Category: Featured

Kaival Brands Reports Quarterly Results

Photo: Song about Summer
Kaival Brands’ revenues decreased by approximately $15.7 million in the second quarter of fiscal year 2022, compared to the same period of fiscal year 2021. Compared with the first quarter of 2022, however, revenues rose 11 percent.
Gross profit in the second quarter of fiscal year 2022 was approximately $387,700, or approximately 12.7 percent of revenues, net, compared to approximately $6.3 million gross profit, or approximately 34.6 percent of revenues, net, for the second quarter of fiscal year 2021.
In February 2022, Bidi Vapor was granted a judicial stay on the marketing denial order (MDO) previously issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration prohibiting the marketing and sale of nontobacco flavored Bidi Sticks, which had significantly impacted Kaival Brands’ revenues in previous quarters.
As a result of the grant of the judicial stay of the MDO, the company’s revenues increased in the second quarter of fiscal 2022, as compared to the first quarter of fiscal 2022. Kaival Brands expect this trend to continue as renewed distribution ramps up and sales of nontobacco flavored Bidi Sticks increase, subject to the court ruling in Bidi Vapor’s favor in the pending merits-based case, and subject to the FDA’s enforcement discretion.
“Our results demonstrate strong execution and resiliency in our business, as revenues in the second quarter of fiscal year 2022 rose 11 percent as compared to revenues in the first quarter of fiscal year 2022,” said Kaival Brands founder and CEO Niraj Patel in a statement.
“The recently announced international licensing agreement with Philip Morris Products, a wholly owned affiliate of Philip Morris International, is a major milestone in the company’s efforts to expand the global sales and distribution of the Bidi Stick. From a balance sheet perspective, the international licensing agreement has the potential to generate substantial returns on capital for the company, given the low cash investment needed to reach a significant number of potential new consumers.”
June 21, 2022
EU to Review Feedback on Tobacco Framework

Photo: mbruxelle
The European Commission has collected feedback from almost 25,000 organizations, experts and citizens about its legislative framework for tobacco control. Its initial call for evidence feedback period ended June 17.
The Commission will use the feedback to evaluate to what extent the legislative framework has fulfilled its goals and whether it is able to support a “tobacco-free generation” by 2040, as announced in Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan.
Participants included organization such as the Independent European Vaping Alliance (IEVA), which identified several opportunities for improvement.
“The European e-cigarette market is one of the most regulated and safest worldwide. IEVA supports the tobacco product directive which has allowed for safe products to be made available to EU consumers. These rules have prevented irresponsible business—as we unfortunately have witnessed in the U.S., where the vaping market was not regulated—and whose behaviors we most vehemently condemn,” the IEVA wrote in a statement.
“We would like to use this submission to present areas that merit further consideration through the process of evaluating the Tobacco Products Directive which we believe have not been addressed through the process thus far. We will focus on three core areas which we believe need to be further explored in any discussion about a legislative review: the impact on smokers, the impact on SMEs [small and medium-sized enterprises] and employment, and the impact on illicit trade.”
The IEVA’s full contribution can be viewed here.
The European Commission will hold a public consultation in the fourth quarter of 2022 and anticipates adoption in the second quarter of 2023.
June 21, 2022
Taat Appoints Michael Saxon as CEO

Michael Saxon (Photo: Taat Global Alternatives)
Taat Global Alternatives has appointed tobacco industry veteran Michael Saxon as CEO and member of its board of directors. Former CEO Setti Coscarella will remain available to the company as an advisor. Saxon has been on the Taat Advisory Board since late 2020.
Saxon is an accomplished consumer products executive with more than 25 years of experience growing Fortune 100 businesses in the United States, Europe and Asia. He has influenced government policy and led business units while operating in different regulatory systems.
Saxon served in various positions for over 20 years with Altria Group and Philip Morris International. Most recently, he helped create Trolley Ventures, a Richmond, Virginia, USA, venture capital firm investing in early-stage start-ups.
“I’m excited to be joining the Taat team,” said Saxon in a statement. “This is an exhilarating time in our industry, and Taat is positioned to be a disruptor. With about 18 months of actual market and consumer feedback, I believe Taat is in an ideal position to accelerate its commercialization efforts.
“This will include focusing our efforts on the large and profitable USA market, while our product development team leverages their capabilities to develop other Beyond Tobacco products that can further disrupt the USA and other international markets. There is a tremendous market opportunity for the company, and I am eager to launch new initiatives to accelerate adult consumer adoption of Taat.”
“It has been my pleasure to lead Taat through our initial years and through the pandemic. At this point, I am satisfied the company is in an excellent position to hand direction over to Mr. Saxon, and I am pleased to be continuing my participation as an Advisor,” said Coscarella.
June 21, 2022
Canada Proposes New Vapor Disclosure Requirements

