When beverage brand Recess launched in 2018, it rolled out with a single product: a line of hemp-infused sparkling waters. And while the Recess marketing team spent a lot of time and energy bringing the world of Recess to life on digital channels such as Instagram and at pop-up events in its native New York City, the brand didn’t have as much marketing freedom as some other sparkling beverage brands because of restrictions against CBD products. 

“We weren’t able to sell our original CBD line on Amazon or in national retailers,” Recess founder and CEO Ben Witte said on the latest edition of Ad Age’s Marketer’s Brief podcast. The brand was also limited in terms of the platforms it could run paid ads on. 

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So Witte expanded the company. In April 2021, Recess rolled out a new line of drinks and powders called Recess Mood, which are infused with magnesium and adaptogens, such as L-theanine and lemon balm. Then in March of this year, the team added yet another product line with Recess Zero Proof Craft Mocktails.

Witte recommends CBD brands diversify to add products that don’t include CBD—for both brand awareness and distribution’s sake. 

“One of my beliefs is that distribution is one of the best forms of marketing,” he said. “I’ve been surprised that other CBD brands haven’t followed suit.” Now that the brand has expanded distribution, Witte teased that Recess could accelerate its top-of-funnel marketing activities in the near future. 

Witte also spoke about branding and marketing two separate product lines—Mood and Mocktails—that sit in different aisles of a grocery store, with mocktails typically being found on a non-alcoholic beverage shelf and the Mood line sitting in the better-for-you sodas aisle alongside Olipop and Poppi.