Cannabis infused soft drinks - buying behavior amongst Canadian students: An empirical study

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the attraction of cannabis-infused soft drinks beverages among young Canadian consumers in the wake of a rise in multimodal cannabis consumption. It is an area of accelerated growth potential, with little research data currently available, and findings would inform stakeholders in the soft drinks market. The research participants were all university students in Ontario province, Canada. Design/methodology/approach Random convenience sampling data collection techniques were used to gather data from the Ontario-based participants. Reliability, factors loading and multiple regression analysis were administered to understand the impact of factors towards positive attitude. Findings The results reveal that price, impulsive personality, social insecurity and social norms all have a positive influence towards positive attitude. However, energy, taste and past experience failed to show any relationship with positive attitude. The results suggest that the individual consumer’s personality and social context have greater influence than price, a useful insight into the market trends for stakeholders within the industry. Research limitations/implications The use of convenience sampling, due to the potentially sensitivity nature of the area of study, hinders the use of a sampling frame. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first of its kind to examine positive attitude with respect to cannabis-infused soft drinks among young consumers in Canada. It is of particular interest to stakeholders in the production and marketing sectors of the global beverage industry, and its findings will help inform this fledgling wing of that industry on how to move forward through the unknown territory with regard to consumer motivations.