Photo: DD Images
The Canadian government wants vapor product manufacturers to disclose information about their sales and the ingredients used in their products.
On June 17, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health Carolyn Bennett announced the launch of a 45-day public consultation period on the proposed rules.
“Canada’s vaping market is evolving rapidly,” Health Canada wrote in a press release. “A large number of vaping substances are available across the country and new formulations are frequently introduced with new flavors. Health Canada is restricted in its capacity to properly track market trends due to limited access to information on vaping products sales and composition.”
According to Health Canada, the proposed regulations are the first step of a gradual approach to introducing vaping product reporting requirements. Health Canada is considering additional reporting requirements for implementation in the future similar to those already in place for tobacco products. This could include reporting on information related to research and development as well as promotional activities. It could also include disclosing some information to the public which would increase industry transparency.
“As the vaping market continues to evolve rapidly and entice Canadians, including young people, to use vaping products, we are taking action to better protect everyone in Canada by more fully understanding the impact of these products on their health,” said Bennett. “The proposed regulations will help us educate Canadians about the health harms while furthering research aimed at reducing the amount of people impacted by harms related to tobacco and vaping product use across the country.”
The proposed regulations have been published in the Canada Gazette. Stakeholders can submit comments to mailto:mpregs@hc-sc.gc.ca until Aug. 2.
June 21, 2022
Essentra Tapes Expands Global Sales Team

Photo: alphaspirit
Essentra Tapes is expanding its global sales team.
The appointments come as the post-pandemic packaging sector is buoyant, seeing heightened demand for enhanced direct-to-consumer packaging to fulfill the needs of increasingly e-commerce-focused brands, according to a company press release.
“As the packaging sector is seeing increasing demand, we are seeing an explosion of interest in our innovative tape solutions,” said Christopher Morgan, global sales director at Essentra Tapes. “With our industry being so competitive at the moment, particularly in terms of direct-to-consumer e-commerce packaging solutions, converters and brands know that the opening experience is a key driver of repeat business.
“We are delighted to welcome so many new members to the Essentra team to help us provide excellent service to all our customers, new and old. We are seeing particular spikes in demand across the APAC [Asia Pacific] region for all of our tape solutions—not just easy-open tapes but reclosing and authentication tapes too. But generally, our global operations are all scaling up, which is good news for all our customers worldwide.”
The appointments include new regional sales managers in the U.S., Brazil and APAC region along with other hires on the EU team. One of the key aims of the company is to drive continued growth in its tape applicator business. Morgan added, “Web and sheetfeed applicators are key to our growth and to the growth of our converter customers. It’s an exciting time for our business, as the applicator business is already growing rapidly, and we expect our talented new sales managers to take that growth to the next level.”
June 20, 2022
Carbon Neutrality for American Snuff

Photo: Sergey Shimanovich
Two American Snuff locations have boosted their environmental credentials, according to Reynolds American Inc.
American Snuff Co. Memphis has achieved carbon neutrality for its operations, scope 1 and 2, in accordance with PAS 2060 for the period between Dec. 1, 2020, to Nov. 30, 2021.
American Snuff Co. Taylor Brothers has also achieved carbon neutrality for its operations, scope 1 and 2, in accordance with PAS 2060 for the period between Dec. 1, 2020, to Nov. 30, 2021.
June 20, 2022
Taat and E1011 Labs Partner in HnB Tech
Photo: Taat Global Alternatives
Taat Global Alternatives has joined E1011 Labs’ Pilot Partnership Program (P3), an initiative by the California-based heat-not-burn innovator to leverage the capabilities and resources of third-party firms to advance its efforts in the tobacco and tobacco-adjacent categories.
In a press release dated May 17, 2022, Taat announced the release of its sales materials for a heat-not-burn offering made in collaboration with E1011 Labs using the company’s proprietary and patent-pending base material Beyond Tobacco, which contains no tobacco or nicotine.
In its June 14, 2022 press release, E1011 Labs announced the second edition of its patented Elon combustion-free device using precision heating technology with unique features including a touchless “pause” function with which a user can suspend a session by blowing into a circular sensor.
E1011 Labs stated the wide range of applications for heat-not-burn technology includes use cases in the pharmaceutical, cannabis and tobacco categories. As the very first participant in E1011 Labs’ P3 ecosystem, Taat will work closely with E1011 Labs to commercialize a novel heat-not-burn option with no tobacco or nicotine.
“E1011 Labs is proving to be a very strong partner for us, and we are honored to be the first in their P3 program for collaboration to advance their initiatives in the heat-not-burn space,” said Taat founder Joe Deighan in a statement.
“Our primary focus is on developing, manufacturing and commercializing our flagship combustible product, which is why E1011 Labs’ reach, R&D bandwidth and marketing capabilities are invaluable to us as an upcoming entrant to the heat-not-burn space. We are thankful to E1011 Labs’ management for their confidence in us, and we are very excited to be working together for our respective pursuits in the $812 billion global tobacco category.”
June 20, 2022
Top Court: South Africa Tobacco Ban Invalid

