Category: Business

More to NJOY

As Altria sheds the burden of Juul, its leaders are hoping investors ‘Njoy’ the company’s new outlook.
By Timothy S. Donahue
It would have been hard to imagine less than five years ago. In September of 2018, Juul had a U.S. vapor market share of 72 percent. By mid-March of this year, Juul’s market share had plummeted to 25.6 percent and continues to drop. Meanwhile, R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co.’s Vuse products have grown from single digits to a more than 47 percent market share during the same period.
Altria, Juul Labs’ largest minority shareholder, had to do something. Juul’s baggage of lawsuits for youth marketing and ongoing battle with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration over marketing denial orders just became too much to bear. After devaluing its $13 billion investment in Juul Labs to less than $250 million earlier this year, Altria stated that it would exchange its entire minority investment in Juul Labs for a nonexclusive global license for some of Juul’s heated-tobacco intellectual property to potentially boost its IQOS heated-tobacco products. It then did something that surprised no one in the industry.
The next day, Altria Group announced it had entered into an agreement to acquire Njoy Holdings for approximately $2.75 billion in cash. Altria said it had multiple sources of funding for the deal, including cash from a $2.7 billion agreement with Philip Morris International last year for IQOS. In less than a week, Altria went from vaping product purgatory to owning the best vaping product on the market with a U.S. marketing order, the Njoy Ace. In total, Njoy Holdings has received six of the 23 marketing orders granted by the FDA as of this writing for the entire vaping product category, including pods, disposables and open systems.
The other major factor in purchasing Njoy is the product didn’t come with the stigma tied to youth vaping, according to Altria CEO Billy Gifford. Speaking during an investor call, Gifford said that his company evaluated Njoy’s marketing practices and national survey data regarding underage use of Njoy tobacco products.
“We believe Njoy has taken a responsible approach to marketing its products. According to the 2022 National Youth Tobacco Survey, Njoy-branded products are not included among the top usual brands among middle school and high school e-cigarette users. Additionally, Njoy is developing access restriction technology for its devices to further address underage use,” explains Gifford. “Our consumer research indicates that once consumers try Njoy Ace, it is a competitive product for both smokers and vapers. After trying the authorized nonmenthol Ace variant, 19 percent of surveyed smokers and 27 percent of surveyed vapers indicated that they would definitely buy the product.
“The Ace results were on par with the post-trial findings for Vuse Alto nonmenthol and better than those for Juul nonmenthol. We observed similar post-trial results for the Ace menthol variants when compared to Vuse Alto and Juul menthol products. This encouraging research supports our belief that Ace is a compelling proposition.”
The FDA said that it authorized Njoy’s products because they were found to meet the appropriate for the protection of public health standard as, among several key considerations, chemical testing was sufficient to determine that overall harmful and potentially harmful constituent (HPHC) levels in the aerosol of these products is lower than in combusted cigarette smoke.
Further, data provided by Njoy demonstrated that participants who had used only the authorized Njoy Ace products had lower levels of exposure to HPHCs compared to the dual users of the new products and combusted cigarettes. Therefore, these products have the potential to benefit adult smokers who switch completely or significantly reduce their cigarette consumption.
Additionally, the FDA considered the risks and benefits to the population as a whole, including users and nonusers of tobacco products and, importantly, youth. This included review of available data on the likelihood of use of the product by young people. For the authorized products, the FDA determined that the potential benefit to adult smokers who switch completely or significantly reduce their cigarette use would outweigh the risk to youth, provided that the company follows postmarketing requirements to reduce youth access and youth exposure to their marketing.
Open access
Altria has the ability to take Njoy products to the top. Gifford said that a large number of tobacco consumers are not currently aware of nor have access to the Ace vaping system. Njoy’s Ace, the most technologically advanced FDA-authorized vaping product, is currently available only in an estimated 33,000 stores. Altria services more than 200,000 U.S. stores. Njoy’s sales force is fewer than 50 people. Altria has 1,600.
