Kaival Brands Innovations Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:
KAVL) ("Kaival Brands," the "Company" or "we,” “our” or
similar terms), the exclusive U.S. distributor of all vapor
products manufactured by Bidi Vapor, LLC ("Bidi Vapor"), which are
intended for adults 21 and over, today announced that Kaival
Marking Services (“KMS”), the third-party vendor responsible for
executing Kaival Brands’ marketing and sales strategies, has hired
Dean Simmons, a former Vice President of Sales of Swisher
International, in preparation for an expected resurgence of revenue
growth following a pivotal legal victory for Bidi Vapor this past
summer.
Mr. Simmons will join KMS as the Senior Vice
President of Sales and Corporate Development, effective
immediately. During his time at Swisher, a major other tobacco
products (OTP) manufacturer, Mr. Simmons was responsible for
leading Swisher’s national sales department, calling on wholesale
and retail accounts throughout the convenience, mass-merchandisers,
drug, grocery, and tobacco-outlet retail channels. His team
deployed the Jacksonville, Florida-based manufacturer’s flagship
brands, including Swisher Sweets, BLK, Optimo and
Goodies.
Simmons joins a sales team at KMS that includes
Todd Wheeler, a former top sales executive for Reynolds American
Inc. (RAI), Winston-Salem, N.C. Wheeler was with RAI for 16 years
before becoming national sales director for KMS in 2000. While at
RAI, Wheeler was senior division manager for trade marketing. In
that position, Wheeler oversaw independent and account outlets to
deliver both volume and share targets. Successful brand launches
included Camel SNUS, VELO, VUSE Vapor portfolio.
The expanded sales and marketing capability at
KMS comes as Kaival Brands and KMS are gearing up for anticipated
revenue growth. As previously reported, on August 23, 2022, the
11th Circuit Court of Appeals overruled the Food and Drug
Administration’s (the “FDA”) marketing denial order related to Bidi
Vapor’s flagship product, the BIDI® Stick electronic nicotine
delivery system (“ENDS”). That decision has allowed Bidi Vapor to
continue to market (through Kaival Brands and KMS) all flavor
varieties of the BIDI® Stick in the United States. All ENDS product
on the market today that do not have marketing authorization from
FDA are subject to enforcement, at the FDA’s
discretion.
Eric Mosser, President and Chief Operating
Officer of Kaival Brands, stated, "We applaud KMS on strengthening
their robust and accomplished marketing and sales team by securing
a top talent in the industry. KMS’s hiring of Mr. Simmons brings
Kaival Brands more ability to rapidly grow sales, so we look
forward to all that Dean will achieve towards the goals set before
KMS and contribute to our overall success.”
“Adding Dean will allow KMS to maximize its
market penetration potential quickly with several new retail
customers that have been waiting to sell BIDI® Stick,” said Russell
Quick, President of KMS, Jacksonville Beach, Fla. “Dean’s extensive
leadership background in OTP, as well as his connections with top
accounts here in the U.S., make him a valuable asset to our growing
sales team.”
Mr. Simmons stated “I am excited to join the
KMS/Kaival Brands team and bring my expertise in this field to
expand the market reach of BIDI® Stick. I will look to further grow
what KMS has started by not only introducing BIDI® Stick to new
accounts, but expanding contacts within existing accounts
leveraging the background and relationships I have built up over
the years.”
As previously reported, on November 15, 2022,
Kaival Brands reached a three-year extension agreement with KMS to
provide marketing and sales services for Kaival Brands. Potential
compensation for KMS includes performance-based common stock option
awards from Kaival Brands that can vest annually based on total net
revenues and profit margins achieved by Kaival Brands from KMS’s
efforts over the term of the agreement, with a maximum vesting to
occur upon achievement of $180,000,000 in total net revenues
reported within the 3-year term.
ABOUT KAIVAL BRANDS
Based in Grant, Florida, Kaival Brands is a
company focused on growing and incubating innovative and profitable
products into mature and dominant brands in their respective
markets. Our vision is to develop internally, acquire, own, or
exclusively distribute these innovative products and grow each into
dominant market-share brands with superior quality and recognizable
innovation. Kaival Brands is the exclusive U.S. distributors of all
vapor products manufactured by Bidi Vapor. Philip Morris Products
S.A., via license from Kaival Brands International, LLC, a 100%
fully owned subsidiary of Kaival Brands, is the exclusive
distributor of all vapor products manufactured by Bidi Vapor in
certain non-U.S. jurisdictions.