Photo: Alexlmx – Dreamstime.com
South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) on June 14 upheld a high court judgement that declared the ban on tobacco products sales during the Covid-19 pandemic unconstitutional, reports Times Live.
In March 2020, Co-Operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma banned the sale of tobacco products to contain the spread of Covid-19.
In June 2020, British American Tobacco, JT International and several tobacco product consumers asked a court to invalidate the ban.
The matter was heard by a full bench of the court in August 2020 and judgment was reserved. Later that month, the minister lifted its tobacco sales ban.
Despite the lifting of the ban, the court passed judgment in December 2020 declaring the regulation inconsistent with the constitution and invalid.
The government appealed the ruling, but lost.
In its June 14 judgment, the SCA said assuming there was a causal link between smoking and the risk of contracting a more severe form of Covid-19, the minister would have had to show that stopping smoking during the tobacco ban would have reversed or reduced the risk of contracting a severe form of Covid-19.
The SCA said this had not been established as evidence.
As regulation 45 was not necessary to achieve any of the purposes listed in section 27 of the Disaster Management Act, it was invalid, the court noted.
Section 27 states that in the event of a national disaster the minister may make regulations dealing with steps that may be necessary to prevent the escalation of the disaster or to alleviate, contain and minimize the effects of the disaster.
June 17, 2022
Comment Period Extended for Flavored Cigar/Menthol Plans

Image: iQoncept
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is extending the comment period for its proposed rules prohibiting menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars from 60 days to 90 days. The public may now submit comments on these proposed rules through Aug. 2, 2022.
The agency says it is extending the comment period following requests from the public. The FDA also received requests to not extend the comment period from public health organizations but says it believes that a 90-day comment period is appropriate as it allows adequate additional time for people to fully consider the proposed rules, including specific requests for comments, and develop and submit comments without significantly lengthening the rulemaking proceedings.
In addition to accepting written public comments, the agency convened public listening sessions on June 13 and June 15 to expand direct engagement with the public, including affected communities. The recordings for the sessions will be posted to the FDA website once available.
June 17, 2022
Zimbabwe Seeks to Switch to Gas for Curing

Photo: Taco Tuinstra
Zimbabwe wants to replace wood with gas as fuel source for tobacco curing to curb deforestation, reports Xinhua News Agency, citing the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB).
The TIMB said it is seeking gas technology companies to partner with it in establishing a centralized gas curing facility for tobacco. Such a facility should allow for multiple farmers to cure their tobacco at the same time, the regulator noted.
According to the TIMB, of the 262,000 hectares lost to deforestation in Zimbabwe every year, 15 to 20 percent of this is attributable to tobacco growing, particularly curing.
“This is one of the sustainable curing initiatives which we are considering as a board,” TIMB spokesperson Chelesani Moyo was quoted as saying. “Sustainable tobacco production is the efficient production of quality tobacco, under conditions that limit the negative impact on the environment. This also entails the best agricultural practices that improve the socio-economic conditions of tobacco growers and communities in tobacco-producing areas.”
Zimbabwe’s policy of promoting small-scale production has accelerated deforestation as farmers indiscriminately cut down of trees to cure the golden leaf.
Tobacco is one of Zimbabwe’s major foreign currency earners.
Last year, the country sold 186.6 million kg of tobacco leaf valued at $515.9 million, up 16.8 percent in volume and 31 percent in value over sales in 2020.
June 17, 2022