Podcast Summary:

DTC Podcast – Ep 551: Tesla to THC: How WYNK Engineered Explosive Growth in a Regulated Environment
Date: October 13, 2025
Host: DTC Newsletter and Podcast
Guest: Angus (Co-founder of WYNK)

Episode Overview

This episode dives deep into the story of WYNK, a pioneering THC beverage company, tracing its origins, the regulatory and operational hurdles faced, and the creative engineering-led solutions that enabled their explosive growth. Angus, WYNK’s co-founder and a former Tesla engineer, outlines the strategic pivots—particularly around regulation and distribution—that catapulted WYNK into national prominence, and shares insights on branding, marketing (even when it’s largely forbidden), and the evolving landscape of THC drinks.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Origins: Engineering Meets Opportunity

• Angus’s journey: From Tesla's battery engineering to spotting an opportunity in the U.S. THC beverage market (01:03).
• Initial realization: “The interesting challenge in the US at that time was you had to produce the beverages in each state that you sold so you couldn't ship across state lines.” (02:52, Angus)
• Innovation: Designed a mobile beverage production system—a 53-foot tractor trailer “cannabis caravan”—allowing WYNK to partner with licensed facilities, sidestep multimillion-dollar barriers, and scale across states rapidly (03:34).
• Evolution from engineer’s problem-solving to passion for the cannabis beverage category: “Low dosed THC drinks were an extremely compelling alternative to alcohol... They could really be used like wine and beer are used: very social, sessionable, manageable.” (03:49, Angus)

2. Confronting Regulatory Barriers

• State-by-state licensing forced WYNK to build a monopoly in several markets by being the only viable beverage provider, via their mobile system (06:02).
• Severe limits compared to alcohol: “You might have 50 to 100 dispensaries in a market where you have 8,000 liquor stores.” (06:32, Angus)
• Strategy was about survival and monopoly, not competing within a crowded category.

3. Early Marketing Hurdles

• U.S. vs. Canada: More flexibility than Canadian cannabis marketing, but still rife with challenges. “Turns out [marketing to alcohol consumers] is far, far, far more expensive than we thought. It’s very hard to get somebody to go make… a special stop at the dispensary.” (08:26, Angus)
• Retail friction forced WYNK to temporarily pivot to higher-dosed products, chasing incumbent dispensary demand.

4. Regulatory Breakthrough: The Hemp Act & Minnesota

• Minnesota’s legal breakthrough (2022) allowed drinks with hemp-derived THC to be sold outside dispensaries, through normal liquor channels (09:59).
• “They created a marketplace where we could use THC derived from hemp in WYNK, produce it at our own facility, ship it across state lines to Minnesota, and sell through liquor stores. That’s a huge change...” (10:22, Angus)
• Precedent spread: Many states have since followed, unlocking rapid category and brand growth.

5. Product Technology & Bioavailability

• Emulsification: Makes THC water-soluble for drinks, improves shelf-life, and provides consistent, rapid onset effects—mirroring the “sessionable” experience of alcohol (12:09; 13:32).
  • “THC emulsified and delivered through beverage has a much faster onset time than traditional edibles and a very reliable offset time.” (13:32, Angus)
• WYNK’s self-built dosing machines enabled safe, scalable, distributed production as the brand grew (15:20; 18:07).

6. Branding and Mainstreaming

• Major brand and packaging upgrade after states opened up recreational markets—timed perfectly with broader retail legality (19:30).
• Branding message: “Light, balanced, social”—low-dose and approachable, CBD balancing THC effects, and fostering social connection without hangovers or calories (21:00, Angus).
• Mission: “It was really challenging taking something that has so much stigma... and putting it into a product and brand that feels approachable and safe.” (20:30, Angus)

7. Digital and Grassroots Marketing in a Regulated Space

• Creative digital advertising: “On our site... the first thing they have to do is say yes, they're over 21. That page doesn't have any information about THC, so why don't we just make the landing page the age gate... so Meta and Google can't see our website.” (23:02, Angus)
• Hyperlocal events fill gaps traditional marketing can’t address, crucial for legitimacy, brand trust, and direct customer data acquisition (31:06).

8. Growth Metrics & Evolving DTC vs. Retail Strategy

• 2025: ~400,000 24-pack cases projected, with retail now comprising just over half of sales, up from less than a third the prior year (27:03).
• Direct-to-Consumer: Once a workaround for geographic limits, now fueling retail with data and remarketing (27:55; 29:10).
• In-store rebates via tech (Brij) drive in-market sales and build customer lists (30:09).

