Minneapolis, Minn. – March 26, 2024 ¬– A new hemp-derived, low-dose THC/CBD cannabis seltzer featuring the Indigenous botanicals of North America is coming next month to Minnesota. Dana Thompson, an award-winning creator and leader in the Indigenous food sovereignty movement, is launching the new social-impact adult beverage brand Heti (pronounced heh-tee).
Heti, meaning “home” in the Dakota language, was inspired by the birthplace and ancestral language of Thompson’s grandfather. As a woman-owned, social-impact brand, part of the product’s revenues will support health and wealth in Indigenous communities. Heti will donate a percentage of its revenue to help develop sustainable housing for Indigenous and marginalized communities using hempcrete – a bio-composite made from hemp used in construction.
“I am thrilled to announce the launch of Heti, a line of new botanical beverages that celebrate the plants around us,” said Thompson, CEO and founder of Heti Products, whose deep knowledge of native berries, herbs and trees shaped Heti’s unique flavor profiles. “Plants are calming, and the mutuality we have with our ancestral flavors is grounding. Plants and humans have interdependency, we are deeply connected. Engaging with that relationship gives us reverence for the biodiversity of the planet.”
Heti is launching with four flavors – River Path, Woodland Edge, Meadow Cat Nap and Marshland Harvest – which can also be purchased together in a starter pack. Highlighted flavors include cranberry, sumac, dandelion, cedar, rosehip, wild mint and black currant, and the beverages are sweetened naturally with honey, maple, and agave. Each beverage has 3 mg THC and 5 mg CBD.
“These delicious and sophisticated beverages offer a joyful, balanced effect, and are the perfect alternative to beer, wine and other alcoholic beverages,” said Thompson. “Heti is centered around health, well-being and the flavors of the land.”
Heti beverages are available for preorder now at hetiproducts.com and will be in stores in Minnesota and across the Midwest beginning in April. Products preordered online will ship by March 31.
About Dana Thompson
Dana Thompson is the co-creator of Owamni, the James Beard Award-winning restaurant, the nonprofit NĀTIFS (North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems) and the Indigenous Food Lab. She left these organizations in 2023 to pursue Heti and her new culinary venture, The Modern Indigenous. A direct descendant of the Sisseton Wahpeton and Mdewakanton Dakota tribes, and a lifelong Minnesota native, Thompson has worked for more than a decade in the food sovereignty movement. A social entrepreneur, she has traveled extensively throughout tribal communities, engaging in critical ways to improve food access and implementing successful strategies that benefit society. Thompson served as a founding member on the leadership committee of the James Beard Foundation Investment Fund for Black and Indigenous Americans, and currently sits on the board of directors of the nonprofit Owámniyomni Okhódayapi.
