It’s been a year since kratom became legal in Thailand, giving rise to a wide range of new narcotic products, including drinks and candies.
Preparing kratom at home usually gives rise to a bitter, murky potion that is quite hard to enjoy, even loaded up with lemon and honey. To describe its taste as “medicinal” would be generous. Beverage entrepreneurs, skilled in manipulating flavours, are now brewing up all kinds of concoctions that stimulate the brain without overstimulating reluctant taste buds. Marketing campaigns await.
One budding entrepreneur, Jake Coyner, makes a fizzy drink he calls OG Kratom. Coyner has gone from home brewing a few litres for himself and friends to producing 2,400 bottles a month at an OEM facility.
He said…
“This is great. This means I can get it FDA approved, and I can sell it on retail shelves.”
Chawanaporn Prasert, who sells kratom powder, thinks more products will be better for consumers.
He said…
“It’s better to process the leaf into other products because who’s going to be spending time chewing on the kratom leaves? If you don’t process it, you won’t be able to sell it.”
Health drink company MeJuice is developing a mix of products from drinks to painkiller sprays. Founder Patcharaporn Kongniwatsiri said she had been developing products before it became legal to sell them.
She said…
“It seems like now we can work on trying to get FDA approval and do everything right.”
Patcharaporn hopes to have her first “adaptogen drink,” a kind of sparkling tea, ready by the end of the year.
“The Earl Grey one still isn’t perfect yet, but I like it.”
Thailand is the world’s fourth market for energy drinks. That’s over 20 billion baht (US$525.5 million) each year, so it’s quite a buzz, but mainstream producers are still sceptical that Kratom will ever go mass market.
Thanakorn Kuptajit, a former president of the Thai Alcohol Beverage Business Association, said…
“For growth, I think there’s a chance, but the market is small.
Thanakorn doubts it will ever be as popular as conventional energy drinks.
“If you ask me about the future of kratom: It’s an alternative choice. Ever since it was legalized, I’ve been observing whether it takes off, but it hasn’t much.”
John Bailey of Bloom, a marketplace for wellness and alternative healthcare products, said Kratom opens social alternatives that are generally closed to those who don’t like alcohol.