A Perfectly Dosed Solution for Increasing Revenue in the Craft Beer Industry

Photography provided by Perfectly Dosed

According to Choi, the conceptualization of Perfectly Dosed surfaced four years ago. The company started at the University of Chicago as part of a venture program run by the Booth School of Business – and was the first hemp company ever backed by a major academic institution.

“We identified that there was a gap in the market, that there were a few issues we saw just with the accessibility of legacy marijuana products on the dispensary side of the cannabis industry,” says Choi.

Mainly, new consumers were generally gravitating away from smokables to gummies. If they weren’t smoking something, people wanted to feel the effects relatively quickly, which is where most gummies fell short. Choi says they found that dispensaries were not the most successful retail channel for the primary consumers looking for low-dose THC products.

“Our team identified that the marijuana market is probably not going to be able to access the everyday consumer who’s looking for an alternative to alcohol,” says Choi, “or to supplement their non-alcoholic consumption.”

In its initial stages, Perfectly Dosed developed an ingredient that people could use in their products that created a very similar effect to drinking alcohol but that was powered by THC instead of ethanol.

Perfectly Dosed targeted market opportunities to create an environment where these THC beverages—low-dose using THC from hemp—could be accessed through traditional retail locations for alcoholic products like liquor shops, grocery stores, event venues, concert halls, etc.

In a lot of instances, the ingredient we provide them has allowed them to create products that have saved their businesses,

Todd Harris - Perfectly Dosed / Plift

As a company, they choose a two-pronged approach. First, to provide access for the consumer. Second, to work with state legislatures nationwide to explicitly and legally allow these products to be stocked on shelves.

“We need to kind of change the perception at a state level to allow these to go through the same channel as alcohol in order to reach those consumers,” Choi says.

To that end, Harris notes that Perfectly Dosed has worked with hundreds of breweries across the country—in states that allow for the manufacturing and sale of THC-infused beverages outside of dispensaries.

Products with Perfectly Dosed’s ingredients have made inroads in the industry – to the tune of hundreds of millions of servings in 2024 alone.

“In a lot of instances, the ingredient we provide them has allowed them to create products that have saved their businesses,” Harris says.

Webb was brought to Perfectly Dosed from a similar role at Omega Yeast Labs to bridge the gap between the hemp-based and craft beer industries. He says that the company allows small-, medium-, and enterprise-scale beverage manufacturers to enter the hemp and THC market by making these emulsions that can be put into beverages.

Using high-pressure homogenization to create an oil-water emulsion ingredient, Perfectly Dosed’s products have been used in different industries such as nutraceuticals, food, and beverages.

Webb says they’re opening doors.

“THC, CBD, other minor cannabinoids are allowing beverage makers to use that as a tool to kind of break into a different market,” Webb says. “Especially if they were previously just brewing alcoholic beverages.”

For the craft beer industry, Perfectly Dosed ingredients, which are flavorless and add no aroma to end beverage products, are perfect for non-alcoholic beverages like mocktail spritzers, seltzers, hop waters, and more.

The option of a hemp-based beverage at a taproom ensures a brewery owner can continue to attract consumers who are drinking less or looking for a non-alcoholic alternative.

“People are still drinking beer Thursday through Saturday,” Wojcik says. “But there’s a big opportunity with the other nights of the week. This allows [craft breweries] to diversify.”

Wojcik adds that Perfectly Dosed gives beverage makers flexibility. “If that means additional revenue so they can continue to brew great beer because that’s their passion, that’s wonderful. Or if this is a cool side project where they can come up with something totally new that the market’s never seen, that’s awesome, too,” he says. “We’re here for either one.”

Hopewell had their eyes on the product since the late spring or early summer of 2023. Lee says they discovered the product while visiting Minnesota—a state that has seen a boom in hemp-based beverage offerings thanks to the explicit legalization of hemp-THC products. They have been “hemming and hawing” over incorporating it into their business model.

Lee and Guidry say they ran numbers to see if it would make financial sense to self-distribute, spoke with lawyers, and had several conversations with Perfectly Dosed to understand all the regulations within Illinois. They crossed every T and dotted every I.

“That’s why we liked working with them,” Guidry says. “We shared a bigger-picture vision of the future. There was synergy.”

In early 2024, Hopewell eventually gave in to the urge, building a recipe around a cocktail, Choom.

