How Willie Nelson’s THC beverage became an $80 million business in 1 year

Launched by the 92-year-old country music legend, Willie’s Remedy+ wants to become the Olipop of THC.

At 92 years old, Willie Nelson has aged out of his title as the “world’s most prolific octogenarian,” but that doesn’t mean he’s slowed down. The country music legend, who has released more than 150 albums over his more than six-decade-long career and sold more than 40 million in the United States alone, has found a new milestone to reach. This time, as an entrepreneur rather than an outlaw. 

Nelson’s eponymous THC-infused beverage brand Willie’s Remedy+ has hit an $80-million run rate, according to the company—a multi-platinum feat for a startup that only started selling its cans and bottles online less than a year ago. 

For Nelson, who used to smoke two to three packs of cigarettes a day before giving up tobacco and alcohol years ago, the mission is personal. “Everything I do is related to something I did before,” Nelson tells Inc. “[This is] a great substitute for alcohol, and I know a lot of people drink too much . . . Alcohol has killed so many of my friends that, on top of that, I still open the show with ‘Whiskey River.’”

His company is a joint venture with kombucha brewer and canned cocktail maker JuneShine Brands, which provides the sales, marketing, and distribution for Willie’s Remedy+. Nelson’s hemp-derived social tonics and seltzers, which come in 5-milligram and 10-milligram varieties, launched within a matter of months. Discussions started at the end of 2024, and the first products rolled out by March 2025.

Nelson says he is “not surprised at all” by how quickly the brand resonated with consumers, but the trajectory has outperformed even JuneShine’s projections. 

“We had big expectations, but we thought it would take a little bit of time just given our experience,” says Forrest Dein, JuneShine’s co-founder and chief marketing officer. “It was just overnight.”

Dein, who also serves as a co-founder of Willie’s Remedy+, has even bigger ambitions. With premium brand positioning and solid unit economics supported by high margins, which Dein says are significantly stronger than JuneShine’s, he wants the brand to become the “Olipop in the THC category.”

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