9. Industry Inflection Point & Future Vision

• Angus’s market size perspective: “If THC beverages can capture just 5% of alcohol sales in the U.S., that's a 13.5 billion dollar market.” (33:31)
• Clear evidence of category adoption: Some alcohol distributors see 20%+ of sales shift to THC drinks (33:50).
• Margin profile: Superior to alcohol currently, due partly to lower raw costs and (so far) no excise taxes. Long-term sustainable even if taxed (34:54).

10. Competition and Market Trends

• Big alcohol now keenly interested—moving from skepticism to serious inquiry, learning, and deal exploration (36:51).
• “A year ago, well, 2021, we’re getting laughed out of the room... [now] conversations have shifted dramatically. It’s not if we’re going to launch, it’s when.” (36:51, Angus)

11. Product Roadmap and Scalability Challenges

• Focus shifting from constant SKU innovation to maximizing distribution of a strong core range (38:52).
• Goal: “If you can find White Claw or High Noon, WYNK should be there as another option… and be priced the same.” (39:28, Angus)
• Bottleneck: Distribution remains regulation-constrained, so mass brand investment remains carefully timed (41:17; 43:05).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On regulatory jiu-jitsu:
  “We can be the only drink there unless they ran on our system. That really excited us...” (06:54, Angus)

• On the shift to retail:
  “Minnesota created… the marketplace where we could use THC derived from hemp… ship it across state lines… and sell through liquor stores. That’s a huge change to the route to market for THC beverage.” (10:22, Angus)

• On building the hardware:
  “No, I literally designed and built, hand built, all of it.” (18:07, Angus)

• On the branding ethos:
  “Light, balanced, social.” (21:00, Angus)

• On digital ad loopholes:
  “When you click an ad from WYNK, it takes you to what looks like our website with what looks like a pop up confirming your age. In reality, that’s on a totally different site.” (23:02, Angus)

• On market potential:
  “If THC beverages can capture just 5% of alcohol sales in the U.S., that's a 13.5 billion dollar market.” (33:31, Angus)

• On incremental sales:
  “30% of customers that are coming to Total Wine to buy THC beverage are new to store and therefore incremental to store sales.” (36:00, Angus)

• On brand vision:
  “If you can find White Claw or High Noon, WYNK should be there as another option… and be priced the same.” (39:28, Angus)

Timestamps for Important Segments

| Time | Segment Description | |-----------|----------------------------------------------------------| | 01:03 | Angus’s background, Tesla to THC hero’s journey | | 02:52 | US regulatory hurdles in cannabis beverages | | 03:34 | Invention of WYNK’s mobile beverage system | | 06:02 | Monopoly-by-innovation in distribution | | 08:26 | Pain points of early marketing in regulated cannabis | | 09:59 | Regulatory inflection: Hemp-derived THC & Minnesota law | | 12:09 | How THC beverages are made (emulsification, shelf life) | | 13:32 | Fast onset/duration of beverage-based THC | | 15:20 | Evolution of production technology & scaling hardware | | 19:30 | Brand/package overhaul and mainstream rebrand | | 21:00 | WYNK’s brand positioning: light, balanced, social | | 23:02 | Digital ad workaround: age-gate landing page | | 27:03 | Company growth: sales mix and expansion | | 30:09 | Rebate programs for retail sales & building CRM data | | 31:06 | Hyperlocal events, grassroots market education | | 33:31 | Assessing the category’s market potential | | 34:54 | Margin comparison: THC drinks vs. alcohol | | 36:51 | Increased attention from major alcohol players | | 38:52 | Product roadmap: fewer SKUs, more distribution | | 41:17 | Brand: When to invest in mass-market marketing | | 43:45 | Social media: where to follow WYNK |

Tone & Style

Throughout, Angus brings an engineer’s curiosity and precision but matches it with an authentic, plainspoken style. The conversation is candid, often self-deprecating (“not for me, put it that way” [eating a 100mg edible]), pragmatic about both victories and setbacks, and marked by a sense of purpose: broadening the mainstream appeal of cannabis beverages by solving technical, regulatory, and cultural challenges step by step.

Final Thoughts

This episode is essential listening for anyone interested in the complexities of regulated consumer goods, bootstrapped hardware innovation, and creative digital marketing in hostile regulatory territory. Angus’s story also offers a toolkit in leveraging constraints as catalysts for unique growth strategies.

Follow Angus/ WYNK:

• LinkedIn: Angus (personal)
• TikTok/Instagram: @drinkwynk