TAAT Global Alternatives Inc. (TOBAF)

[AskMuncher]

$TOBAF First Production-Scale Batch of Beyond Tobacco™ Material Completed, Shipped to Manufacturer to Make Commercial Samples
Press Release | 09/18/2020
LAS VEGAS and VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Sept. 18, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TAAT LIFESTYLE & WELLNESS LTD. (CSE: TAAT) (OTC: TOBAF) (FRANKFURT: 2TP2) (the “Company” or “Taat”) is pleased to announce that after finalizing the base material formulation for Beyond Tobacco™, the first production-scale batch of base material has been shipped to the Company’s manufacturing facility to produce an inventory of commercial samples for Beyond Tobacco™, which are to be given to distribution, wholesale, and strategic partners. The formulation of Beyond Tobacco™ is distinctly characterized by a proprietary refinement method (for which the Company has recently filed a United States patent application, as announced in its September 4, 2020 press release) that causes the material to emit the scent and taste of tobacco when ignited. With a planned U.S. launch in Q4 2020, Beyond Tobacco™ is a combustible product designed to closely emulate the experience of smoking a tobacco cigarette. With the Beyond Tobacco™ base material formulation officially finalized, the Company has commenced this production run with the objective of providing Beyond Tobacco™ samples to prospective distributors and wholesalers as part of the Company’s current and future efforts to cultivate a strong early-stage retail market presence in the United States.

As of 2020, there are approximately 1.3 billion tobacco users worldwide1, many of whom seek to leave nicotine behind. In the United States, 2018 data from the CDC indicates that 55.1% of adult smokers had attempted to quit in the past year, though only 7.5% successfully quit smoking in that timeframe2. The Company’s flagship Beyond Tobacco™ product contains no tobacco or nicotine, and it anticipates current tobacco smokers could find the combustible “stick” format to be familiar and comparable to the ritual of smoking a tobacco cigarette. The user experience of Beyond Tobacco™ has been meticulously engineered to closely emulate the sensory elements of smoking legacy tobacco products, to include the scent and taste of tobacco, cigarette-style packaging, and audible crackling as the product burns. Operated under the executive leadership of ‘Big Tobacco’ veterans in strategy and commercialization, Taat seeks to capture market share in the tobacco industry by launching Beyond Tobacco™ in “Original” and “Menthol” varieties. After obtaining commercial-scale manufacturing capacity, filing a patent application for the Beyond Tobacco™ base material refinement process, and retaining a full-service investor relations and digital media agency in British Columbia, the Company continues to diligently handle all groundwork that precedes the launch of Beyond Tobacco™.

Because prospective distribution and wholesale partners will generally request client-ready samples of any new product, procuring commercial samples of Beyond Tobacco™ is an important step in carrying out negotiations with such partners. After finalizing the base material formulation for a launch-ready iteration of Beyond Tobacco™, the Company is pursuing expeditious production of these samples to maximize lead times in obtaining retail presence before or during the planned Q4 2020 product launch. A production-scale batch of the Beyond Tobacco™ base material, which is processed privately by the Company, has been sent to its manufacturing partner (whose name cannot be published under the terms of its agreement with the Company), which operates a commercial-scale manufacturing facility where it also carries out production for national and regional tobacco cigarette brands at a rate of up to one million sticks per minute. Once the commercial samples of Beyond Tobacco™ have been made, the manufacturing partner will warehouse the samples, dispatching outbound shipments as directed by Taat.

Taat CEO Setti Coscarella commented, “Getting the flavour in the base material just right is fundamental to the perception of Beyond Tobacco™, when it comes to making it an attractive product for current tobacco smokers. Because our product does not contain any nicotine or tobacco, the value proposition of offering a combustible product that is experientially similar to a tobacco cigarette relies almost completely on delivering a flavour and a scent that closely resembles actual tobacco. In the past few months, the Company has made considerable progress in attaining this similarity, which prompted our recent patent application filing for the refinement process. Using the samples of Beyond Tobacco™ that are to be made with the base material that is currently en route to our manufacturing facility, we plan to approach several leading distributors and wholesalers of tobacco products to build a robust presence of Beyond Tobacco™ in the U.S. retail market. With that market being our initial focus, I am proud to say that every component of Beyond Tobacco™ is American-grown and American-made. To date, we have received many requests for samples of Beyond Tobacco™, and I am excited to be able to provide them to our prospective partners as we get closer to our product launch.”

Sources

1 - https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/tobacco

2 - https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/cessation/smoking-cessation-fast-facts/index.html

On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Company,

TAAT LIFESTYLE & WELLNESS LTD.

“Setti Coscarella”

Setti Coscarella, CEO

For further information, please contact:

Jamie Frawley
1-833-TAAT-USA (1-833-822-8872)
[e-mail]