“As a result, total U.S. retail share for Ace pods in 2022 was only 3 percent. Yet, we know that Ace has performed better in stores where it’s visibly merchandised and has consistent distribution. In the top 5 chain accounts where Ace competes with Vuse Alto and Juul, the weighted average share for Ace is approximately 11 percent,” Gifford said. “We believe we can responsibly accelerate U.S. smoker and competitive vaper adoption of Ace in ways that Njoy could not as a standalone company.”
During the session, Bonnie Herzog, managing director with Goldman Sachs, questioned whether Altria would need to reposition the Njoy brand or change its strategy considering the brand’s relatively small share of the market. After all, several devices have done very well in the market and then disappeared or lost their position. Chris Growe, with Stifel Financial Corp., wanted to know what made the Ace device so unique. Could the Ace device develop another level of brand loyalty it had yet to reach? Gifford said Altria has an extensive relationship with retailers that its “sales force has built over decades.” It’s all about consumers having better access.
“You’re going to see loyalty in these new spaces that we experience in the tobacco category. When you see the consumer, they’re trying various products. They’re looking for products that satisfy their unmet needs and desires, and once they find a satisfying product, it’s up to us to build a brand around that. I think when you look at Njoy, and I’d reference you back to the consumer research, it was both smokers looking to transition and how they rank the products in the marketplace as well as existing vapers, people that have already converted, and their preference there,” Gifford told the investment advisers.
“I think you see that we believe this is a strong asset because not only does it bring certainty around the authorization but the consumer is telling us they have preference for this product over some of the other products in the marketplace. That’s the way we think about it and are extremely excited to, again, have that base IP, have a product ready in the marketplace, but then be able to develop on it as we move forward,” Gifford said.
Gifford told Priya Ohri-Gupta, with Barclays, that prior to closing the deal, Altria would offer none of its services to Njoy but that after closing, Njoy would experience all of the assets Altria has at its disposal. “Our sales force, our regulatory team, our government affairs team, all of that would be available subsequent to close,” said Gifford.
Gifford said that in the next few years the company expects the FDA will complete marketing determinations on the remaining premarket tobacco product applications, including those filed for synthetic products. He said he also hopes the agency will implement the suggestions from the Reagan-Udall Foundation report.
Altria expects the vaping market to remain “in flux” until the FDA goes through the enforcement process and removes unauthorized products from the market. Over the next 10 years, U.S. volumes will grow at a single-digit compounded annual growth rate, Gifford predicted.
After the Njoy acquisition is finalized, Altria will have a compelling portfolio of products and technology across the three largest smoke-free categories, according to Gifford. In the vaping segment, the company will fully own the only FDA-authorized, pod-based product on the market. In oral tobacco, it owns the largest brand, Copenhagen, and holds 100 percent of the global rights to On!, one of the fastest-growing nicotine pouch brands in the U.S. last year.
“We have differentiated new products in development. And in heated tobacco, we have the majority-owned joint venture with JT Group for the U.S. commercialization of the next-generation Ploom device and Marlboro heated-tobacco sticks,” said Gifford. “We [also] have full ownership of an exciting heated-tobacco capsule technology, which we will discuss further at our Investor Day.”
Gifford also explained that the Juul IP rights deal is centered on the Ploom device and the capsule technology. He told Herzog that Altria viewed the technology as “very interesting,” and it allows Altria to put it “in the toolkit” of its product developers. That would give Altria the ability to market the new product anywhere around the world. “Our focus, of course, would be the U.S. because that’s the biggest opportunity we see in products,” said Gifford.
When asked when new heated-tobacco products using the newly acquired IP would make it to the U.S. market, Gifford’s answer became lost in translation. Deciphering the double talk quickly, Herzog ended the conversation by clarifying Gifford’s answer, saying, “OK. So, in a few years. Appreciate it. Thank you.” Gifford did not disagree with Herzog’s assessment.

