Put away your papers and pipes, people! If you’re ready to kick back with some THC, but aren’t feeling like you want to smoke that tumbleweed, perhaps a drink would be more your style? Looking to disrupt the THC category with new consumable formats, Artet is bringing the aperitif experience to a higher plane. Founded by Xander Shepherd with his cousins Max and Zach Spohler, this drink is on the high rise!

In 2018, beverages made up only 6% of the total edible cannabis market in the US. The drinkables that are out there resemble everything from FourLoko-adjacent convenience store cans to beautifully branded sparkling water, and often just contain CBD. So what is the difference between CBD and THC you must be wondering? Both CBD and THC are cannabinoids that are derived from the marijuana plant. They even have the same chemical formula (21 carbon atoms, 30 hydrogen atoms, and two oxygen atoms). However, the main differences lie in the way the atoms are arranged, causing THC to be psychoactive unlike CBD and leading you to as Snoop Doop would be delighted to say, “get high”.

Unlike other beverage companies, the founders of Artet, Xander Shepherd, Max Spohler, and Zach Spohler are taking a new approach by incorporating THC into an aperitif. “[Cannabis] beverages exist but they way we’re doing it and talking about it doesn’t - the way we think about some of the drivers for someone who is cannabis curious, someone who wants to get into cannabis but wants a product that looks and behaves and feels like something they’ve consumed in their past that wasn’t cannabis-related,” Xander said.

“It’s about bridging the gap between cannabis and the cocktail culture, with a better buzz of THC. To an extent we’re creating a sector,” Xander said.

Since Artet’s launch in 2018, the brand has seen distribution throughout California (since they are only legally able to sell it there), and Xander, Max and Zach have been featured in Forbes. This new format for experiencing THC has opened doors for interactions with the mixologist community and all kinds of creative thinkers and drinkers.

“The real vision we have is owning this space between cannabis and cocktail culture, and we see the future of cannabis mixology being very bright. We want to focus on our flagship SKU and make sure everyone can enjoy the original product. After that we want to look at ways that different products, different cannabinoids, and different flavor profiles can create complements,” Zach said.

The gentlemen over at Artet feel that it is best to allow customers the optionality and creativity to create their own drink. Therefore, the packaging comes with a cap that can be used as a shot glass to measure and pour your own Artet. “We saw somebody the other day making a drink using gin, Aperol, Artet and some bitters. That’s not a recipe that we put into the world, that’s a recipe that someone made at home, with the things they had in their bar. That’s what’s exciting for us to see.” Max said.

The Challenges

Other than raising capital, state-by-state distribution has been a major challenge for the Artet gentlemen as they are operating under murky laws and gray zones. However, as major beverage players started to enter the cannabis sector, investors eventually came around to join the high times (both financially and literally). Max tells us that it was very important for the team to keep its focus during the early days of adoption as “half the people we pitched to thought we were out of our minds since the idea of drinking weed hadn’t gone mainstream yet!”.

The Aha Moment

Xander, Max and Zach started tinkering with the idea of Artet back in 2015. “The aha moment came to us when we were hanging out one day and thought about what our future would look like 10 years from now. We always knew we would gather with our friends around a social drink, but it wasn’t alcohol, it was something else,” Zach said.

What started out as R&D was the boys’ first attempt to invade their home kitchen. With an ingredient-forward approach, a few questionable experiments later and with the help of the almighty flavor experts and beverage scientists from the internet, Artet was born in 2018. So how does one feel after their first drink? It takes about 10 to 15 minutes to take effect after finishing your first glass. The founders describe the experience as an uplifting, social buzz that leaves you chatty and mildly high with no hangover!

The Childhood

Xander, Max, and Zach grew up in New York City, with a family whose work in the hospitality space created a sense of importance around meaningful moments and experiences rather than material possessions. With their grandmother’s travel agency and parents’ family businesses as inspiration, the entrepreneurial spirit manifested itself in early endeavors centered around creating joy for others.

“I’ve always enjoyed creating things for other people,” Xander said. “In college, I produced a music festival that was partially funded by the school I went to, but a lot of it relied on us as a student group to fund it, build it out, and do everything from insurance to booking to travel logistics to ticket sales. [I was] running a team of 70 people as a 20-year-old, while also taking classes. Finding more excitement in the uncertainties of getting an artist to agree to the terms and show up and perform for everybody else, I found more value and excitement in that than my classes or my tests.”

Zach and Max also found their own ways to exercise their entrepreneurial tendencies before becoming founders. Zach created a platform that connected entrepreneurial communities on college campuses, and Max worked for a high-growth coconut water company that set him up with beverage innovation experience.

The Name

“Artet” is the mirror image of “Tetra,” the T in THC (or Tetrahydrocannabinol, try pronouncing that when you’re high). This backward way of looking at things seems appropriate for our out-of-the-box-thinking founders.

“We’re empowering everyone to hopefully one day become evangelists for our product.”

With the flagship product launched widely in California through several dispensaries and delivery services, including Kind Courier in San Francisco, and the Pottery and Tokr in LA, Xander works to grow the world of Artet.

“I’m very focused on how we show up in the world, how we tell our story, and how we present ourselves in order for there to be a reason for supply chain and sales,” Xander said “We see all of these things going hand in hand. That’s where a lot of my time is spent - making sure we are telling a very cohesive narrative, digitally, physically, in-store, with our partners.”

“I think Artet, in its final form, is an experience we really feel like the world deserves, and people can enjoy cannabis in the experience that we’re cultivating,” Max said.

The Advice

When it comes to launching a beverage company, we’ve heard a thing or two. Check out the gentlemen's key takeaways below:

Go slow and take your time formulating.
Trust your gut and know that some things might not work out and that’s okay.
The beverage industry is all about branding! Create something unique that speaks to a small segment before going mass.

Interested in sipping the future? Discover Artet here or email us to be put in touch with its founders.

Photo courtesy of Artet.

Written by Kendall Embs.