Taat Lifestyle & Wellness has secured commercial-scale production capacity for its tobacco-free and nicotine-free Beyond Tobacco cigarettes with a manufacturer in North America, the company announced in a press release.
The manufacturer, whose name cannot be disclosed under the terms of the agreement, does production on a contract basis for global and regional brands of both tobacco and hemp cigarettes.
According to Taat, the agreement provides terms for production of Beyond Tobacco cigarettes at pricing that is lower than tobacco industry averages for full-service cigarette production for an initial duration of one year, with renewal of such pricing terms conditional upon the company meeting a first-year production quota.
The manufacturer has also agreed to warehouse Beyond Tobacco cigarettes after they are produced, while also providing outbound logistics services by coordinating the shipment of Beyond Tobacco pallets to the company’s distributors. To protect its trade secrets, Taat will continue to process the Beyond Tobacco base cigarette material in-house.
“While our agreement with the manufacturer precludes me from going into too much detail, I can certainly say that I am very pleased to have them on board to manufacture Beyond Tobacco cigarettes for us,” said Taat CEO Setti Coscarella.
“Aside from being able to produce at a much lower cost compared to our initial estimations, working with an established player in the cigarette production space enables us to benefit from their industry-leading standards in machinery, quality control and efficiency.”
In related news, Taat recently appointed Tim Corkum as its chief revenue officer to lead commercialization efforts for Beyond Tobacco cigarettes. Corkum, who spent more than 20 years working for Philip Morris International in the Caribbean and in Canada, is a recognized industry leader in the commercialization of cigarette products as well as reduced risk products.