LAS VEGAS and VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 18, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TAAT™ GLOBAL ALTERNATIVES INC. (CSE: TAAT) (OTCQX: TOBAF) (FRANKFURT: 2TP) (the “Company” or “TAAT™”) is pleased to announce that all three of its TAAT™ varieties (Original, Smooth, and Menthol) will be launching in more than 180 new stores in Houston, Texas (fourth-largest U.S. city) and at least 120 stores in Puerto Rico (which is advancing to an “official” launch, following a test placement in Cayey). During the second year in which TAAT™ is being sold at retail in the United States, the Company has taken measures to integrate marketing programs in parallel with its nationwide store placements to include billboards located near Nevada locations of a U.S. gas station chain (as announced in a March 2, 2022 press release) and an incentive strategy for chain retailers to convert TAAT™ sample recipients into first-time purchasers of a full pack (as announced in a February 11, 2022 press release). The Company has aggressively pursued store placements in new as well as existing U.S. markets to bolster overall availability of TAAT™, while driving sell-through and reorder rates through these parallel initiatives to reach current smokers.

Guaranteed Placement of 180 Stores in Houston, Texas

Earlier this week, a pallet shipment of TAAT™ arrived at the warehouse of a distributor who has guaranteed the placement of TAAT™ in at least 180 stores in the city of Houston (population 2.3 million). The state of Texas has a cigarette use incidence rate of 14.7%1, and current Texas-based retailers of TAAT™ represent a relatively small percentage of the Company’s total footprint in the United States. As such, the Company is eager to build a presence in one of the country’s largest urban centres to complement its comparatively high store counts in the metro areas of large cities such as Chicago, Illinois and Columbus, Ohio. This launch of TAAT™ in Houston is planned to coincide with the Company’s multistate billboard advertising campaign announced in its December 14, 2021 press release, which includes billboard placements in Houston, Detroit, Atlanta, and multiple other U.S. cities.

Official TAAT™ Launch in Puerto Rico

TAAT™ was initially placed with a Puerto Rican distributor in Cayey (population 43,000, approximately 34 miles from San Juan) in 2021 on a “test” basis. The Company anticipates TAAT™ could perform especially well in Puerto Rico based on its ability to retail at an exceptionally low price point as a non-tobacco product, given Puerto Rico’s high taxes on tobacco cigarettes (among the nation’s highest per-pack taxes of USD $5.102). At the ASD Market Week trade show in Las Vegas in March 2022, the Company was introduced to a distributor in Puerto Rico who ultimately placed a purchase order for two pallets of TAAT™ (one full pallet of TAAT™ Menthol and one half pallet split between TAAT™ Original and Smooth) as well as 180 pre-filled countertop displays (containing an additional 6,480 TAAT™ packs). This purchase order is expected to land in Puerto Rico by April 2022.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/22b33864-d973-4afb-b452-8c2613f7bf6c

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TAAT™ Chief Executive Officer Setti Coscarella commented, “Now that we have generated momentum for TAAT™ at the consumer level, it has become significantly easier to convert wholesalers and retailers to begin carrying our products. With proven reorder rates and verified placements in high-profile gas and convenience chains across the United States, we have established valuable credibility as a serious player in the tobacco industry. We are making excellent progress towards our goals for the growth of the TAAT™ retail footprint in 2022 between organically adding stores through distributors, approaching retailers directly, and making connections at trade shows. These milestones so far in our calendar Q1 2022 are impressive, and we are excited to continue building upon them in an effort to make 2022 our best year yet.”

Sources

1 - https://www.cdc.gov/statesystem/cigaretteuseadult.html

2 - https://www.tobaccofreekids.org/assets/factsheets/0097.pdf

On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Company,

TAAT