“Our current formula and flavors are cocktail adjacent, meant to be poured over ice,” Guidry says. “It integrates into the social setting better.”

Photography provided by Perfectly Dosed

Lee admits that they’ve received samples of other products but haven’t made anything full-scale outside of Perfectly Dosed. One thing that sticks out is its obscurity in the drink.

“The flavor neutrality is nice,” Lee says. “It’s what we’re going for with our recipes.”

Lee adds, “For our formulation, it emulsifies nicely. We don’t get chunks. We are very happy with it.”

Hopewell also raves about the company being local. Lee says they can place an order, and the team can take a short bike ride to pick up the product that day.

Harris says there isn’t much they keep proprietary about their product. Other companies are out there, and their process is sometimes similar. What sets Perfectly Dosed apart is the scale.

“We are exactly the same as the other leading competitors, but we’re twenty to forty percent less expensive,” Harris says. “We want people to create products. If you can’t afford it, you can’t get started.”

Harris adds, “If Anheuser-Busch called us and said, ‘Hey, we want to make a hemp beverage,’ we have the supply chain and the capacity to service them today. Our competitors don’t.”

We are exactly the same as the other leading competitors, but we’re twenty to forty percent less expensive,

Todd Harris - Perfectly Dosed / Plift

Another thing Perfectly Dosed has that others don’t is a robust team. That helps as the fledgling industry evolves.

“Because the industry hasn’t been around long, it’s like playing whack-a-mole,” Choi says.“We have built a strong foundation, so when new things happen we can turn around, reference our databases, and start providing immediate guidance.”

According to Choi, Perfectly Dosed was the first company to focus solely on hemp-based emulsion ingredients, which is the ultimate differentiator.

“We see ourselves as different because we had that early focus on being solely in the hemp market,” Choi says. “It meant that we could invest in research and development, [with] all of our infrastructure in a single high-capacity facility based in Chicago.”

That allows Perfectly Dosed to distribute nationally.

“Instead of having small benchtop scale units traveling around the country trying to service markets as they pop up,” Choi adds. “We’ve now created the most efficient and highest-capacity production facility in the world [for this industry].”

Photography provided by Perfectly Dosed

The market hasn’t existed for that long, but having been on the ground floor, working with leading scientists and engineers, plays into the company’s early success.

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Alexander Choi - Perfectly Dosed

“The capacity is one thing that differentiates us, but because of that, there’s all kinds of benefits our customers get,” Choi says. “Easier access to the materials [means] there’s faster turnaround times; it’s cheaper, more cost-effective, and we have pricing that scales down the more you grow as a company.”

Choi adds, “If we can summarize it into one phrase, our company is built to help our customers scale.”

He says no other company in the market can make that claim to the same extent.

Hopewell sees numerous benefits from using Perfectly Dosed, from the brewing process to increased business.

“There’s no fermentation needed, which is a huge time saver,” Lee says. “We save weeks of time, and it frees up the tank.”

Hopewell also bought a canning line recently. By sending Choom through the line, Lee says they’re getting an ROI by removing the canning line’s downtime.

“Any time it’s not being used, we’re not spending well,” Lee says. “This can justify staffing up appropriately and supports the entire business investing in the packaging side.”

Perhaps most importantly, Perfectly Dosed increases the bottom line, with trickle-down effects on the beer side as well.

“Since we launched [Choom] in February, it represents ten percent of our business revenue,” Lee says. “We’ve been in the beer business for nine years now, and our beer sales [show] a fifteen percent year-over-year growth.”

Guidry adds, “The taproom is up twenty percent, and fifty percent of that is due to Choom.”

Guidry and Lee see multiple reasons why breweries should follow their lead.

“It allows you to further utilize your equipment,” Guidry says. “If it can be used more often, that’s business to be gained. And not a lot of labor and time.”

He adds, “Plus, for sales, margins are better.”

Lee says breweries have to meet the customers where they are, and incorporating hemp-based beverages is the positive path to reach them.

“People are drinking less. They are doing other things outside the bar. Why not make it part of the picture and [an] experience they are obviously looking for?” Lee says. “You aren’t trading beer for THC. People will come back to beer. Add it to your portfolio.”

Lee adds, “It’s not a cash grab; it’s responding to how people are drinking.”

Looking to learn more about Perfectly Dosed? Feel free to reach out to [email protected] or submit a request to meet here.