TAAT GLOBAL ALTERNATIVES INC. LAS VEGAS and VANCOUVER, British Columbia, June 23, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TAAT™ GLOBAL ALTERNATIVES INC. (CSE: TAAT) (OTCQX: TOBAF) (FRANKFURT: 2TP) (the “Company” or “TAAT™”) was first listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange (“CSE”) exactly one calendar year ago yesterday, as announced in a press release issued that day. During this period, the Company has made several notable accomplishments with respect to the multinational commercialization of TAAT™ Original, Smooth, and Menthol, the recruitment of experienced management and advisory team members, continued product development of both TAAT™ and its Beyond Tobacco™ base material, and attention from mainstream media outlets. This success has been recognized by many investors, as the Company’s share price and market capitalization have increased substantially over the first year. In addition to the CSE, where the shares were first traded, the Company’s shares are now also traded in Germany on the Boerse Frankfurt exchange (ticker “2TP”) and in the United States on the OTCQX® Best Market (ticker “TOBAF”), with an active application for listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market.
To summarize the Company’s first-year milestones, a month-by-month overview is provided below with a brief description of each month’s notable achievements and events relating to TAAT™.
June 2020: TAAT™ shares begin trading on the CSE on June 22, 2020. Initial retail market testing of TAAT™ prototype completed in Nevada and California, yielding excellent feedback.
July 2020: Initial commercialization strategy formed to target the menthol cigarette category, valued at approximately USD $80 billion globally. First full-scale production run of TAAT™ completed with a third-party contract manufacturer.
August 2020: Setti Coscarella and Tim Corkum, both formerly of Philip Morris International, appointed to CEO and CRO roles (respectively) for TAAT™. Second iteration of retail market testing with stores in Nevada results in sold-out inventory in under 72 hours.
September 2020: The Company reaches a production agreement at favourable pricing with a contract manufacturer for leading global and regional tobacco cigarette brands. First U.S. patent filing made for a technique used in the Beyond Tobacco™ base material refinement process. Non-brokered private placements for CAD $4,272,994 closed. TAAT™ receives 3.2 tons of raw material to begin production of Beyond Tobacco™ in commercial quantities. TAAT™ shares upgraded to the OTCQB® Market in the United States. New TAAT™ pack design finalized to align with tobacco industry offerings.
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/f8d12e8a-fa29-446e-b3f2-8c7043d18023
The packs for TAAT™ Smooth (left), Menthol (right), and Original (bottom) have been designed by the Company to closely emulate the appearance and textures of packs of leading tobacco cigarette brands. The pack design versions shown above were the first to be sold at retail in the state of Ohio, featuring the early-stage “BOGO” promotion to encourage smokers aged 21+ to undertake lengthier initial trials of the product with a second pack at no additional cost.
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.
October 2020: Global tobacco industry M&A expert Michael Saxon and “Dean of the Industry” in convenience wholesale Kit Dietz are both added to the TAAT™ Advisory Board. Ohio tobacco wholesaler places an initial order of TAAT™ for Q4 2020 delivery. Private placement of TAAT™ shares for CAD $6.75 million led by Hong Kong-based financier and Horizons Ventures co-founder Ms. Debbie Chang (in her personal capacity). TAAT™ files first international trademark applications, covering 15 jurisdictions.
November 2020: TryTAAT landing page (http://trytaat.com) launches, converting nearly one third of all visits into sample requests. Dr. Cindy Orser (life sciences scholar and executive biochemist for projects funded by several U.S. federal agencies) added to the TAAT™ Advisory Board. Upgraded production equipment for Beyond Tobacco™ allows for enough base material for up to 2.1 million cartons of TAAT™ to be produced per year. In preparation for TAAT™ launch in Ohio, video advertisements and in-store promotional graphics are completed and unveiled to the public.
December 2020: Group led by Ms. Debbie Chang voluntarily exercises warrants from October 2020 private placement for additional gross proceeds of CAD $10 million. TAAT™ begins selling at retail in Ohio with positive performance in retail store placements made through a local distributor. TAAT™ was added to the CSE Composite Index® as well as its CSE25™ subset of the 25 largest firms in Composite by market capitalization. Expansion strategy announced including plans to double Beyond Tobacco™ production capacity, initial developments for e-commerce, and trademark filings in 54 countries.
January 2021: TAAT™ taken on by additional tobacco wholesalers in Ohio. TAAT™ Menthol becomes the first SKU to be sold out and reordered. Video advertisement campaign launches, showing TAAT™ promotional clips in a loop on more than 10,000 gas pump screens across Ohio. As of January 29, 2021, 60% of tobacco retailers who have carried TAAT™ for three or more weeks have placed reorders.
