Popular online e-cigarette company acquired for $27 million

The big news this week is that an online vape company was bought for a huge sum of money. Is this a positive development for e-cigarettes ?

A long-standing and well-known online e-cigarette retailer and wholesaler has been acquired by a tobacco company. VaporBeast, which has been selling vape products online for five years, has been acquired by tobacco company Turning Point for $27 million in cash and other terms.

VaporBeast had a net income of $6.4 million last year, according to a press release. The Carlsbad, CA-based company has 48 employees. A well-respected online retailer in the vaping community, the company also has a steady wholesale business, supplying 4,700 other vape retailers. The company will remain headquartered in California, according to founder Tim Campbell.

Turning Point Brands is a merchandising company headquartered in Louisville, KY. The company's brands include Zig-Zag, Beech-Nut, Stoker, Trophy, Havana Blossom, Durango, Our Pride, Red Cap, Primal, and V2Cigs. They manufacture and sell smokeless tobacco products, both tobacco-free nicotine products and non-nicotine products, including e-cigarettes and hookah.

Turning Point's strategy will include selling its products on VaporBeast's website and using VaporBeast's distribution platform to get e-cigarette products into traditional retail outlets like grocery stores.

Consider this an opportunity

While many vapers may be quick to criticize VaporBeast for selling themselves to a tobacco company, they should also consider the benefits of this move. First, the established online e-cigarette company can still operate. And combining Turning Point’s physical store presence with VaporBeast’s distribution capabilities, they can bring premium vaping devices and e-liquids to more smokers and expand the consumer market.

Yes, Turning Point is a tobacco company, but they’re not Big Tobacco, and they don’t sell traditional cigarettes. If this move helps people who would never set foot in a vape shop find a way to quit, then that’s a good thing. Isn’t our goal to help smokers?

Facing the post-regulation future without the help of a larger organization is extremely difficult. Consolidation could give VaporBeast the opportunity to continue to survive and thrive during and after the regulation process. And perhaps in the future, medium and large vape businesses will follow suit.

This article was published on Vaping360 by Jim McDonald and translated by The Vape Club