Torch Beverages has entered into a multi-year partnership with Major League Pickleball, designating the hemp-derived THC seltzer brand as the Official THC Beverage of the professional sports league through the 2027 season. This marks a significant milestone in the normalization and mainstream acceptance of cannabis-derived adult beverages within the sports and entertainment landscape.
The collaboration between Torch Beverages and Major League Pickleball will activate across select league events where legally permitted. The cannabis brand's involvement will encompass fan experiences, hospitality, digital media, broadcast integrations, consumer promotions, and retail programs.
The alignment between pickleball's inherently social nature — where players gather, stay after matches, and connect with others — and Torch's brand ethos of enhancing connection and enjoyment creates a natural fit that appeals to health-conscious, active adults who still desire a celebratory beverage experience.
Image Credit: Torch Beverages
Why This Trend Is Growing
- Cannabis Sports Sponsorships
- Hemp-derived beverage brands are moving into professional sports partnerships, creating new sponsorship models around compliant adult-use fan engagement.
- Social Fitness Hospitality
- Recreational sports leagues are becoming lifestyle hubs where alcohol alternatives, hospitality programs, and community-driven experiences can converge.
- Functional Adult Beverages
- THC seltzers and other low- or no-alcohol options are reshaping celebratory drinking occasions for active consumers seeking lighter social formats.
Industries Being Reshaped
- Cannabis Beverages
- Mainstream sports visibility provides cannabis drink makers with broader retail, media, and event-based pathways for normalization.
- Sports Entertainment
- Emerging leagues can differentiate fan experiences through partnerships with regulated adult beverage brands tied to social participation.
- Event Marketing
- Legally compliant activations around THC beverages introduce new formats for hospitality, promotions, and experiential branding at live events.
