Hello, and welcome back to Inc.'s 1 Smart Business Story. At 92, country music legend Willie Nelson is now a hot shot entrepreneur.

His THC beverage brand Willie's Remedy+ hit an $80 million run rate in less than a year. The company, a partnership with JuneShine Brands, just raised $15 million in Series A funding.

The brand sold out three times in 10 months and generated a 10,000-person waitlist. While competitors target younger drinkers, Willie's Remedy+ focuses on older consumers with more spending power. The company plans to reach 10,000 retail locations by summer.

For Nelson, it's personal. "It's a great substitute for alcohol," he told Inc. "Alcohol has killed so many of my friends."

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BY ALI DONALDSON, STAFF REPORTER

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 earned his title as the “world’s most prolific octogenarian.” 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 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. “It’s 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 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.”

That sales velocity and vision caught investors’ attention. Willie’s Remedy raised a $15 million series A funding round led by Left Lane Capital, which has invested in buzzy consumer startups, such as Bilt, Blank Street, and Dein’s own north star Olipop. The investment round also included participation from Second Sight Ventures. 

After starting with a direct-to-consumer model, the startup plans to use the capital to expand further into retail with a goal of hitting 10,000 points of distribution by this summer. Currently, Willie’s Remedy+ is available in stores, including Total Wine, Lowes Food, TXB Stores, and Binny’s Beverage Depot, and on delivery platforms, including GoPuff, and DoorDash.

After selling out of stock three times in the past 10 months, generating a 10,000-person waiting list at one point, the company says it will also be investing in inventory. 

Juneshine is not actively pursuing more partnerships like this, Dein says. Nelson provided a unique exception—

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