62
TOBACCO BUSINESS
MARCH/APRIL 2014
Building on its
success with LEX12,
this Virginia company
is venturing into
electronic tobacco
products and the
cigarillo market.
By Jennifer Gelfand
W
e’ve been busy,” Steven
Bailey, president of S&M
Brands, told
TBI
at the
recent Tobacco Plus Convenience
Expo. Judging by the wide array
of new products on display at the
company’s booth, it was something of
an understatement.
S&M Brands, which makes Bailey’s,
Tahoe and Riverside brand cigarettes,
as well as LEX12 sweet-tipped little
cigars, is not a newcomer in the tobacco
business. Founded in 1993 by Mac and
Steven Bailey, the company debuted
its LEX12 sweet-tipped little cigars
in 2012 at the TPC show to a warm
reception. In 2013, it added Sweet
Chaos and Menthol Chrome in both
tins and grab-and-go four packs, and
this year the company has introduced
Napa Night in tins and grab-and-
go four packs. The company is also
extending the brand to encompass
LEX12 Wides Cigars, four SKUs
of cigarillos (see sidebar, “Sensational
Cigarillos”), and an extensive offering of
vapor products, including a disposable
e-cigarette line in an impressive array of
16 flavors. The same proprietary flavors
are available in 12 ml bottles for use in
liquid vaporizers. The company is also
offering rechargeable liquid and dry
herb vaporizers (see sidebar, “S&M’s
Electrifying Lineup”).
S&M Brands has had these
products in limited markets since July
of 2013 in anticipation of imminent
FDA regulation of the category. “We
approach all business from a long-
term perspective, and we don’t think
there is any chance that conventional
e-cigarettes will be regulated out of
business,” says Bailey. “Will it look
the same as it does today? I highly
doubt that, but we have positioned
our products for the long term. I see a
good proportion of this portfolio being
around 20 years from now.”
Electrifying
S&M Brands
“
