Year in Review: TAAT™ Provides Corporate Update Summarizing its First Year Under Executive Leadership from “Big Tobacco”
TAAT Global Alternatives Inc. (OTCQX: TOBAF) showcased a notable year in its press release, highlighting key achievements since August 2020. Under the leadership of CEO Setti Coscarella and CRO Tim Corkum, TAAT™ established a presence in over 500 stores across multiple U.S. states and launched an e-commerce platform catering to smokers aged 21+. Significant milestones include upgrades to the OTCQB® market, completion of a CAD $6.75 million private placement, and plans for Nasdaq listing. Recent marketing initiatives aim to raise brand awareness as TAAT™ continues to position itself in the $814 billion global tobacco industry.
- Successfully launched TAAT™ in over 500 retail locations across multiple U.S. states.
- Established e-commerce portal with orders from smokers in 37 states.
- Achieved over 300% sequential revenue growth in Q2 2021.
- Secured CAD $149,000 purchase order from a U.K. wholesaler.
- Company upgraded from OTCQB® to OTCQX® Best Market.
- Yearly milestones include launching in Illinois and securing 68 new purchase orders.
- None.
LAS VEGAS and VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug. 16, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TAAT™ GLOBAL ALTERNATIVES INC. (CSE: TAAT) (OTCQX: TOBAF) (FRANKFURT: 2TP) (the “Company” or “TAAT™”) is pleased to provide a “year in review” summary of the Company’s performance and accomplishments since August 2020 when it added two former “Big Tobacco” players to its executive team, including Chief Executive Officer Setti Coscarella (former lead strategist for Philip Morris International) and Chief Revenue Officer Tim Corkum (former international commercialization executive for Philip Morris International). Under the administration of Mr. Coscarella and Mr. Corkum, the Company has completed development of TAAT™ and has successfully launched the product at retail in multiple U.S. states with a total store count of more than 500, in addition to an e-commerce portal that has received orders from smokers aged 21+ in 37 U.S. states. To provide shareholders an overview of the Company’s progress over the past twelve months, TAAT™ has assembled a month-by-month timeline of key milestones:
August 2020: Setti Coscarella is appointed CEO of TAAT™, Tim Corkum is appointed CRO of TAAT™.
September 2020: TAAT™ negotiates favourable production terms with a contract manufacturer of cigarettes for global and regional tobacco brands, files its first U.S. patent for a step in the Beyond Tobacco™ base material refinement process, and receives approximately 3.2 tons of material for producing Beyond Tobacco™. In the United States, the Company’s common shares were upgraded to the OTCQB® market.
October 2020: Ohio tobacco wholesaler places initial purchase order of TAAT™. Private placement of CAD
November 2020: Launch-related media is finalized and released including video advertisements and first in-store graphic placements. TryTAAT landing page launches and converts nearly one third of visitors into TAAT™ sample pack requests. Dr. Cindy Orser (life sciences scholar and executive biochemist for projects with U.S. federal agency funding) added to the TAAT™ advisory board. Setti Coscarella is appointed to the Company’s Board of Directors.
December 2020: TAAT™ becomes a “post-revenue” company, and is added to the CSE Composite Index® as well as its CSE25™ subset (consisting of the largest 25 companies in Composite by market capitalization). Investor group in October 2020 CAD
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/2d9181f3-85d9-43ab-8665-f7dc0ba6a80f
Over the past year, TAAT™ Chief Executive Officer Setti Coscarella has taken an interdisciplinary approach to developing, manufacturing, and commercializing TAAT™ as a better alternative to tobacco cigarettes for smokers aged 21+. Pictured above at the CHAMPS Las Vegas trade show in July 2021, Mr. Coscarella actively leads many initiatives for the Company as it seeks to continue capturing market share in the USD
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.
January 2021: Thousands of TAAT™ sample packs are shipped to smokers aged 21+ in 38 U.S. states to fulfill requests on TryTAAT. TAAT™ Menthol is the first variety to be sold out and reordered by Ohio tobacco retailers. Overall, reorders had already been placed by
February 2021: TAAT™ launches e-commerce, making the product available to the majority of smokers aged 21+ in the United States. In response to sustained demand in Ohio, TAAT™ increases manufacturing capacity to over 57,000 cartons per month. First national mainstream media coverage of TAAT™ in a Forbes article profiling the Company.
