LAS VEGAS and VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 25, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TAAT® GLOBAL ALTERNATIVES INC. (CSE: TAAT) (OTCQX: TOBAF) (FRANKFURT: 2TP) (the “Company” or “TAAT®”) is pleased to announce that it has fulfilled purchase orders for an initial supply of TAAT® Original, Smooth, and Menthol (along with countertop and point-of-sale promotional materials) for 23 franchised convenience stores that are part of a global convenience chain with over 70,000 stores worldwide and over 9,300 stores in the United States. These purchase order shipments arrived at the stores on April 21, 2022. The 23 stores are located in Southern California where the Company has numerous existing retailers; thus allowing for TAAT® to be launched in these new stores as an “established” brand locally within the tobacco category, providing the ability to leverage the product’s current market footprint as an alternative to tobacco cigarettes. As announced in a press release dated January 21, 2022, the Company already has a presence in other national chain retailers with placements in several gas station chains in the United States, through which it is currently undertaking an in-store activation strategy to facilitate efficient and scalable expansions within a given chain.
These purchase orders were facilitated through the Company’s relationship with a franchise owners’ association based in Southern California (“FOA”) during a trade show held by the FOA in April 2022. The FOA could prove instrumental to the Company’s ability to place TAAT® products throughout Southern California, and potentially to other franchisees in the convenience chain in other geographies. Resulting from positive reception of TAAT® at the April 2022 trade show held by the FOA, the Company has been invited to exhibit at additional franchise owner association events scheduled to be held in Northern California and Chicago. The “Chicagoland” metropolitan area is a key market for the Company, as unique combinations of city, county, and state taxes on tobacco cigarettes result in the highest combined cigarette taxes in the United States amounting to USD $7.16 per pack in Chicago, representing taxes alone in addition to the actual retail price and the federal per-pack excise tax1.
Although the Company initially sought to place TAAT® in independent retail stores (e.g., convenience, gas stations, tobacconists) to build an early-stage market position, it has started to pursue independently-owned franchises of chain stores as TAAT® points of sale to observe how the products perform in an inherently “corporate” environment (i.e., in comparison to non-chain retail settings). This strategy has enabled TAAT® to overcome barriers to becoming a network-wide supplier to retail chains, which expands the Company's opportunities for building a market presence in the tobacco industry in the near-term.
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d8c17f6c-edcc-4323-bbb0-ed04d21140f0
Readers using news aggregation services may be unable to view the media above. Please access SEDAR or the Investor Relations section of the Company’s website for a version of this press release containing all published media.
TAAT® Chief Executive Officer Setti Coscarella commented, “We are excited to have this opportunity to enter stores in a prestigious global convenience chain, with the help of the FOA and the support of its members who have placed initial purchase orders. The tobacco category is extraordinarily difficult to penetrate when it comes to gaining distribution; not just because of the complex nuances of aligning your availability with smokers’ shopping routines, but also because tobacco companies everywhere do everything they can to impede new entrants to the market. Given how much of a challenge it is to enter chains through their corporate headquarters based on factors such as this, we’ve taken a different approach to getting into their stores by working directly with individual franchisees, which has already landed TAAT® in several national U.S. gas station chains. Based on our performance in those stores we are now scaling things up by working with franchise owner associations, who provide us a warm introduction to the decision-makers for each store who can choose to carry TAAT® once they are introduced to the product. It’s a compelling proposition for franchise owners, because the profit margins they earn on TAAT® are much higher than what they can earn selling tobacco cigarettes at mandated pricing. We are thrilled to have landed these initial TAAT® purchase orders resulting from just five hours at an FOA trade show, and we look forward to hopefully expanding our presence within the ecosystem of franchisees in the global convenience chain, particularly as we start to attend additional events for their franchise owners.”
Sources
1 - https://www.tobaccofreekids.org/assets/factsheets/0267.pdf
On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Company,
TAAT® GLOBAL ALTERNATIVES INC.
“Setti Coscarella”
Setti Coscarella, CEO and Director
For further information, please contact:
TAAT® Investor Relations
1-833-TAAT-USA (1-833-822-8872)
investor@taatglobal.com
THE CANADIAN SECURITIES EXCHANGE (“CSE”) HAS NOT REVIEWED AND DOES NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ACCURACY OR ADEQUACY OF THIS RELEASE, NOR HAS OR DOES THE CSE’S REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER.
About TAAT® Global Alternatives Inc.
The Company has developed TAAT®, which is a tobacco-free and nicotine-free alternative to traditional cigarettes offered in "Original", "Smooth", and "Menthol" varieties. TAAT®'s base material is Beyond Tobacco™, a proprietary blend which undergoes a patent-pending refinement technique causing its scent and taste to resemble tobacco. Under executive leadership with "Big Tobacco" pedigree, TAAT® was launched first in the United States in Q4 2020 as the Company seeks to position itself in the $812 billion1 global tobacco industry.
For more information, please visit http://taatglobal.com.
References
1 Statista: Consumer Markets - Tobacco Products
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Often, but not always, forward-looking information and information can be identified by the use of words such as “plans”, “expects” or “does not expect”, “is expected”, “estimates”, “intends”, “anticipates” or “does not anticipate”, or “believes”, or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “might” or “will” be taken, occur, or be achieved. Forward-looking information in this news release includes statements regarding the anticipated performance of TAAT® in the tobacco industry, in addition to the following: Performance of TAAT® in the 29 Southern California franchised convenience stores as described in the press release, performance of the Company at the upcoming trade shows mentioned in the press release. The forward-looking information reflects management’s current expectations based on information currently available and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause outcomes to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking information. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed timeframes or at all. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include: (i) adverse market conditions; (ii) changes to the growth and size of the tobacco markets; and (iii) other factors beyond the control of the Company. The Company operates in a rapidly evolving environment. New risk factors emerge from time to time, and it is impossible for the Company’s management to predict all risk factors, nor can the Company assess the impact of all factors on Company’s business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ from those contained in any forward-looking information. The forward-looking information included in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and the Company expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.
The statements in this news release have not been evaluated by Health Canada or the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. As each individual is different, the benefits, if any, of taking the Company’s products will vary from person to person. No claims or guarantees can be made as to the effects of the Company’s products on an individual’s health and well-being. The Company’s products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
This news release may contain trademarked names of third-party entities (or their respective offerings with trademarked names) typically in reference to (i) relationships had by the Company with such third-party entities as referred to in this release and/or (ii) client/vendor/service provider parties whose relationship with the Company is/are referred to in this release. All rights to such trademarks are reserved by their respective owners or licensees.
Statement Regarding Third-Party Investor Relations Firms
Disclosures relating to investor relations firms retained by TAAT® Global Alternatives Inc. can be found under the Company's profile on http://sedar.com.
