The founders of THC beverage brand Nowadays are moving into mainstream retail with Unwind, a caffeine-free functional sparkling drink formulated for relaxation, launching in approximately 1,000 Walmart locations and Walmart.com on October 1, 2026. A TikTok Shop rollout is scheduled for mid-October.
The Numbers
Unwind's suggested retail price is $2.79 per can and $10.99 per four-pack for the 12-ounce sparkling beverage. The brand arrives in five SKUs — Berry, Cherry, Citrus, Tropical and Spicy Lime — each formulated with magnesium L-threonate sourced from Magtein® and L-theanine, and positioned as low-sugar and low-calorie. The Walmart door count represents a meaningful opening buy for a brand at launch, giving Unwind immediate scale that most emerging beverage entrants spend years pursuing.
Why It Matters
Co-founders Justin Tidwell and Anthony Puterman built Nowadays, which they launched in 2023, to more than $100 million in sales in three and a half years — a trajectory that gives the pair unusual credibility when pitching a new concept to a major mass retailer. The relaxation-beverage segment has attracted considerable capital and shelf space in recent years as consumers pull back from energy drinks and seek functional alternatives tied to stress management rather than stimulation. Magnesium and L-theanine have emerged as the dominant ingredient pair in this subcategory, and Unwind's formulation aligns squarely with where category developers are concentrating innovation. For Walmart, the placement signals continued commitment to functional beverages beyond the energy-drink aisle, a trend that buyers at the Bentonville retailer have flagged as a growth priority. "Walmart is leaning into this emerging category in a meaningful way," said Anthony Puterman, co-founder. The functional beverage market broadly has drawn in competitors ranging from large CPG incumbents reformulating legacy lines to venture-backed startups targeting the same occasion-based positioning Unwind is staking out. Tidwell and Puterman's prior retail and DTC experience — including the regulatory complexity of selling THC beverages across state lines — may offer an operational edge as they negotiate additional chain placements. The team has already announced expanded national retail rollouts scheduled for early 2027, though no specific banners have been disclosed.
What's Next
Unwind's go-to-market plan layers paid media, influencer and creator partnerships, sampling events, and in-store activations across the initial Walmart footprint. The TikTok Shop channel, set to open in mid-October, adds a direct-to-consumer revenue stream that dovetails with the social-commerce playbook Nowadays used to build brand awareness quickly. Tidwell framed the launch as a response to a behavioral shift rather than a trend: "Life is louder than ever, and while people are often told they need more energy, focus or stimulation, sometimes they just need a way to turn down the noise." For operators and buyers tracking functional beverage trends, the Unwind debut reinforces that relaxation-oriented formats are moving from specialty channels into the mass-retail mainstream. Retailers evaluating category resets in the still and sparkling functional set should expect increased competition at the $2.79 to $10.99 price tier as more brands chase the same consumer occasion. Coverage of related new product launches in the non-alcoholic beverage space has tracked a consistent pattern: brands with a proven founder team and an anchor retail partner tend to compress the timeline from launch to secondary distribution significantly.
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.
