago.
And, you know, we saw the beverages gaining popularity.
We've always been pro THC in all industries.
And we had our customers start asking and, you know, figuring out,
are we going to jump into this industry?
And it made sense for us to do it at that time.
I mean, craft beer has definitely been a huge thing for us.
But to have different product segments that we can jump into,
and especially if there's a massive consumer demand,
which clearly there is because they've been growing like crazy.
We were excited about kind of the opportunity to have a new product line
and B, we know it does help people.
And yeah, it's been really good for us thus far.
It's the noise of concern.
Look at a lot of us.
Okay.
Perfect.
So, you did this because your customers wanted to.
Yeah, it was mainly because we found our customers were asking
and we saw the demand growing in the state of Wisconsin.
So, then we waited and waited to figure out, you know,
to see what the climate of the state of it was.
And it seemed to be there hasn't been, you know,
products were continuing to grow.
We weren't hearing a lot of government backlash or anything.
So, we jumped in and a lot of companies did.
I mean, it's a huge industry now.
So, we weren't the only ones that saw the opportunity.
And how much, over time, how much is your key to products
that have been a part of your business?
I mean, it's grown to like 16% of our company in the last two and a half years.
So, I mean, that's just how fast like the product.
The segment has been growing.
And explain to me this loophole that allowed you guys to, like,
put THC in your beverages even though it's not legal in the state.
Well, within the Farm Bill, the way that they had it is, you know,
it's within dry, the THC content was in the dry way to the product.
So, it allows that the weight of it in the actual can or package
is still within the tolerance, the way that they wrote the law.
And it was from the 2018 Farm Bill.
I mean, the government knew that this was happening forever.
And they allowed the industry to grow to, you know,
I know beverage alone is like $28 billion.
And then that's not even including the other side of the hemp industry,
which is far bigger than that.
So, I think it's one of those things where,
for people's sake, like, the cats out of the bag.
But, like, the industry has been growing since 2018 to a point now,
you know, where there's 350,000 jobs on the line
and companies' entire livelihoods.
So, I think, in my opinion, at least for the government
to allow it to happen that long and no one to have any real issues with it,
and then to kind of just axe it off is kind of the issue.
Yeah, so, can you expand a little further about your reactions as opposed to expanding?
Yeah, I mean, we were, you know, I'd hate to say we weren't surprised
with the way that certain bills and legislative decisions have happened lately.
And I was surprised that they stuck it in the budget bill to reopen the government
and I feel like the hemp beverage side and the hemp industry as a whole
probably shouldn't have been something that was their worry in that moment
when trying to reopen the government that was shut down for over 40 days.
But, clearly, there was some bargaining going on
and I think the bigger issue is the public just didn't know.
A lot of people in our industry didn't know.
I mean, it affects, like I said, 350,000 jobs just in the beverage industry alone for hemp
and a lot of these companies, that is their livelihoods.
I mean, it's billions of dollars on the line and the public didn't know,
the companies didn't know, and they did it within two days.
So, when it went through the Senate, it immediately went to the house
and that window was two days.
There's not enough time to react and not enough time to do anything.
And the other problem, too, is because the shutdown was so leveraged
and it was going on for so long, I think a lot of the politicians were like,
it has to get reopened, so we're just going to full send.
And it's going to affect a lot of people.
And I know that a lot of opponents of the bill, a lot of opponents,
to the loophole, their concerns were that it was unsafe,
that it was able to be sold to underage people,
that maybe it was a pathological addiction,
what are your reactions to safety concerns like that?
Yeah, no, and again, I agree.
Like, there is their concerns with the safety, their concerns with underage,
we get all that, and the big thing that we're pushing for is regulation.
The TTB has ran alcohol regulation for us for pre-prohibition,
so the system has worked, and they can use the same system
that they're working for alcohol as they can with the hemp drive THC.
It can be the same system, and we want it to be 21 plus.
You know, the safety concerns for everything are like,
the regulation put in place would take all of those concerns away.
We're regulated, you know, as all the FDA and DAC HAP
and all the other certifications that we all have,
like, those things are all there, and that safety is for the customer,
but we're just asking for regulation and not a complete ban,
because alcohol is legal, and it's 21 plus,
and it's existed for a very long time, and people don't have a problem with that.
And I haven't gotten any backlash from us selling the products that we do
on the hemp THC side, zero.
I thought, you know, we honestly thought in some areas,
maybe we'd hear something. There's been nothing but positivity,
and I think once the public fully understands where this is at,
there's going to be a lot of backlash.
So what kind of regulation would you like to say?
I think the opportunity for states and the federal government to make tax revenue,
they can tax it. I mean, we're taxed on the alcohol that we produce
and the spirits that we produce. There's an excise tax on those.
We welcome an excise tax, if that's what needs to happen to have regulation
in place. So I think an excise tax would make millions and millions of dollars
for the state of Wisconsin and far more for the federal government.
That would allow us to obviously allocate more funds towards things that we all want,
like education and roads. Like, it would make money for the state
and the federal government. And on top of it, then it would be regulated
with terms, so then retailers, then would have to sell, you know, 21 plus.
Like, those things can be done. I just think, you know, for lack of a better word,
it was kind of lazy on the government's part just to axe it
when they can literally do a lot of good and make a lot of money
for the states and the federal.
So what is Eagle Park's plan right now to do with this major?
There's a 365-day grace period, so I think as of right now,
we're going to continue to sell. We are going to, I think, bolster as much support as we can
with the people, customers, consumers of the products.
Obviously with the companies that their livelihoods are at stake,
there's going to be a lot of people joining together to, you know, talk to politicians.
People need to call their representatives and senators,
and the word just needs to get out. And I think the industry as a whole is so large now.