April 28, 2023
ANDS Partners With International Duty Free Shops

Credit: ANDS
ANDS (Alternative Nicotine Delivery Solutions) has partnered with International Duty Free Shops (IDFS) Morocco to introduce its portfolio of vaping products to Marrakesh and Casablanca airports.
As a trademark owner and local distributor for several brands, ANDS specializes in disposable e-cigarettes, closed pods and heated tobacco technology.
The company aims to become a “one-stop shop” within the electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) sector, according to TRBusiness.
ANDS participated at last year’s Middle East & Africa Duty Free Association (MEADFA) conference, and in the summer of 2022 introduced a range of alternative nicotine solutions at Beirut Duty Free.
The company is already present in a number of travel retail doors in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia, with Latin America openings in the pipeline, according to the report.
“This new [Morocco] development is in line with ANDS’ travel retail expansion, mirroring our domestic deployment in the region and beyond,” ANDS co-founder and president Fadi Maayta said. “We continue our journey to reach out to 140 million adult smokers across the MENA region, providing them with better alternatives, with the potential to reduce harm compared to combustible cigarettes.”
April 18, 2023
Kaival Brands Signs Sales Agreement With Major Broker

Photo: Bidi Vapor
Kaival Brands Innovations Group, the U.S. distributor of all Bidi Vapor products, has entered into a sales broker agreement with a prominent U.S. broker to expand access to Bidi Vapor products from its current foundation of convenience store distribution into new retail channels, including discount, grocery and mass merchandisers.
Eric Mosser
“As we look to push distribution into more channels beyond the convenience stores, we are excited to announce a new agreement that gives us potential access to over 40,000 new locations,” said Eric Mosser, president and chief operating officer of Kaival Brands, in a statement. “We believe this agreement, along with our recent announcement of other new distribution agreements, further validates our reputation as a good actor providing adult consumers with the highest quality vape experience possible, and we look forward to working with all of our commercial channel partners to expand our revenue opportunities.”
“We are excited to further increase the reach of Bidi Vapor and its premium vaping device, the Bidi Stick, into potentially more distribution opportunities throughout multiple retail channels,” stated Russell Quick, president of QuikfillRx, the company’s third-party sales and marketing vendor. “With our feet firmly in the convenience store space, it is time not only to grow our existing footprint but to extend into more channels, like dollar and grocery stores, that meet our robust identification verification and youth access prevention requirements.”
March 13, 2023
Juul Labs Seeking new Partners, Potential Buyers

VV Archive
Juul Labs is in talks with leading cigarette manufacturers about a partnership, alliance or sale of its business, reports The Wall Street Journal.
Juul executives have had separate discussions with Philip Morris International, Japan Tobacco and Altria Group, according to the newspaper.
The talks are at an early stage and might not result in a sale of partnership, The Wall Street Journal’s sources pointed out. Altria, which owns one-third of Juul, valued the vaping company at $1 billion in October.
Once the undisputed leader of the U.S. vape market, Juul reached the brink of bankruptcy last year after the Food and Drug Administration denied its marketing applications and ordered the company to remove its products from the market.
The order has been stayed pending appeal but the still-unresolved dispute made it difficult for Juul to raise money to cover its legal liabilities. In December Juul agreed to pay $1.7 billion in a broad legal settlement covering more than 5,000 lawsuits accusing the company of marketing its products to teens and children. Juul denies targeting underage consumers.
To pay for the deal, Juul secured an equity investment from a group including two Juul directors. The settlement and financing put Juul on firmer ground and allowed the company to begin talks with potential strategic partners.
On Sept. 30 Altria announced it was ending its noncompete agreement with Juul. The decision gave Juul the freedom to sell itself—or a significant stake—to one of Altria’s competitors.
Altria can’t buy Juul outright because of antitrust concerns: The Federal Trade Commission is seeking to unwind Altria’s 2018 investment in Juul. Altria and Japan Tobacco in October formed a partnership to develop and sell heated-tobacco devices in the U.S. and other new tobacco products abroad.
If the FDA ultimately halts Juul’s sales, Juul could seek U.S. authorization for a newer version of its vaporizer that has been released in Canada and the U.K. Juul also has other products under development.
January 26, 2023
Into Indonesia
Credit: Daxiao Production
Chinese e-cigarette manufacturers are expanding into Indonesia to better serve markets.
By Yutong Song and Alan Zhao
China’s rules for the vaping industry are stringent. They do, however, allow leniency for most exports. There is one rule, though, that can make shipping product to some countries nearly impossible: China’s regulations state that all products produced for export must comply with the regulations and laws in the destination country, according to 2FIRSTS, a vaping industry vertical media firm. If a country does not regulate e-cigarettes, China’s rules for vaping products would apply to those exports, including bans on flavors and synthetic nicotine.
To better serve countries that have not yet created regulations for electronic nicotine-delivery system products, manufacturers are opening factories outside of China. Many of those companies are moving into Indonesia where there are more than 70 million combustible cigarette smokers. The preference of Chinese manufacturers for Indonesia is also evident from a set of recent news headlines:

“Jinjia Group’s manufacturing base in Indonesia to provide integrated e-cigarette services.”

