“Who knew we’d launch in the middle of a pandemic?” – just-drinks speaks to Jade Padua, co-founder of new CBD beverage company G&Juice

The whole world may be in lockdown, but despite the coronavirus pandemic the drinks industry refuses to stop. An example is G&Juice, a Californian, hemp-derived CBD beverage start-up whose plans for the release of its first products were thrown into disarray by COVID-19. Meetings with leading retailers and distributors scheduled for Expo West were lost when the Anaheim trade show was cancelled at the last minute, potentially cutting off G&Juice's route-to-market at a crucial stage. Undaunted, the three women at the helm of G&Juice have reassessed their plans, turning to smaller outlets in California that were calling out for stress-busting CBD products in a time of national emergency. Yesterday, just-drinks spoke to G&Juice co-founder & CMO Jade Padua, currently in lockdown in her home city of Toronto, Canada, about reacting to the cancelled Anaheim show, the positives of launching during a global pandemic and what US food safety authorities have in store for CBD beverages.