March 2021: New campaign for TryTAAT launches, garnering over 5,000 sample pack requests. TAAT™ common shares upgraded from OTCQB® to OTCQX® Best Market in the United States.
April 2021: TAAT™ makes initial application to list its common shares on the Nasdaq Capital Market. London-based wholesaler places CAD
May 2021: U.S. patent filing for Beyond Tobacco™ refinement technique is advanced to “nonprovisional” status, with an enhanced scope of protection. TAAT™ supports the Mister Supranational USA 2021 pageant in Las Vegas, NV as the event’s lead sponsor.
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/894be59c-8835-41d7-97bb-ee559a7e7e49
In May 2021, TAAT™ was the lead sponsor of the Mister Supranational USA 2021 pageant in Las Vegas, NV. In addition to placements at the preliminary and main events, several participants appeared in promotional media for TAAT™ featuring the logo and the product.
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.
June 2021: TAAT™ sponsors the team of world champion boxer Floyd Mayweather, who wore TAAT™ headwear at Mayweather’s June 6, 2021 fight against Logan Paul. Floyd Mayweather also posted a video introducing TAAT™ on his Instagram page with more than 26 million followers. Georgia-based wholesaler with a multi-state network of 1,200 stores completely pre-sells initial shipment of TAAT™ (15 master cases) before it arrives. Fiscal Q2 2021 financial results show over
July 2021: At first B2B convention after launching, TAAT™ is named Best New Product at the show. TAAT™ officially launches in Illinois, where it can benefit from significant pricing advantages in certain regions.
August 2021: Total store count of TAAT™ retailers grows to 500. After two trade shows in July 2021, 68 new initial purchase orders from show leads were closed. Peter Nguyen and John Martin are added to the Company’s Board of Directors as independent directors, and also join the Company’s Audit Committee.
TAAT™ Chief Executive Officer Setti Coscarella commented, “It would be an understatement to say that the past year has been positively exhilarating. Despite the fact that we were not able to promote TAAT™ through channels such as live events and trade shows until recently, we were not held back from perfecting TAAT™ and its Beyond Tobacco™ base material, making connections with tobacco distributors to land store placements, and leveraging several forms of digital media to capture the attention of smokers aged 21+ to generate interest in trying TAAT™. The near future is very bright with our first international purchase order currently in motion, several more active dialogues with trade show leads seeking to place initial orders, and our new facilities in Las Vegas getting ready to operate with much more space and several important functional upgrades. The past year has been a great pleasure, and I could not be more excited for the path forward as we work towards building an even bigger footprint in the tobacco industry.”
TAAT™ Global Alternatives Inc. hereby announces that it has engaged CDMG Inc. to provide direct marketing and product advertising/media production services for the Company. In connection with this engagement, the Company has entered into a service agreement with CDMG Inc. governing the services it will provide. The service agreement has a term of three months with an approved marketing budget of one million five hundred and eleven thousand dollars USD.
TAAT™ Global Alternatives Inc. also announces that it has engaged Future Money Trends, LLC and Gold Standard Media, LLC to provide marketing and branding initiatives to raise market awareness for the Company. In connection with the engagements, the Company has entered into service agreements with Future Money Trends, LLC and Gold Standard Media, LLC governing the services they will provide. The service agreements have a term of six months with a lump sum payment value of three hundred thousand USD, paid respectively.
TAAT™ Global Alternatives Inc. also announces that it has engaged Jamie Frawley to provide investor relations services for the Company. In connection with this engagement, the Company has entered into a service agreement with Mr. Frawley governing the services he will provide. The service agreement has a term of one year with a monthly payment value of four thousand Canadian dollars, in addition to one hundred thousand stock options to vest in equal parts over each of the 12 months comprising the agreement (exercisable for five years from the issuance date, equal to the closing price of the Company’s common shares on the trading day prior to issuance).
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
For more information, please visit http://taatglobal.com.
References
1 British 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: Continued performance of the Company based on its timeline of recent events detailed 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.
FAQ
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