“Smoore Technology Indonesia (STI), a subsidiary of one of the largest e-cigarette manufacturers, has invested $80 million to establish e-cigarette factories in Indonesia.”

“The Indonesian factory of Zhijing Precision, an e-cigarette assembly supplier, is to be operational by 2022.”
The cost factors, such as land and labor, make Indonesia the first choice for e-cigarette companies setting up abroad, but the country has more to offer. Garindra Kartasasmita, secretary general of the Indonesian Vapor Entrepreneurs Association, mentioned in his keynote speech at the IECIE Vape Show that the Indonesian vaping market has been growing since 2013, with an annual rate of 50 percent except for the year 2021, when it shrank by 7 percent due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It is expected to rebound to 50 percent growth in 2022.
Integration of Production and Sales
Indonesia is ripe for helping to grow vaping businesses and boost the harm reduction potential of vaping products. One major advantage of moving e-cigarette production into Indonesia is the ease of integration and sales offered by the country’s large population. With 280 million people, Indonesia is the world’s fourth most populous country, accounting for 40 percent of all people in Southeast Asia. Moreover, Indonesia has 70.2 million smokers, which translates into a smoking rate of 34 percent.
The presence of so many nicotine consumers means e-cigarettes produced in Indonesia could also be sold domestically. Indonesia’s regulatory environment is conducive to the marketing of nicotine products that present lower risks than combustible cigarettes. Indonesia is the only country in Southeast Asia that allows tobacco advertising on television and in the media. It also has a place for e-cigarette bloggers and cross-category blogging, such as beauty and skin care. Indonesia has the second-highest number of posts on Instagram sharing vaping and related devices among all countries.
E-cigarette brands can be imported and sold in Indonesia only if they are recommended by the country’s National Agency of Drug and Food Control (part of the Ministry of Health) and the Ministry of Industry. Additionally, the products must be certified by the Indonesian National Standard. The policies are a positive for Chinese e-cigarette manufacturers.
Commenting on Smoore’s plant in Indonesia, Bahlil Lahadalia, Indonesia’s investment minister and director of the Investment Coordinating Board, publicly stated, “We need cooperation, we need jobs, we need opportunities that will make our brothers owners of our country.” And Clayton Shen, president of Smoore Indonesia, expressed his gratitude for the support of the Indonesian government, including the tariff-free incentives granted by the Ministry of Investment for the company’s much-needed machinery that needed to be imported.
Challenges Ahead
There are some challenges in the Indonesian market, however. Although the Indonesian market represents a large pie for Chinese manufacturers, it is not easy to navigate the market. A well-known Chinese e-cigarette manufacturer intending to build a factory in Indonesia revealed to 2FIRSTS that logistics is a problem for manufacturers, and currently no good solution is available.
For example, if the end products are filled and assembled in China and then sent to Indonesia, the amount of time the products could be held at customs is unpredictable. “I had a batch of goods that arrived at customs the end of last month, but they are still in customs as of the 20th of this month,” the manufacturer said. “If it was assembled in Indonesia and sent from the Indonesian factory, the time difference in delivery is not much different from if it were delivered from China.”
There is also a lack of e-cigarette machinery. Another vaping product manufacturer told 2FIRSTS that “there’s a critical lack of tools and machinery to keep pace with the production lines. Should factories be built here, machinery must be transported from China, which is a critical problem to tackle. It’s a misconception that the only shortage we would face is raw materials.”
Credit: Donvictori0
There is also a “workers’ gap” that can often create staff training and production concerns. In addition to overcoming cultural and geographical challenges when training local workers, it’s difficult to have the workers adapt to the Chinese style of work, which is very dedicated and focused on teamwork. An insider told 2FIRSTS that some workers have a “casual attitude to being late.” He said that he had to create numerous incentives to discourage employees from being late for work and/or going home early. “This is very different from the Chinese work habits,” he said.
Migration or Spillover
Shenzhen is considered the vaping capital of the world. Located just north of Hong Kong, the city designs and manufactures an estimated 90 percent of the world’s vaping and e-cigarette devices. There are more than 1,000 factories and thousands of support companies that form the supply chain throughout Guangdong Province and the rest of China.
A joint report from the E-Cigarette Professional Committee of the China Electronics Chamber of Commerce and 2FIRSTS anticipates the global e-cigarette market to grow by 35 percent in 2022. The total market is expected to exceed $108 billion. In 2021, China’s total e-cigarette exports were $19.8 billion and were expected to reach $26.7 billion in 2022. The expansion of China’s e-cigarette industry from Shenzhen to Indonesia can more accurately be described as “spillover” rather than “migration.”
Just because Shenzhen’s e-cigarette manufacturing hub status is unshakable in the short term does not mean that the global manufacturing layout is cast in stone. In fact, over the past five years, the country’s e-cigarette industry has spilled from the city into China’s Greater Bay Area. We have seen spillover from Shajing of the Bao’an District of Shenzhen to the Dongguan area and in between.
This spillover has not affected the development of China’s electronic cigarette industry, however. During the same time, there was also a period of rapid industrial growth and improvements on the supply chain side of the industry.
In a recent interview, 2FIRSTS co-founder and Chief Operating Officer Echo Guo said that years of development not only granted the Bao’an District of Shenzhen a number of e-cigarette enterprises but also brought together supporting supply chains, including industrial design, molds, batteries and other essential needs for manufacturing vaping products. “Here to there is a ‘two-hour traffic circle’ within the whole e-cigarette industry, with all of its subbranches cooperating closely,” said Guo. “Even when the manufacturers and customers exchange new ideas, it would take less than two hours to get a prototype ready.”
The spillover of China’s e-cigarette industry to Indonesia can also be seen as the absorption and utilization of manufacturing resources by China’s e-cigarette industry, which has broken the boundary of China’s Greater Bay Area and extended to a broader region of the Asia-Pacific. The entire region will now have the opportunity to create greater economic success through the growth of the e-cigarette and vaping industry.
December 26, 2022
Snowplus its Expands Operations in the Philippines

