Famous actor, one-time cringeworthy rapper and family-business entrepreneur Mark Wahlberg recently announced plans to throw his hat into the CBD ring.
The young bottled water company AQUAhydrate was recently purchased by the Alkaline Water Company Monday, and the buyer revealed its investors include Wahlberg and Sean “Diddy” Combs. The new iteration of the company will offer CBD drinks and waters in a crowded field.
CBD for Wahlberg is a less abrasive product than its relative, marijuana, which he quit smoking after he had kids in 2011.
According to the Boston Globe, Wahlberg told Justin Bieber in 2013 to “be a nice boy, pull your [pants] up, make your mom proud and stop smoking weed, you little [expletive].” [1]
Celebrity endorsements of CBD products are nothing new: from Rob Gronkowski of New England Patriots fame to country superstar Willy Nelson and even Martha Stewart, stars have flocked to cannabidiol just as fast as the rest of the American public.
Forbes reports that Diddy and Wahlberg will be able to marshal substantial influence toward their corner of the market, as both have a combined 74 million followers on social media sites and apps. [3]
“When Sean and I first got involved in the business, our vision was to build a lifestyle company focused on health and wellness, and that’s what we’ve done,” Wahlberg said, according to Boston.com. “The AQUAhydrate and Alkaline88 brands align well and will support exciting innovations in flavors, sparkling and CBD products.” [2]
Every day, huge numbers of people try out CBD for the first time ever for their chronic pain, insomnia and other uses like epilepsy.
While more scientific research is needed to show how the cannabis compound interacts with the body, testimonials flow in by the day.
“We built AQUAhydrate from the ground up by securing deals with the largest retail grocery outlets, creating innovative partnerships and evolving the brand,” Combs told Forbes.
“Today, I am confident that we are creating a powerhouse by combining AQUAhydrate with one of the largest, fastest growing alkaline water companies in the world. I look forward to this next stage of growth as we build one of the most recognizable brands for premium water.” [3]
AQUAhydrate will have a substantial number of distributors across the U.S., including, “Walmart, Target, Safeway, Rite Aid, GNC Meijer, QT, Albertsons, CVS, Albertson, Kroger, Schnucks, Smart & Final, Jewel-Osco, Sprouts, Bashas’, Stater Bros. Markets, Unified Grocers, Bristol Farms, Vallarta, Superior Foods, Ingles, HEB Brookshire’s, Publix, Shaw’s, Raley’s, Food Lion, Harris Teeter, and Festival Foods,” according to Forbes. [3]
Sources
[2] https://www.boston.com/culture/entertainment/2019/09/10/mark-wahlberg-cbd
[3] https://www.forbes.com/sites/javierhasse/2019/09/09/alkaline-water-cbd-diddy-wahlberg/#1c439d4c416e
