BLUECHECK JOINS WITH THE HEMP BEVERAGE ALLIANCE TO IMPROVE AGE-VERIFICATION PROCESSES FOR HEMP BEVERAGE INDUSTRY
Members gain access to technology proven to block underage purchases while maintaining conversion rates, positioning industry for regulatory clarity over prohibition
Austin, TX, Dec. 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BlueCheck – the industry-leading age and identity verification vendor – today joined with the Hemp Beverage Alliance (HBA) to give members access to compliance technology already protecting billions of dollars worth of hemp e-commerce transactions.
BlueCheck & Hemp Beverage Association
BlueCheck gives the hemp beverage industry a vetted solution for proactive compliance. Data from millions of transactions of BlueCheck-protected hemp businesses show they catch and block approximately 0.5-1% of attempted purchases from underage buyers - demonstrating that the technology works and hemp businesses can effectively prevent underage access while maintaining a viable customer experience for legitimate adult buyers.
"HBA members that want to get ahead of regulation now have access to verification technology that's proven across hundreds of age-restricted businesses," said Alex Zeig, CEO of BlueCheck. "We're seeing hemp companies voluntarily implement age verification despite the cost impact because they know their products are for adults only. Their customers range from 21 to 85 years old. These businesses want to build compliance track records now—this preferred vendor relationship makes it straightforward for HBA members to do exactly that."
BlueCheck's full suite of tools include:
- Preferential pricing for HBA members
- Real-time verification against trusted identity databases (95%-97% fully automated age verification with no interruption to checkout at all)
- Complete audit trails showing every verification attempt—critical for demonstrating compliance to regulators
- Seamless Shopify integration with automated order management
- Enterprise-grade security with AES-256 encryption and SOC 2 certification underway
- Proven ability to catch underage buyers (0.5-1% block rate across tens of millions of transactions)
- Lower friction than competitors—higher conversion rates matter when you're voluntarily paying for verification
"One of our core principles is to keep adult beverages out of the hands of minors," said Christopher Lackner, president of the Hemp Beverage Alliance. "Members who strengthen their age-verification processes will position themselves and the industry for sustainable growth."
Hemp beverage companies have built a thriving industry serving adult consumers across all legal drinking age (LDA) demographics and creating jobs in agriculture, manufacturing, and retail. BlueCheck-protected hemp businesses successfully catch underage buyers while maintaining viable conversion rates.
About BlueCheck
BlueCheck provides highly automated age and identity verification solutions that integrate directly into leading e-commerce platforms. Its multi-layered system verifies customer information in real time using trusted identity databases, helping merchants streamline compliance and protect consumers. Unlike pure AI approaches or photo ID systems, BlueCheck's verification runs on familiar user patterns (the same rails as two-factor authentication), delivering industry-leading conversion rates while maintaining compliance.
About the Hemp Beverage Alliance
The mission of the Hemp Beverage Alliance is to create a safe and thriving industry through education, advocacy, best practices and partnership. We achieve this by providing consumers, retailers, and distributors with the information they need to better understand the industry; developing best practices to create consistency in labeling and manufacturing; working with elected officials and regulators to encourage common-sense regulation; and collaborating with cannabis and alcohol industries to create a marketplace that benefits everyone. More at hempbeveragealliance.org.
BlueCheck — Sonia Baschez, PR Contact, sonia@bluecheck.me
Hemp Beverage Alliance — Pete Scales, HBA Communications, comms@hempbeveragealliance.org
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