TAAT™ Menthol is the First TAAT™ Variety to be Sold Out and Reordered by Ohio Tobacco Retailers
During the initial weeks in which TAAT Original, Smooth, and Menthol were available for purchase by legal-aged smokers in Ohio, the TAAT Menthol variety was the first to be reordered by tobacco retailers who sold out of this variant.
During the initial weeks in which TAAT™ Original, Smooth, and Menthol were available for purchase by legal-aged smokers in Ohio, the TAAT™ Menthol variety was the first to be reordered by tobacco retailers who sold out of this variant. Prior to launching TAAT™ in the United States, the Company issued a press release detailing its intent to place a strategic focus on the menthol cigarette segment. The market for menthol cigarettes is valued at approximately USD $80 billion globally, and menthol cigarettes represent about 45% of combustible tobacco sales in Pennsylvania, a neighbouring state to Ohio.
LAS VEGAS and VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 12, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TAAT™ LIFESTYLE & WELLNESS LTD. (CSE: TAAT) (OTCQB: TOBAF) (FRANKFURT: 2TP2) (the “Company” or “TAAT™”) is pleased to announce that the Menthol variety of TAAT™, its flagship product, was the first to sell out during the initial weeks of availability of TAAT™ products at retail in Ohio. Tobacco retailers who sold out of TAAT™ Menthol have placed reorders through their respective tobacco distributors who carry TAAT™. The Company continues to focus its efforts on commercializing all three varieties of TAAT™ in a balanced manner to legal-aged smokers in the state of Ohio, while continuously analyzing sales data for TAAT™ Original, Smooth, and Menthol to develop strategies that are specific to each product variety based on actual market performance.
In a press release dated July 3, 2020, the Company outlined its provisional strategy for gaining market share in the menthol subset of the USD $814 billion global tobacco industry, a segment which was valued at approximately USD $80 billion in 2018 by Grand View Research1. Menthol cigarettes, which were invented in Ohio in 19242, gained popularity due to the unique “cooling” sensation from added menthol (C10H20O). The first major brand of menthol cigarettes in the United States, known as Kools, advertised “throat comfort” as a defining attribute in comparison to traditional tobacco cigarettes. Major tobacco companies began offering standalone brands of menthol cigarettes beginning in the 1950s including R.J. Reynolds (Salem), Lorillard (Newport, Spring), and Philip Morris (Alpine)3. Menthol cigarettes remain immensely popular in the United States, with Newport menthol cigarettes holding a market share of approximately 14%, second only to Marlboro4.
Promotional graphic for TAAT™ Menthol, one of the three varieties of TAAT™ that became available for sale to legal-aged smokers in Ohio beginning last year:
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/232445ee-0420-4dd0-922d-1bdaf199f1d9
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.
The popularity of TAAT™ Menthol could play a key role in potential expansion initiatives by the Company in the northeastern United States due to a high proportion of menthol combustible tobacco sales in specific states. Based on data from 2011 through 2016 sourced by Nielsen, the three states with the highest proportion of menthol cigarettes in combustible tobacco sales were Pennsylvania (45%), Maryland (44%), and Delaware (43.3%)5. In the same data, Ohio’s proportion of menthol cigarettes in combustible tobacco sales was just 31.3%. Internationally, menthol cigarettes hold substantial market share in several Asian markets such as the Philippines (estimated by Philip Morris to be 49.4% in 20106), one of the countries in which TAAT™ recently filed trademark applications.
The Company’s distribution partners have managed to fulfill reorders of TAAT™ Menthol as part of standard routing procedures. In an effort to create a competitive edge in a given market, the Company is diligently establishing and maintaining a robust distribution network in order to ensure a constant availability of TAAT™ at all points of sale. Furthermore, a multi-pallet shipment of TAAT™ Original, Smooth, and Menthol is destined to arrive in Ohio later this quarter as the Company continues to build out the presence of TAAT™ in its initial market.
Original United States patent for menthol cigarettes filed in 1924 by Lloyd Hughes of Ohio2, where TAAT™ has recently introduced its tobacco-free and nicotine-free combustible product with menthol flavouring:
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/16f7c977-b878-449a-b0d3-ac32b7ba17d1
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, “Unlike those who prefer traditional tobacco cigarettes, legal-aged smokers of menthols enjoy a very specific combination of flavours which is difficult to duplicate, especially in non-combustible formats. Our objective with TAAT™ is to offer legal-aged smokers a better alternative to tobacco cigarettes by aligning our tobacco-free and nicotine-free products with what they are already enjoying, which includes menthol flavouring in TAAT™ Menthol to closely emulate the experience of smoking a menthol cigarette. Although non-flavoured tobacco comprises the majority of the tobacco market, there are many markets in the United States in which over one third of all cigarettes sold are menthols. As such, this is not a product category to be overlooked. Although we have not specifically focused our marketing efforts to legal-aged smokers on the TAAT™ Menthol variety, we are pleased to see that this specific SKU has sold well in our first few weeks. We look forward to gathering more sales data as well as product feedback from legal-aged smokers as we continue commercializing TAAT™ products in the USD $814 billion global tobacco industry.”
TAAT™ Chief Revenue Officer Tim Corkum commented, “After a few weeks of TAAT™ being sold at retail in Ohio, we have had opportunities to gather data regarding how it has performed among the legal-aged smokers who have purchased the product. General reception has been excellent for all three varieties of TAAT™, though TAAT™ Menthol was the first to be sold out and reordered. These learnings are especially valuable for us, as they can only be obtained through data from actual sales. Based on the performance of TAAT™ Menthol in Ohio so far, we recognize that these learnings can be especially valuable in potential expansions into new markets, especially in states such as Pennsylvania where 45% of the combustible tobacco market consists of menthols. I have brought many tobacco category products to market across North America, and this phase in which meaningful sales insights begin to emerge is pivotal to any product launch and shaping the product’s long-term commercialization plan, whether at a regional or national level.”
Sources
1 - https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/menthol-cigarette-market
2 - https://patents.google.com/patent/US1555580A/en?inventor=Lloyd+F+Hughes
3 - https://www.industrydocuments.ucsf.edu/tobacco/docs/#id=pzkj0136
4 - https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/tobacco_industry/brand_preference/index.htm
5 - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5711620/
On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Company,
TAAT™ LIFESTYLE & WELLNESS LTD.
“Setti Coscarella”
Setti Coscarella, CEO and Director
For further information, please contact:
TAAT™ Investor Relations
1-833-TAAT-USA (1-833-822-8872)
[email protected]
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™ Lifestyle & Wellness Ltd.
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™ is launching in the United States in Q4 2020 as the Company seeks to position itself in the $814 billion1 global tobacco industry.
For more information, please visit http://taatglobal.com.
References
1 British American Tobacco - The Global Market
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