February 2021: TAAT™ is featured in Forbes and Seeking Alpha articles. In response to sustained demand in Ohio, manufacturing output was expanded by 233%. E-commerce officially launches, making TAAT™ available for home shipment to the majority of smokers aged 21+ in the United States.
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/33c8492e-bf84-42d6-b1f5-22fd613b1ca4
On February 3, 2021, Forbes contributor Amanda Siebert published an article about TAAT™ and its recent launch in Ohio as the Company’s first step to begin building market share in the USD $814 billion global tobacco industry. The full article can be accessed by clicking here.
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.
March 2021: TAAT™ shares upgraded to the OTCQX® Best Market in the United States. New advertising campaign for TryTAAT generates over 5,000 sample requests from all eligible U.S. states.
April 2021: CEO Setti Coscarella presents at the Global Chinese Financial Forum. Consumer research study of TAAT™ brand and product is completed with a sample of more than 1,200 smokers aged 21+ in Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, and Pennsylvania. TAAT™ becomes the exclusive combustible smoke product sponsor of the Professional Bull Riders (“PBR”) league through 2023. In response to the Biden Administration’s plans to cap nicotine content in cigarettes in the U.S., TAAT™ launches its Beyond Nicotine™ initiative. Initial application is filed to list TAAT™ on the Nasdaq Capital Market. Purchase order valued at CAD $149,000 received from a London-based wholesaler who will distribute TAAT™ in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Leases finalized for two new Nevada facilities, increasing total space by over 250% for R&D, manufacturing, and operations.
May 2021: Patent filing on Beyond Tobacco™ refinement technique advanced to “nonprovisional” status (pending assignment of an examiner) with an enhanced scope of protection. Initial TAAT™ pack designs for the U.K. market are unveiled, which stand to create a competitive advantage over incumbent tobacco products which must be sold in “plain packaging” by law across the country.
June 2021: TAAT™ sponsors members of Floyd Mayweather’s entourage for his boxing match against Logan Paul, an event aired on pay-per-view which yielded over one million “buys” on June 6, 2021. Before the fight, Mr. Mayweather posted a video introducing TAAT™ to his approximately 26 million Instagram followers, which can be viewed by clicking here. On June 16, 2021, Canaccord Genuity Capital Markets, Canada’s largest independent investment dealer, published an initial research report on TAAT™ which was distributed to its broad network of brokers and clients.
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/0f95e926-0a57-49a4-a4b1-91eac127a1a7
Entourage members of world champion boxer Floyd Mayweather wore hats with the TAAT™ logo before, during, and after Mr. Mayweather’s June 6, 2021 boxing match against Internet personality Logan Paul, garnering significant exposure for the TAAT™ brand at a global level.
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.
A graphic accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/b5743615-3017-4964-8987-2232dbb2dc20
Canaccord’s June 16, 2021 report on TAAT™ was distributed to the firm’s network of brokers and clients across Canada. The ten-page initial report provides an overview of the Company as well as certain comments and projections. The full report can be viewed by clicking here.
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™ CEO Setti Coscarella commented, “The fact that our shares began trading only 365 days ago is hard to believe given everything we have accomplished in that time. Last June, TAAT™ was still in development, I was still working at Philip Morris International, and the concept of a cigarette that tastes, smells, and smokes like tobacco but without tobacco or nicotine was essentially unfathomable to smokers aged 21+ worldwide. We have gained international attention through orchestrated campaigns among investors and smokers alike, in addition to media placements in well-known outlets such as Forbes, and the investments we have received from a group led by a prolific global financier who co-founded the storied venture capital firm Horizons Ventures. Those who have been following TAAT™ are familiar with all of the various developments we currently have in the pipeline, and I can say confidently that our second year in the public markets is going to be just as exciting as the first.”
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@taatusa.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 $814 billion1 global tobacco industry.
For more information, please visit http://taatglobal.com.
References
1British American Tobacco - The Global Market
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: Potential near-term and long-term performance of TAAT™ in its second and subsequent years of operation. 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.
Picture 1
The packs for TAAT™ Smooth (left), Menthol (right), and Original (bottom) have been designed by the Company to closely emulate the appearance and textures of packs of leading tobacco cigarette brands. The pack design versions shown above were the first to be sold at retail in the state of Ohio, featuring the early-stage “BOGO” promotion to encourage smokers aged 21+ to undertake lengthier initial trials of the product with a second pack at no additional cost.
Picture 2
On February 3, 2021, Forbes contributor Amanda Siebert published an article about TAAT™ and its recent launch in Ohio as the Company’s first step to begin building market share in the USD $814 billion global tobacco industry. The full article can be accessed by clicking here.
Picture 3
Entourage members of world champion boxer Floyd Mayweather wore hats with the TAAT™ logo before, during, and after Mr. Mayweather’s June 6, 2021 boxing match against Internet personality Logan Paul, garnering significant exposure for the TAAT™ brand at a global level.
Picture 4