Photo: Snowplus
Snowplus of China is expanding its vaping business in the Philippines, reports The Philippine Star.
Co-founder and head of overseas markets Derek Li is confident the company can build a good distribution network in the country.
Snowplus has invested $2 million in quality and safety research since 2019 and has received over $150 million in financing, which is among the largest funding for any startup in the e-cigarette industry.
Snowplus has also committed to raising industry quality and standards to deliver safe and reliable e-cigarettes to consumers in the Philippines.
In line with new vapor industry regulations in China, Snowplus recently obtained permission to operate from the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration. The license authorizes the company to produce 80 million pods per year.
The company established three advanced scientific laboratories with equipment to test its products’ power supply and durability, among other characteristics.
“Consumers can trust Snowplus. We work only with the most reputable partners and deliver products of the highest quality that are 100 percent safe,” Li said.
October 7, 2022
Myle Vape Says New Dubai Office Critical for Growth

Photo courtesy of Myle Vape
Myle Vape has opened an office and warehouse facility in Dubai to service its customers in the Middle East. The United Arab Emirates is one of Myle Vape’s most important markets in terms of brand loyalty and market share.
“This move has been in the works for some time and we could not be happier to announce this opening,” said Myle Vape co-founder and CEO Ariel Gorelik in a statement. “We have been operating from afar for too long, traveling back and forth from the USA multiple times a year, and it has become critical to the growth of our business that we made a serious move to building a major operations center in the UAE.”
Launched in 2015, Myle Vape manufactures disposables, pod systems, rechargeable devices and vape accessories that are distributed globally outside the United States.
September 23, 2022
UK Vape Retailer VPZ Announces Expansion Goals

