35 / 55
ter—to give smokers a device that actu-
ally works to help them stop smoking.”
The Mistic 2.0 POD-MOD will be
sold in “major” retailers—some 20,000
stores by October, he says.
But what about the white FDA
elephant in the room? The two-year
clock is ticking—does Mistic think
it can get FDA approval for this new
device by then?
Wiesehan says that the biggest
take-away from talking to FDA at-
torneys, scientists, lobbyists and other
industry experts since the final deem-
ing regulations hit is that more time
is needed. “FDA really didn’t give us
a lot of time at all to submit a PMTA
(Pre-Market Tobacco Application);
two years seems like a long time, but
it really isn’t. We are most concerned
about gathering evidence and data
from a scientific standpoint to get ap-
proval.The burden is unrealistic. FDA
needs to rethink the timing on that.”
Mistic plans to be in it for the long
haul, though.Wiesehan is realistic and
understands there’s a good chance that
“most of the industry could go away
outside of Big Tobacco and one or two
others going through the PMTA pro-
cess,” but the company intends to be
among those that take it all the way to
the approval process.
“It’s scary—you can go through the
process and spend a lot of money with
no guarantee you’re going to get ap-
proved. But we’re going to try, that’s
for sure,” he states.
Juice Maker/Retailer Hones
Quick Delivery Concept
From another corner of the market,
a strategizing juice maker and vape
retailer is planted in the game with a
similar idea to cut through the nega-
tive industry hype with atypical and
top-quality concepts.
Happy Juice, Cold Turkey and Vaep
e-liquid brands, each with a unique
focus (Happy Juice puts out more tra-
ditional flavors, Vaep represents more
trendy fusion flavors, and Cold Turkey
has uniquely honed the clove tobacco
e-liquid market), are the creation of
Victor Vitale, a tobacco industry vet-
eran known for his “super premium”
boutique cigar brands. He intends to
bring that same class of quality and
integrity to his vape concepts.
As an e-liquid manufacturer arriv-
ing on the scene a little over a year
ago, Vitale did his homework—all of
his juices are produced at a “first-class
e-liquid bottling facility in the U.S.
using the most ethical practices avail-
able,” according to him. He also pro-
duces and exclusively distributes about
a dozen private label brands for other
retailers.The bottling facility is located
on the West Coast; Vitale intends to
purchase another facility located on
the East Coast soon. “My vision is to
have facilities on both coasts to fulfill
production at the fastest rate possible.
My goal is to satisfy demand within
two to three days.”
Fulfilling demand is important to
him, not only on the delivering end as
a juice maker, but also on the receiv-
ing end as a retailer. In late spring/early
summer, Vitale launched his Vaep/Va-
por Lounge retail concept with a flag-
ship location in Hudson, New Hamp-
shire.Heintends to open a second store
in Philadelphia and has “very interested
investors” reportedly ready to open up
additional locations in Chicago,Miami,
Dallas and Los Angeles.
The production/distribution capabil-
ity, along with a “whole slew of brands”
all under the same roof, reduces the risk
of losing sales to down-the-street com-
petitors and online entities due to out-
of-stock and backordered inventory,
according to Vitale. The Vaep concept
was created to address that issue.
It is not a franchise, but rather a
partnership concept, one that does not
involve cushy couches (that’s right,
you won’t find couches in the Vaep
store’s Vapor Lounge), nor “kids mov-
ing clouds out of the way,”nor a bunch
of “rowdy romper room” vapers, as Vi-
tale puts it.
Instead, “we’ve been successful on
how clean the shop is and on the ex-
pansive and cutting-edge beginner
options, which the rest of the industry
calls ‘starter kits,’ but the failure rate is
incredible on those, so we have a lot of
beginner options for people looking to
make the transition comfortably and
respectfully,” Vitale tells
TBI
. “I don’t
like to talk about smoking cessation.
In here, it is about people who have
just made the transition to vape, and
Vaep is focused on keeping that com-
fort level alive and well.”
Vaep is highlighted by a custom
LED bar with stools where people
park themselves to “absorb the culture
and be comfortable,” Vitale relays.
“It’s the perfect place to go on a lunch
break.” And indeed, the hours from
noon to 2 p.m. are Vaep’s busiest time.
Vaep is also tuned into the “artsy”
side of its customers with industry-
related painted murals adorning the
walls and restaurant-style menus atop
the counters. “We get compliments on
our menus all the time. Our custom-
ers love being able to see an image of
what they’re vaping,” says Vitale. “All
of our liquids are chef-inspired, so
menus make sense.” In fact, the Vaep
juice tagline is, “Chef-inspired, sci-
ence-explored.”
But again, what about the big white
FDA elephant? Are Vaep and its in-
vestors crazy to carry on with such
uncertainty looming? Vitale admits,
“It’s risky.” But his strategy is to arm
himself with as much information as
possible, stay as industry-connected as
possible (he’s on the SFATA advisory
board and also consults for the New
Hampshire Vapers Association), and
then to lose himself in “business as
usual,” until further notice.
“The way I see it, we can roll the
dice and get lucky and continue mov-
ing forward, or we can go out of busi-
ness,” Vitale says calmly. But actually,
he admits to a third option: a “contin-
gency plan” that he is saving for if and
when he needs it. “I’ll get back to you
on that if I have to,” he quips.
TBI
“It’s scary—you
can go through the
process and spend
a lot of money
with no guarantee
you’re going to get
approved. But we’re
going to try, that’s
for sure.”
electric
ALLEY
64
TOBACCO BUSINESS INTERNATIONAL
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2016