When Adolphus Busch V wants to demonstrate how flavorless his STiRiBLES brand of THC powder is, he has a simple trick. “Pour a packet into a 6- to 8-ounce glass, add water without ice, let it sit for a moment, stir it, and then taste the water,” Busch suggests. “You will taste a slight difference in the water, but there won’t be much of one. That was how we tested STiRiBLES in the beginning to see how flavorless it was, and it’s still a good test.” Launched in 2023, STiRiBLES has become one of the most popular cannabis additives, thanks to its nearly flavorless character, water solubility and ease of use. Just in time for the holiday season, Busch shared about the product’s origins, what makes it unique, and why it makes the perfect addition to a holiday gathering this season.
As someone with a name synonymous with beer, how did you get into the cannabis industry? At a young age—probably younger than I should admit—I became pretty passionate about cannabis. My family history and heritage ingrained in me a passion to create something of my own in the consumer packaged goods industry. I went to school in Colorado and participated in the legal medical market there, then graduated and stuck around to do an entrepreneurship program. During my time in college, there were people on my dorm floor who had patient caregiver licenses to grow cannabis. We participated in that market by selling to local dispensaries, which got me interested in the industry. When I graduated, adult use took effect, and I decided to get into the cannabis space by working in as many facets of it as I could. I began at the ground level in software sales and after that worked as a budtender in inventory control.
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What drew you to cannabis beverages? I met the owners of Keef at the X Games and ended up working for them for about three years. They are the leading beverage in the cannabis space, so it was a great experience, and I got to understand both the sales and manufacturing side of things. I helped them with their manufacturing processes from time to time and was able to learn about extraction, production, labeling, compliance, sales and licensing deals. The experience at Keef allowed me to start working for Pure Greens; it was a pay cut, but it allowed me to help with product and brand development, and I launched my first brand through their infrastructure. I’d always really enjoyed a product on the market in Colorado that was a water soluble powder, and my goal was to create one like that in a different market if I ever had the opportunity.
Is that what brought you back home to St. Louis? Yes. Missouri legalized medical use in 2018. I was awarded a manufacturing license, moved back in April of 2020, started a capital raise, and built out our facility. That was finished in [the spring] of 2021, and we got some product to market in August of 2021. However, we didn’t launch STiRiBLES right away, because we wanted time to do research and development and figure out the right formulation to produce the product we wanted to produce.
What do you think makes STiRiBLES so special? A lot of people use a spray-drying method to produce similar products, but we use ultrasonic emulsification to homogenize the THC oil that uses other ingredients to separate the molecules into small particles. Then, we go through a drying process using a dehydrator, grind that and mix it with a few different ingredients and out comes the final water-soluble powder. It’s a great product with fast onset. I think the biggest thing for us is there are a lot of other methods out there to produce similar products, but you can get an unpleasant taste and a bit of a film that feels like it coats your mouth. With ours, you don’t get that and still get rapid onset. It’s just a great experience.
What are some of the uses for STiRiBLES? Is it just a drink additive or can you cook with it, too? It’s marketed to be used as a drink additive, but you can cook with it, too. Standard cooking temperatures won’t affect it; it’s not going to evaporate out, and it remains structurally sound. You can get creative, and you don’t have to cook with it—you can just put it in your food like soup, mac and cheese, or queso dip. I’ve heard of people who get together with a few other people at a Mexican restaurant, put some in the dip, mix it up, and spread it out so that everybody gets a little bit of a lift.
Cannabis dinners have been a big trend in St. Louis over the past year. How does STiRiBLES play into that? We’ve been doing infused dinner events where we are bringing in chefs to private event spaces, and we are hoping to ramp those up next year. What’s nice about them with STiRiBLES is that you can choose to do your dinner infused or not, or you can choose to just do one or two courses. Maybe infuse a topping and a side dish. Some dinners I’ve seen have gone as far as to let people customize whether they want five or ten milligrams in a specific course. Maybe you want the first three courses to be uninfused and dessert to be. It’s a really nice way to enjoy the event and stick to your tolerance levels. STiRiBLES has been a big hit at these events; we’ve had more chefs reach out to us than we have to them.
Why do you think people are so excited about these THC food and beverage additives? Does it fit in with the general movement toward N/A offerings? I think it plays a huge role for those who do not want to drink alcohol. A lot of people are focused on [wellness] and want to live healthier lives by waking up the next day after a night out and feeling great and productive. The cannabis beverage market is small but growing and people are becoming more bullish on beverages and beverage additives. It’s a way to socialize; oftentimes people feel naked if they don’t have a drink in their hand at a party. If you have a pack of STiRiBLES, you can take a club soda or mocktail and pour it into your drink. It’s such a discreet thing and a healthier way to have a little bit of fun or loosen up a bit after a hard week. Cannabis is a great way to do that.
