First Production-Scale Batch of Beyond Tobacco Material Completed, Shipped to Manufacturer to Make Commercial Samples - Seite 2

Because prospective distribution and wholesale partners will generally request client-ready samples of any new product, procuring commercial samples of Beyond Tobacco is an important step in carrying out negotiations with such partners. After finalizing the base material formulation for a launch-ready iteration of Beyond Tobacco, the Company is pursuing expeditious production of these samples to maximize lead times in obtaining retail presence before or during the planned Q4 2020 product launch. A production-scale batch of the Beyond Tobacco base material, which is processed privately by the Company, has been sent to its manufacturing partner (whose name cannot be published under the terms of its agreement with the Company), which operates a commercial-scale manufacturing facility where it also carries out production for national and regional tobacco cigarette brands at a rate of up to one million sticks per minute. Once the commercial samples of Beyond Tobacco have been made, the manufacturing partner will warehouse the samples, dispatching outbound shipments as directed by Taat.

Taat CEO Setti Coscarella commented, “Getting the flavour in the base material just right is fundamental to the perception of Beyond Tobacco, when it comes to making it an attractive product for current tobacco smokers. Because our product does not contain any nicotine or tobacco, the value proposition of offering a combustible product that is experientially similar to a tobacco cigarette relies almost completely on delivering a flavour and a scent that closely resembles actual tobacco. In the past few months, the Company has made considerable progress in attaining this similarity, which prompted our recent patent application filing for the refinement process. Using the samples of Beyond Tobacco that are to be made with the base material that is currently en route to our manufacturing facility, we plan to approach several leading distributors and wholesalers of tobacco products to build a robust presence of Beyond Tobacco in the U.S. retail market. With that market being our initial focus, I am proud to say that every component of Beyond Tobacco is American-grown and American-made. To date, we have received many requests for samples of Beyond Tobacco, and I am excited to be able to provide them to our prospective partners as we get closer to our product launch.”