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TOBACCO BUSINESS
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What are your goals for this brand going
forward? How do you distinguish it
from competing brands?
We obviously want to see 752 grow and achieve the same
success as OHM, so we are educating our client base
and new customers on the line’s benefits. We differenti-
ate 752 with dynamic packaging and marketing identity,
whereas typical generic products don’t really stand out.
What distinguishes your cigarette tube offer-
ings from those of your competition? How im-
portant is it that you continue to manufacture
in America—and is that due to consumer pref-
erence, quality standards, or a combination?
One of the comments from our customers is the high
degree of consistency from tube to tube, so I would say
that it’s a combination. U.S. manufacturing allows us to
monitor both the raw materials and manufacturing pro-
cess on a daily basis. Our customers know that products
made in the U.S. offer a higher degree of quality, and
having our factory here helps us maintain that quality
while keeping costs down.
How concerned are you about FDA regulation?
What changes have you made or do you plan
to make to your business to prepare for the
deeming regulations taking effect?
As a business owner, any increase in [regulation is] cause
for concern, especially when there are still questions on
the specifics. We were proactive in our approach for the
last year, so we were fairly well prepared when the deem-
ing regulations came to pass. The most important thing
we’ve done is [educating] ourselves on the impact of the
regulations on our products’ lines. We have made sure
that every facet of our operation is in line with the cur-
rent rules and any potential regulations that may be on
the horizon.
Our last article on the company reported on
your expanded manufacturing facilities. Have
you made any other operational changes/
improvements since then?
A few short months ago, we moved our tube-making
lines from a separate building to our current manufac-
turing facility. We now have our entire product line un-
der one very large roof !
What are your plans for the remainder of
2017? Do you have any new product launches
or promotional campaigns planned?
On the promotional side and new product launches, we
are standing pat for the time being. We are waiting to see
how the FDA regulations shake out and the effect they
will have on the industry.
TB
U.S. manufac-
turing allows
us to monitor
both the raw
materials and
manufacturing
process on a
daily basis.