The UK’s largest vaping retailer VPZ has announced its intent to open 10 additional stores by the end of the year.
It comes as the business called for the UK Government to introduce tighter controls and licensing for selling vaping products.
The business will increase its portfolio to 160 locations across England and Scotland, including stores in London and Glasgow, according to a press release.
VPZ made the announcement as it takes its mobile vape clinic on the road throughout the country.
It comes as Government ministers continue to promote vaping, with Public Health England claiming e-cigarettes carry a “fraction of the risk of smoking”.
However, last month research indicated a steep rise in underage vaping over the last five years, according to Action on Smoking and Health.
Doug Mutter, director of VPZ, said that VPZ is spearheading the fight against the nation’s No. 1 killer – smoking.
“Our plans to open 10 new stores and the launch of our mobile vape clinic responds 100 percent to our ambition to engage with more smokers throughout the country and help them take the first steps on their quit journey.”
Mutter added that the e-cigarette sector could be improved, calling for greater scrutiny of those selling products,
“At the moment we have a challenge in the industry where imported, many unregulated, disposable vaping products are readily available from local convenience stores, supermarkets and several other general retailers with no age verification control or regulation in many of these,” said Mutter.
“We are urging the UK Government to act now and follow best practice from countries like New Zealand, where flavoured products can only be sold from specialist licensed vaping stores, where a challenge 25 policy is in place and consultation is aimed towards adult smokers and vapers.
“VPZ is also in favor of substantial fines for those who breach the rules.”
August 22, 2022
A Survivor’s Story

Nathan (Nate) Coccimiglio
An entrepreneur is using his business acumen to reinvent the convenience store experience.
By Norm Bour
The one thing we can all agree on is that the vape industry has been in a constant flux, peppered with an occasional crisis. The once “easy to operate,” unregulated business from a decade ago has morphed into a highly regulated (with more to come) struggle to stay ahead of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and maintain their competitive position in a very crowded, ever-evolving market.
“I think it’s easy to see where the market is going,” claimed Nathan (Nate) Coccimiglio, who has been in the business world for almost 15 years. “But besides having the vision, you need the guts to make a change and the capital to implement [that change].”
Coccimiglio hasn’t always had the complete package, but as he just crested the age of 40, he has had his share of victories along with the inevitable defeats along the way. However, now, he feels as prepared to go forward as he’s ever been. He’s been a mainstay in the Salt Lake City business community and had a journey through nutritional supplements, enhancement pills and even owned a storage facility for precious metal and bullion.
“I saw an opportunity in that space, so I took it and grew it into a multimillion-dollar company. I did the same thing with vapes when I ventured into that in 2012,” he said. “In 2007, my life took a serious detour when I got hit on my motorcycle on the interstate doing 80 mph. I was running an electrical contracting business and suddenly that all went out the window. I wasn’t able to do certain hard labor like I used to, and suddenly, I had to reinvent myself,” he shared. “That forced me into starting my own business.”
ALT21
Coccimiglio began with vitamin supplements and enhancement-type pills, which he started selling from his home and later expanded into a second location in Tucson, Arizona. That location got burglarized, and the entire inventory was stolen. Once again, he had to backtrack and dig in at his home office.
Even after adversity, in less than two years, Coccimiglio generated over $5 million in annual sales, and he sold that business just a few years later.
“I look back and wish I had kept that one,” Coccimiglio confided. “I was in my mid-twenties and didn’t know then what I know now. It taught me lots of lessons about what to sell, how to sell and what to stay away from.”
The cash from the sale, along with his passion for metals and the business experience, gave him confidence to start a private vault company. He started storing and warehousing bullion in 2012. The company stored platinum, ore and worked with several mines in Utah storing hundreds of millions in metals.
However, Coccimiglio was still intrigued with supplements and accessories and decided to open an e-liquid company called Tronic Vape. He also created a few other lesser known brands.
“E-liquid was easy back then,” he laughed. “Just a simple 10 mL bottle filled with liquid, which we made with no restrictions or regulations at all. We also imported little e-cigs from overseas that I thought were the hottest things. Even though there was minimal regulation, we implemented our own and insured our products with Lloyds of London and had full liability coverage.”
Coccimiglio continued to manufacture his e-liquids until 2018. Over the years, he private labeled for other companies as well. That was when he opened his first vape shop: Draper Vaper, in Draper, Utah.
I visited that shop and can verify that it was over-the-top beautiful and a true testament to the possibilities of a high-end vape shop. He also opened a second location and phased out of private labeling to focus on his retail locations and to grow his wholesaling opportunities.
Coccimiglio also offered his experience and knowledge with other shops in the area along with taking an ownership interest with a few that he believed could be successful. He also got involved with many of the vaping advocacy associations to help support the industry. He even served a stint as president of the Utah Smoke-Free Alternatives Trade Association.
Coccimiglio has been challenged with many of his fellow vape entrepreneurs, who he says have closed minds and unwillingness to change.
“When they say they are vape only and will stay that way, I just roll my eyes and walk away,” he said. “If there is one thing I have learned from entrepreneurship, [it] is that you either adapt or die. I started saying that almost 10 years ago when I saw smoke shops carrying vape shop products.”
He sees standalone vape shops as being a “thing of the past” and instead all-around “vice shops” will carry any and everything that people want.
“We’re all playing in Big Tobacco’s sandbox,” he lamented. “It’s inevitable that they will control the vape industry over time. If every single one of our vape businesses banded together, we’d still be outmanned, outgunned and out financed.”
Over the years, Coccimiglio has almost divested out of his vape businesses and is now evolving into his version of where the future is going.
The key word is “almost” since he still has one shop left, which has added CBD, alternative products and adult novelties. He went back in time with his version of a “build-your-own” flavor station and offers flavors for his customers to create their own e-liquids.
Coccimiglio believes that flavoring for e-liquids will universally be stopped through regulation. However, his new shop, Alt21, located in Murray, Utah, may be on to something. It also offers clothing, glass, kratom, e-juice and pretty much anything anyone would want.
Coccimiglio also sees convenience stores taking over a larger share of these types of products. “For years, they’ve been looked down upon,” he said, “but c-store owners are pretty smart. They look down the road and many times band together to totally change the market.”
Coccimiglio currently manufactures a product for them, Kush Kubes (a brand of Delta-9 and CBD-enhanced gummies) and sells them domestically as well as overseas.
“We’re a manufacturer/distributor right now, and rather than taking new products to old markets, we’re trying to lay new ground and create new markets for our stuff. We see gas pumps coming out of the ground and c-stores looking totally different in the future. They have so much exposure and visibility right now; it’s up to us to find things for them to sell.
“We want to sell less SKUs to more markets rather than load everyone up with a surplus of things they can’t sell. If you can’t recognize opportunity, then you’ll always miss it,” he said. “I don’t think I have a magic eye; it’s just a matter of who has the bigger pockets and how can we do business with them.”
That is how a survivor thinks.
Norm Bour is the founder of VapeMentors and works with vape businesses worldwide. He can be reached at norm@VapeMentors.com.