Learn more about Kaival Brands at
https://ir.kaivalbrands.com/overview/default.aspx.
ABOUT KAIVAL MARKETING
SERVICES
Based in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, Kaival
Marketing Services has served as the primary marketing and sales
service provider for Kaival Brands since 2020. In addition to its
sales force, KMS brings over 100 contracted employees dedicated to
supporting Kaival Brands’ management team through its next stage of
growth. Kaival Marketing Services has used its experience and
expertise in retail marketing and sales to catapult the BIDI® Stick
to become the No. 1-selling disposable ENDS in the United
States.
ABOUT BIDI VAPOR
Based in Melbourne, Florida, Bidi Vapor
maintains a commitment to responsible marketing, supporting
age-verification standards and sustainability through its BIDI®
Cares recycling program. Bidi Vapor's premier device, the BIDI®
Stick, is a premium product made with medical-grade components, a
UL-certified battery and technology designed to deliver a
consistent vaping experience for adult smokers 21 and over. Bidi
Vapor is also adamant about strict compliance with all federal,
state and local guidelines and regulations. At Bidi Vapor,
innovation is key to its mission, with the BIDI® Stick promoting
environmental sustainability, while providing a unique vaping
experience to adult smokers.
Nirajkumar Patel, the Company’s Chief Science
and Regulatory Officer, owns and controls Bidi Vapor. As a result,
Bidi Vapor is considered a related party.
For more information, visit
www.bidivapor.com.
Cautionary Note Regarding
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release and the statements of the
Company’s management and partners included herein and related to
the subject matter herein includes statements that constitute
“forward-looking statements” (as defined in Section 27A of the
Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended), which are statements
other than historical facts. You can identify forward-looking
statements by words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,”
“could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “forecast,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,”
“position,” “should,” “strategy,” “target,” “will,” and similar
words. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of
this press release. Although we believe that the plans, intentions,
and expectations reflected in or suggested by the forward-looking
statements are reasonable, there is no assurance that these plans,
intentions, or expectations will be achieved. Therefore, actual
outcomes and results (including, without limitation, the
anticipated benefits (i) to the Company’s future sales and other
results of operations of the August 2022 11th Circuit Court of
Appeals decision, (ii) of the Company’s sales and marketing
agreement with KMS, and (iii) KMS’ hiring of Dean Simmons, each as
described herein) could materially and adversely differ from what
is expressed, implied, or forecasted in such statements. Our
business may be influenced by many factors that are difficult to
predict, involve uncertainties that may materially affect results,
and are often beyond our control. Factors that could cause or
contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to: (i)
future actions by the FDA in response to the 11th Circuit Court’s
decision that could impact our business and prospects, (ii) the
success of our agreement with Philip Morris International, (iii)
how quickly domestic and international markets adopt our products,
(iv) the scope of future FDA enforcement of regulations in the ENDS
industry, (v) the FDA’s approach to the regulation of synthetic
nicotine and its impact on our business, (vi) potential federal and
state flavor bans and other restrictions on ENDS products, (vii)
the duration and scope of the COVID-19 pandemic and impact on the
demand for the products we distribute, (viii) general economic
uncertainty in key global markets and a worsening of global
economic conditions or low levels of economic growth, (ix) the
effects of steps that we could take to reduce operating costs, (x)
our inability to generate and sustain profitable sales growth,
including sales growth in the international markets, (xi)
circumstances or developments that may make us unable to implement
or realize anticipated benefits, or that may increase the costs, of
our current and planned business initiatives, (xii) significant
changes in our relationships with our distributors or
sub-distributors and (xiii) other factors detailed by us in our
public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission,
including the disclosures under the heading “Risk Factors” in our
Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended October 31,
2021, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February
16, 2022 and accessible at www.sec.gov. All forward-looking
statements included in this press release are expressly qualified
in their entirety by such cautionary statements. Except as required
under the federal securities laws and the Securities and Exchange
Commission’s rules and regulations, we do not have any intention or
obligation to update any forward-looking statements publicly,
whether as a result of new information, future events, or
otherwise.
Investor and Media Relations:Stephen Sheriff,
Director of Communications and
Administrationir.kaivalbrands.cominvestors@kaivalbrands.com
Kaival Brands Innovations (NASDAQ:KAVL)
Historical Stock Chart
From Sep 2023 to Oct 2023
Kaival Brands Innovations (NASDAQ:KAVL)
Historical Stock Chart
From Oct 2022 to Oct 2023