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Business English: Some cannabis with your tea?
Put that in your pipe and smoke it: A health beverage containing the plant is the latest in a string of new "functional drinks" to find a receptive market.Rituals associated with drinking tea are typically rituals of relaxation. In Britain, workers will take a break for a "mornin' cuppa". In India they will stop by the roadside to pick up a cup of chai. So when a group of entrepreneurs bought the rights to sell a drink made with tea and cannabis in the UK, it could have been the perfect opportunity for marketing a product guaranteed to make consumers zone out.
Instead, C-Ice is concentrating on what it claims are its health properties. "The health angle is by far the most interesting one for us," says Harinder Kohli, C-Ice's UK commercial director.
Ms Kohli says C-Ice can boost the immune system as a result of the vitamins, minerals, omega oils and amino acids found in cannabis. The drink contains cannabis sativa syrup, water, sugar, lemon juice, lemon flavouring, black tea extract and ascorbic acid. The THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the psychoactive substance found in the cannabis plant, has been removed.
C-Ice was developed in 2003 by the Swiss company Thurella. The group produces some 2m cartons of C-Ice a year, and distributes them in Europe through an Austrian company, Seagull.
The introduction of C-Ice to the UK comes as consumers become more enamoured of drinks that claim to offer health benefits. Global consumption of soft drinks rose 3.9 per cent last year to 499bn litres - around 77 litres per person, says the drinks consultancy Zenith International.
The increase was led by the "better for you" categories: bottled water, fruit drinks and so-called "functional drinks" These include energy drinks such as Red Bull, sports drinks such as Powerade and nutraceuticals such as Sirco, a fruit drink claimed to thin the blood.
Stephen Franklin, chief executive of Provexis, the UK company that developed Sirco, says: "people are taking responsibility for their own well-being and are less dependent on the medical profession."Jeya Henry, professor of human nutrition at Oxford Brookes University, says the absence of heavy regulation in the food and drink market means small companies can be creative and lead growth: "The revolution in functional beverages is going to come from small companies."
C-Ice has so far faced no regulatory hurdles in the UK. It approached the Home Office to make sure the cannabis syrup in its drinks was below illegal levels, but did not have to get approval from any other authorities.
C-Ice is targeting its distribution through health food stores and bars but has already found favour among sufferers of multiple sclerosis. Members of the Milton Keynes Multiple Sclerosis Therapy Group have been drinking two 250ml containers of C-Ice a day for the past three months. Roz Heredia, managing director of the group, says it has helped to relieve leg pains and spasms, as well as insomnia.
However, changes to European laws on health claims mean it is likely to become harder for companies to establish new products. In the UK, retailers have been acting as intermediaries between producers and consumers in determining what drinks are suitable for sale. Supermarkets asked Provexis to get an endorsement from a charitable organisation to put on Sirco packaging to give consumers confidence, Mr Franklin says. The company obtained this from cholesterol charity Heart UK.
Some governments have reservations about functional drinks, especially if drunk with other substances such as alcohol. Red Bull dominates the energy drinks market but it has had difficulties getting approval in some countries, including France and Denmark, because of concerns about caffeine levels and about other ingredients such as taurine and glucuronolactone. Red Bull has cut the amount of caffeine in its drinks sold in Turkey to comply with government requests.
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FTD.de, 04.07.2006
© 2006 Financial Times Deutschland,
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