August 21, 2022
Altria Stock Up 8% Since FDA Pulled Juul Denial Order

When the U.S. Food and Drug Administration told Juul Labs it needed to pull its e-cigarette from the market, Altria stock (MO) hit a more than 52-week low of $41.00 in early July. On Aug. 15 MO was trading up 0.2 percent at $45.35.
Altria stock has fallen 7 percent over the past 12 months and is currently trading down 21 percent since peaking at a three-year high of $57.05 in early May, according to Schaefer’s Investment Research.
Additionally, shares of MO have dropped 6 percent year-to-date. However, Altria stock has increased 8 percent over the past month and is up 10 percent since the July low.
The FDA ordered Juul Labs to remove its products from the U.S. market and MO plummeted until, on July 6, the FDA said it was temporarily lifting its ban on Juul products.
The tobacco company’s valuation metrics remain mixed, with Altria stock trading at an intriguing forward price-earnings ratio of 9.29 but also at a high price-sales ratio of 3.92.
“Nonetheless, MO offers an incredible dividend yield of 7.97% with a forward dividend of $3.60, making it one of the highest dividend yields available on the stock market today,” the story states.
MO has struggled to maintain consistent growth on the bottom line over multiple years as well, reporting an $8.3 billion decrease in net income for fiscal 2019 and a $2 billion decrease for fiscal 2021.
Still, the tobacco company is expected to end fiscal 2022 with 5 percent revenue growth.
August 18, 2022