22nd Century Group’s VLN reduced-nicotine content cigarettes will be sold in the No. 1 convenience store (c-store) chain in the U.S. at more than 1,450 corporate locations in Texas, California and Florida. An additional 3,100 franchise-owned stores in these state markets are incentivized to add VLN products with full support from corporate and the national franchise owners organization.
The launch will utilize 22nd Century Group’s new national and regional distribution agreements, including agreements with both the No. 1 and No. 2 c-store distributors in the United States. Stocking orders to distributors will commence in late June, with corporate stores and the first wave of franchise stores expected to begin selling VLN products in early July.
“Adding the country’s No. 1 c-store chain and launching the three largest state markets will significantly and quickly expand the availability of VLN to thousands of additional stores,” said John Miller, president of tobacco products for 22nd Century Group, in a statement. “Franchise stores are already confirming orders to add VLN in conjunction with the corporate rollout, which will include media outreach, in-store offers, signage and a range of education and awareness tools across a variety of channels designed to drive adult smokers to VLN.”
Miller continued, “In addition to rapidly adding corporate and franchise-owned stores in these new markets, we are also scheduling launches with other new regional c-store, pharmacy and military chains, plus regional and state business units of existing chains, that will further expand VLN’s availability in multiple markets. These launch plans give us increased visibility into additional stores and states through the rest of the year, keeping us on track to reach our stated growth goals.”
“We are excited to deliver on our commitment to launch with major c-store retailers and new national-scale distribution resources as we work to rapidly expand sales of our VLN products in up to 18 states by the end of 2023,” said James A. Mish, CEO of 22nd Century Group. “VLN sales are accelerating as planned, keeping us on track to achieve cash positive operations in our tobacco business in 2024.”