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consumer attachment and engagement.
Those who come out on top deliver the
highest levels of engagement and satis-
faction. A lot of players in this industry
focus on marketing and promotion ver-
sus product development and R&D. We
believe in the latter.
TBI:
Please share any interaction you have
had thus far with the FDA regarding the
PMTA process for Juul. How do you expect
the costs associated with getting FDA ap-
proval to affect your business?
Goldman
: FDA is not at the forefront
of my mind. We are going through the
process of getting FDA approval; we’re in
the middle of it right now for Juul. My
understanding is that we’ve had an ongo-
ing dialog with FDA and it’s a very posi-
tive one. The costs associated with getting
approval are not immaterial, but they’re
not changing the way we do business in
any way. They’re not out of the ordinary
for a business of our size; it’s not limiting
how we’re running the business.
TBI
:
So you’re not halted on innovation?
Goldman:
Our R&D budget is very
high. I think it’s possible that companies
like ours that are innovative will go to
other markets because now it’s harder to
launch in the U.S. market. We are defi-
nitely working on things that relate to va-
por technology, including the e-cigarette
category. How and when is still to be
determined, but we’re proud of how Juul
is performing, and it’s incumbent upon
us to evolve technologically and deliver
new experiences. We look at ourselves as
a technology company that wants to pro-
duce better and better technologies, like
wild horses run[ning] amuck.
TBI
:
Where do you see PAX in the market
moving forward? What role would you like
the company to take in the vaporizer/eCig/
cannabis world?
Goldman:
We want to build the great-
est lifestyle experiences in these catego-
ries.The category is not driven by enough
quality products, value-added to lifestyle.
Many companies don’t look at it that
way, and I don’t think cannabis necessar-
ily looked at it that way, but we’re looking
for better opportunities to produce that.
There are a lot of parts involved in provid-
ing a great level of experience, including
making our products available. We have
a lot of work to do and right now, I’m
spending half my time on the recruiting
side. We need more talent in a number of
places, including channel experts in tobac-
co stores, vape stores, and dispensaries. If
you know of any, send them my way.
TBI
Those who come
out on top deliver
the highest levels
of engagement
and satisfaction.
A lot of players
in this industry
focus on marketing
and promotion
versus product
development and
R&D. We believe in
the latter.”
23
TOBACCO BUSINESS INTERNATIONAL
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016