CLARENCE, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--22nd Century Group, Inc. (OTCBB: XXII) today announced that its subsidiary Goodrich Tobacco Company has entered into an exclusive distribution agreement with Wilshire Marketing BV for the DUTCH MAGIC™ brand in The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxemburg, known as Benelux.
DUTCH MAGIC consists of two cigarette brand styles and two roll-your-own brand styles. Unlike “light” and “ultra light” cigarette brands, which essentially have the same nicotine content as full flavor brands, DUTCH MAGIC cigarettes have a nicotine content that is significantly reduced. The very low nicotine Dutch Magic brand style contains approximately 95% less nicotine than typical “ultra light” and “light” cigarettes.
The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxemburg are the first European countries in which very low nicotine tobacco products will be available to consumers. Goodrich Tobacco Company will ship Wilshire’s initial order of 450,000 packs of DUTCH MAGIC in July 2013. The exclusive distribution agreement requires minimum annual purchases by Wilshire Marketing BV that peak at $3,000,000 in calendar year 2015. Wilshire Marketing BV is investing substantial marketing funds to launch DUTCH MAGIC in Benelux.
Henry Sicignano III, president of Goodrich Tobacco, stated, “We are very pleased to be working with Wilshire and are excited about the distribution of our proprietary DUTCH MAGIC cigarettes in Europe.” 22nd Century expects ongoing discussions with various parties in the tobacco and pharmaceutical industries to result in additional licensing agreements for its proprietary technology and products over the next few months.
About 22nd Century Group, Inc.
22nd Century is a plant biotechnology company whose proprietary technology allows for the level of nicotine and other nicotinic alkaloids (e.g., nornicotine, anatabine and anabasine) in the tobacco plant to be decreased or increased through genetic engineering and plant breeding. 22nd Century owns or is the exclusive licensee of 109 issued patents in 78 countries plus an additional 39 pending patent applications. Goodrich Tobacco and Hercules Pharmaceuticals, LLC are wholly-owned subsidiaries of 22nd Century. Goodrich Tobacco is focused on commercial tobacco products and potential modified risk cigarettes. Hercules is focused on X-22, a prescription smoking cessation aid in development.
For additional information, please visit: www.xxiicentury.com
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