Teaming Up with Tyson: Chris Kanik, CEO of Smart Cups talks about joining forces with Tyson Ranch to introduce innovations in cannabis beverages.
Supposedly impossible technologies are usually a goldmine just waiting to happen. Through combining the power of celebrity with progressive science, Tyson Ranch and Smart Cups are developing one of the most exciting cannabis products of 2020.
WHAT ARE SMART CUPS? HOW DOES THIS TECHNOLOGY WORK?
While he may not walk on water, Chris Kanik, CEO of Smart Cups, had an epiphany about turning his water into alcohol at a Taco Tuesday. Instead of waiting for his drink at the bar, or even having to order one, he wanted something more accessible. He wanted to be able to use a cup of water to create his drink. Now, he has the solution. Host Kristina Etter spoke with Kanik and Rob Hickman, CEO of Tyson Ranch, about how they are making 3D printed drinks and the development of this partnership.
By encapsulating material in a proprietary polymer blend, Smart Cups can create readymade energy drinks, alcoholic drinks, and cannabis-infused beverage. “It does a nice job at creating a shell for the ingredients and does a nice job sticking on surfaces,” Kanik said. “It’s an amphiphilic polymer, so when it comes into contact with a liquid, not just water any liquid, it releases. The shell opens up, releasing the ingredients, and there’s a self-stirring mechanism involved that then creates that beverage, so you don’t need to stir. In a couple of seconds, you have that product.”
All that’s needed to access these products is water, as any liquid will open up the polymers, and create the beverage. Kanik figured out the science behind it by dehydrating Everclear and mixing readymade drinks in his kitchen. After he had three flavors of alcohol mix, he partnered with an inventor to figure out the polymer delivery system. Later, this experimentation would lead to an exciting deal with champion Mike Tyson.
The polymer printing technology is meant to be a medical delivery system. Smart Cups aims to be the company that normalizes this technology and proves its value in the free-market.
“IBM went out years ago and created IBM Watson, which is artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence was like the hot thing out there, and it cost 600 million dollars to install it,” Hickman explained. “They run national commercial and everybody wondered why. They were making everyone aware of the technology, and then they started creating products from that, using AI, which then made it consumer-ready. So it’s similar, that’s why I was interested in [Kanik], and what he was doing, it was very similar to that.”
WHAT MAKES SMART CUPS SO INNOVATIVE?
While the partnership between Smart Cups and Tyson Ranch will lead to CBD products shortly after the ruling on whether or not people can consume CBD in America, there’s more in the works. “When I looked at the cannabis space, I viewed it more through a pharmaceutical lens,” Kanik stated.
The delivery system behind Smart Cups allows for specific formulations of any reasonable materials. Realistically, Smart Cups would be able to contain specific cannabinoid concentrations, such as CBG or CBC content, that would be ideal for dosing. Cannabis research and prescription have been held back by inferior dosing methods for decades. This delivery system might give a significant push for the modernization of cannabis dosing.
“I realized there was a deficiency in dosing solutions in the industry,” Kanik said. “So I thought that this would be a perfect solution that could help further legitimize the industry and make it even more mainstream from a medicinal standpoint because if you’re a doctor, how do you tell your patients to take this? What’s the proper dosage?”
While Smart Cups will be an excellent medical tool, their recreation value is also apparent, and not to be underrated. Combined with the star power behind the ranch and other collaborations, the technology behind Smart Cups is ready to burst into the mainstream.
WHY DO SMART CUPS HAVE ONE OF THE BEST SHOTS?
Even without Mike Tyson’s return to fighting on September 12th, 2020, he is one of the most famous Americans ever to live. Having his ranch as a serious partner means that Smart Cups are already enjoying household brand legitimacy. Other partners mentioned by Hickman include William Shatner, and so the limit of the reach of these companies is literally up in the stars.
The old world of cannabis is dying. No longer is it to be bought behind dumpsters from teenagers looking to replace a broken guitar amp. Now the future of cannabis lies within convenient delivery methods, consistent dosing, and major celebrities. Acceptance is here in that we know it’s profitable. Now it’s just up for the entrepreneurs to get cannabis in pantries and medicine cabinets across the world.