Hemp-derived THC beverage brand Highlandia, manufactured by Kenosha, Wis.-based Lifted Made, claimed Best in Show at the 2026 Summer PR%F Awards — a buyer-judged competition that blind-scores spirits, wines, and beverages on a 100-point scale — while simultaneously launching two new elixir SKUs to capitalize on distribution momentum across 11 states.
The win puts Highlandia in direct competition with conventional alcohol brands for shelf consideration. For distributors and retail buyers evaluating hemp-derived THC beverages, a Best in Show designation from a recognized trade competition provides a credibility signal that operates outside the murky marketing claims common to the emerging category.
Medal Breakdown
Highlandia swept four medals across both the PR%F Tasting Competition and its companion Design Competition. Rocket Peak led the haul with a Double Gold (98 points) plus Best in Show and a Century medal in design — the top designation in the infused can segment. Cottondew Clouds followed with a Double Gold (97) in tasting and a Gold in design. Free Spirit Bottle earned a Gold (91) in tasting and a Double Gold in design. Tangilime Grove rounded out the sweep with Silver medals in both categories.
"Buyers rated Rocket Peak a 98 and named it Best in Show," said Nick Warrender, CEO of Lifted Made. "That's the kind of score that gets a beverage taken seriously — hemp-derived or not."
New SKUs, Expanding Footprint
The original Free Spirit Elixir sold out its initial production run shortly after launch, prompting Lifted Made to accelerate its elixir pipeline. Two new 750mL formats are now shipping: Goldentea Trails, an iced-tea-inspired pour, and Limoncello Coast, built around lemon. Both retail at $28.95 per bottle and deliver 10mg THC and 2mg CBD per 1.5oz serving — or 170mg THC and 34mg CBD per bottle. The products are formulated to drink straight, over ice, or as a cocktail or mocktail mixer, positioning them for both on-premise and off-premise occasions.
All Highlandia products are third-party lab tested batch by batch and carry publicly available Certificates of Analysis, a compliance practice that has become table stakes for hemp-derived beverages seeking retailer and wholesaler acceptance. Products contain less than 0.3% delta-9 THC by dry weight, placing them within federal hemp definitions — though the brand's forward-looking disclosures flag a scheduled November 12, 2026 change to the federal definition of hemp as a regulatory variable to watch.
On the distribution side, Highlandia has built a retail and wholesale footprint across Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, North Carolina, Nebraska, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas — all within roughly six months of its Wisconsin launch. That kind of multi-state expansion velocity is uncommon even among conventional RTD beverages, let alone a nascent hemp-derived category still navigating a fragmented state-by-state regulatory landscape.
"Going from brand launch in Wisconsin to distribution in 11 states in under six months isn't something we take for granted," said Adam Borson, Director of Marketing at Lifted Made. "It wouldn't be possible without the distributor and retail partners who got behind Highlandia early and helped get that feeling onto shelves nationwide."
Market Positioning
The hemp-derived THC beverage segment is increasingly competing for the same planogram real estate and wholesaler bandwidth as hard seltzers, non-alc spirits, and functional beverages. Award wins from buyer-judged competitions like PR%F offer distributors a defensible reason to allocate shelf space and cold-chain capacity to an emerging SKU, particularly in states where hemp-derived THC products occupy a legal gray zone distinct from cannabis-regulated markets.
Lifted Made, a subsidiary of LFTD Partners Inc. (OTCQB: LIFD), also holds a 4.99% non-controlling equity stake in hemp-derived beverage company Ablis and in craft distiller Bendistillery, signaling broader beverage-sector ambitions beyond the Highlandia and Urb brand portfolios. For trade buyers tracking the non-alc and functional beverage pipeline, Highlandia's early depletions velocity and multi-state distributor traction make it a brand worth watching as the regulatory picture around hemp-derived cannabinoids continues to evolve.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
