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TBI
just happened to catch up with
Jacopo D’Alessandris, president of E-
Alternative Solutions (EAS), on the mo-
mentous day of August 8, 2016—the
first in a series of FDA deadlines with
which the newly regulated vapor in-
dustry must cope. Like his peers in the
vapor industry, D’Alessandris was in the
midst of strategizing with his team for
the regulatory environment. But unlike
many, he was also optimistic.
“There’s a lot going on, but we are
feeling pretty good,” he said. “We knew
this was coming. We knew that this
kind of completely unregulated world
would not last, and that this plethora of
brand and products and the vape shops
wouldn’t last either. That’s one of the
reasons we created EAS.”
ADAPTING TO THRIVE
A sister company of Swisher Interna-
tional, EAS was launched in Febru-
ary of 2015 after observing the vapor
market for several years. At the time,
D’Alessandris told
TBI
, “Consumers are
confused and underserved, retailers are
frustrated—there’s a clear need for clari-
ty and leadership. Our goal is to leverage
Swisher International’s mature and pro-
fessional business practices to develop
the category for the long term.” While
the company began marketing its Liquid
Soul line shortly thereafter, it’s only now,
in a post-regulatory environment, that its
long-term strategic plan can unfurl.
“Now that FDA has done this, we will
be able to roll out our strategy even fast-
er than we have been doing,” explains
D’Alessandris, who reports that EAS
has doubled its sales force and hired
an experienced general counsel and
chief compliance officer, Chris Howard,
E-Alternative Solutions:
Ready forVapor
Regulation
Experienced with FDA compliance, E-Alternative Solutions, a sister company of Swisher International,
is poised to offer solutions to retailers challenged by the agency’s new rules on vapor products.
By Jennifer Gelfand
Jacopo D’Alessandris
80
TOBACCO BUSINESS INTERNATIONAL
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2016