And there are retailers, distributors, manufacturers, all making a lot of revenue from this,
that if it all goes away, a lot of people are going to be in trouble.
So I think there's going to be a massive amount of support and hopefully lobbying power
to get the conversations to be had with the state and federal level to push for regulation.
And I think that's the thing is like no one's asking it for it to be the Wild West.
Everyone wants things to be done the right way and appropriately,
and we run an upstanding business that's, we're supportive of that.
And I think everyone is willing to work with them to get that to happen.
And so when this year period is up, what are you hoping the outcome is?
Well, I'm hoping that there's so much on the line that I think,
I'm hopeful that I think our politicians hopefully will see the benefits
and the side that maybe they didn't see initially.
And I'm hopeful that I think we can get laws in place and regulation passed
so that this can, industry can continue forward.
I think the big thing that I've seen too is just the understanding of what our industry is
and the majority, most of our customers I think I've seen are 40 plus.
I think the age demographic is I think what shocks the majority of people.
Like I think everyone assumed it was going to be one demographic that was buying these products,
but it is far exceeded any of my expectations of the clientele.
I mean, it's across the entire board.
Yeah, 21 plus people in their 20s, but then also like,
I would say the majority of our customers are 40, 45 plus.
So I just don't think there's, people need to know more about what's happening in the industry
and the customers that are using the products versus like just assuming it's one kind of person.
Yeah, and let's say worst case scenario, you know, added restrictions
or maybe they don't come and they legalize or add regulation.
What happens to your business? What do you think happens to the industry?
Well, worst case scenario of the abandoned a year from now,
we're a distillery and a brewery, so we have things to fall back on.
I still have to figure out how to take 16% of our revenue and allocate it somewhere else.
So it's going to definitely put a massive challenge on my shoulders next year
to figure out a way to generate that revenue somewhere else.
And it's going to be a lot of stress on me.
It's going to be far worse for the companies who are pure hemp companies.
And I think the restrictions on top of it, they've tightened up the tolerances for hemp as well.
So even for like CBD products, it's going to make it more challenging to produce
because the tolerances are way tighter than they were previous.
So even for just normal CBD products, it's going to make it harder.
And I think a lot of these companies that are solely based in the hemp market
and the farmers, I mean, the farmers are going to get destroyed.
I mean, it's 50% of, I think upwards of 50% of a lot of these farmers,
hemp farmers, products that go out, 50 to 60 is what I heard.
It's going to destroy families and it's going to destroy companies.
I know a few friends who have these companies and it will shut them down overnight.
And it's their livelihoods and these companies have existed for a long enough time.
And instead of regulation, they're just willing to shut down an entire industry.
And I think in today's world economy, the way everything is feeling a bit uneasy,
I think that's the worst possible decision we can make for our citizens
to just shut down a massive industry and regulate it.
And you keep on mentioning that it's like the 16% of your business.
That's grown over time.
Oh, yeah, yeah, that's completely grown over time.
I mean, it ends up being I think like 16% this year, but it's, you know,
it's nowhere.
When we started out, it was a very small percentage.
But I think the thing is it's growing like crazy.
It's growing so fast.
And as the products have gotten out there and people have realized what they are,
more and more people keep trying them and enjoying them.
And it's done safely. It's done responsibly.
And, you know, we sell alcohol, so I don't see the difference.
And I don't think our customers do either from that perspective.
And I think it's just another alternative for people to enjoy a product
and relax or have fun.
And yeah, I mean, safety has not been our concern.
Like we were a responsible company and I think with regulation,
then there can be people with the faith and consumers then will have full faith
in these products.
But I know all of the people that I know making them are doing a very good job
and they're made extremely well.
Yeah, so even if this saying goes through, obviously like that's 16% growth number,
have you had to plan around not having that 16% growth or that continue?
Yeah, I mean, we're literally right now trying to figure out all of our plans
for what to do if it does get banned a year from now.
And obviously, as of right now, we're planning accordingly because we have to plan accordingly.
And with how fast these have been growing for us,
next year it could have been an incredible year for us just because how the segment has been doing.
So now, instead of looking forward into a year where, you know, we're like,
wow, this is going to be a great year.
We're going to be able to grow.
Now it's literally we have to go into defensive mode and our optimism is extremely shifted
and we're now very concerned for next year.
So yeah, it's very disappointing and it's unfortunate and I hope that everyone can come together
and hopefully make these changes.
What have your customers been saying about this plan?
I haven't heard a single person that hasn't been upset by the ban.
I mean, I had people coming up to me this past weekend that were literally saying
I can't believe that they're going to do this.
Like, no one is upset by any of these products existing.
I honestly haven't heard one person, not one person, not a customer,
and there have been anywhere where someone in the last two and a half years
since you've been making these has said anything negative.
I haven't heard it like, not one person's come up to me and been like,
oh, you shouldn't do like nothing but positivity.
So I think when you have the masses and the majority of the population for the products,
it's like living in the United States of America,
we should have those freedoms to make our choices.
That's just the way it should be.
Anything else that you want to add that you feel like we didn't get to,
didn't cover it?
No, I would just tell every single person that, you know,
that sees this interview and knows what's going on to reach out to the politicians,
talk to the companies that are making them, support them, support if bill,
if petitions go out for signatures, like just do your part to hopefully help everyone out
and continue to push this forward because I don't think it's going away.
You know, there's a lot of legal states in this country to say that it's not going to happen
everywhere at some point.
I think it's just short-sighted and I think we should all work together
to make sure that it's done appropriately, regulate it.
And the amount of revenue that can come from this for the state and federal level is,
I don't know why they would throw it away.
I think, you know, no one's going to say no to the,
I'm surprised the government would say no to more tax revenue.
Ethan, do you have any final questions?
I'm good, no. Okay.
All right. Well, thank you so much.