KANADRINKS is the Local Hemp Drink Brand Looking Towards Switzerland’s Next Market

From café counters to supermarket aisles and summer festival bars, one thing is becoming increasingly clear. Our drinking habits are changing. The default drink is no longer always alcohol. More people are seeking out alcohol-free drinks that are both functional and delicious, alongside new ways to connect and socialise. At the same time, conversations around hemp and cannabis continue to evolve here in Switzerland, with pilot programmes and national discussions underway. Switzerland currently runs several scientific pilot projects exploring regulated cannabis models across the country. For local drinks brand Kanadrinks, these shifts in legislation are not something to wait for. They are something to build for.

Building a Hemp Drink Brand Before the Market Arrives

Behind Kana Drinks is Marc Hempel, originally from Denmark and living in Switzerland for more than 30 years, together with business partner Christian Thury from Be-Fruit in Etoy. Their vision is straightforward, but perhaps slightly ahead of its time. Create hemp-based drinks using local produce, establish the brand now and be ready as the market evolves. Rather than waiting to see where cannabis regulation eventually lands in Switzerland, Kanadrinks is already creating products centred around hemp and local ingredients. The thinking is simple: if wider legalisation or new market opportunities arrive in future years, the brand is already established.

Kanafresh Drinks

Kanafresh Drinks

What Is Actually Inside the Drinks?

The drinks themselves lean heavily into local sourcing and simplicity. Kanadrinks are conceived, grown and produced in Switzerland using Swiss ingredients focusing on fruit, herbs and organic hemp. Ingredients include:

• Swiss-grown apple juice

• Organic hemp

One point worth noting is that although the drinks are hemp-infused, they do not contain CBD or THC. The hemp is there for flavour and identity rather than any psychoactive effect. Hemp drinks without CBD or THC are increasingly appearing as a separate category focused on flavour and botanical ingredients.

The drinks are also:

• Low in calories, between 82.5 and 105 calories per bottle.

• Made without added sugars.

• Free from preservatives and additives, using only the sugars naturally present in the fruit.

The range itself has grown too. Alongside earlier apple-based recipes such as Apple & Hibiscus, Apple & Verbena and Pure Apple, newer, natural flavours include Rhubarb & Strawberry, Yuzu & Pomegranate and Ginger can now be found in their Kanafresh range. The result is something quite different. Sparkling, fruit-based and botanical, with hemp sitting in the background rather than dominating the flavour.

From Local Pies to Hemp Drinks

Kanadrinks is not Marc’s first venture rooted in local food. Before this came LePie, a project focused on pies made with local ingredients and regional produce. That same philosophy continues here. Kanadrinks is built around local partnerships, local sourcing and creating something that feels connected to the region rather than importing a concept from elsewhere. Today, the drinks can already be found around La Côte including Dive Bär in Gland, Cosy Kitchen in Coppet, selected Migros Vaud stores including Geneva and online through the Kanadrinks website, where delivery is included.

Changing Drinking Habits

The timing is interesting. You only have to look around festivals, restaurants and social spaces to see it. People are increasingly looking for:

• Alcohol-free alternatives

• Botanical ingredients

• Different rituals around socialising

• Better tasting non-alcoholic options 

The conversation is becoming less about alcohol vs no alcohol. Consumers are looking for more options. Alternative drinks, different ingredients and discovering something new. And hemp sits in an interesting place within that conversation. It carries heritage, curiosity and increasingly, innovation. The wider beverage market is also watching hemp and cannabis-inspired drinks as part of the broader alcohol-free movement.

For Kandrinks though, instead of waiting for the market, they are already part of it.

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