UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark One)

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016

OR

For the transition period from_______________ to ________________

Commission file number: 001-37763

TURNING POINT BRANDS, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

(502) 778-4421

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) or the Act:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. o Yes ☑ No

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. o Yes ☑ No

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. ☑ Yes o No

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). ☑Yes o No

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K (§229.405 of this chapter) is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). o Yes ☑ No

As of June 30, 2016, the aggregate market value of the registrant’s common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant was approximately $62.7 million based on the closing sale price of the common stock as reported on the New York Stock Exchange.

At March 6, 2017, there were 18,818,109 shares outstanding of the registrant’s voting common stock, par value $0.01 per share.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the registrant’s definitive proxy statement for use in connection with its annual meeting of shareholders to be held on May 17, 2017, to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on or about April 6, 2017, are incorporated by reference into Part III hereof.

TURNING POINT BRANDS, INC.
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Part I

Turning Point Brands, Inc. (the “Company”) is a leading independent provider of Other Tobacco Products (“OTP”) in the U.S. and the 7^th largest competitor in terms of total OTP consumer units shipped to retail. In this discussion, unless the context requires otherwise, references to “our Company” “we,” “our,” or “us” refer to Turning Point Brands, Inc. and our consolidated subsidiaries. References to “TPB” refer to Turning Point Brands, Inc. without any of its subsidiaries. We sell a wide range of products across the OTP spectrum, including moist snuff tobacco (“MST”), loose leaf chewing tobacco, premium cigarette papers, make-your-own (“MYO”) cigar wraps and cigar smoking tobacco, cigars, liquid vapor products and tobacco vaporizer products. We do not sell cigarettes. We estimate that the OTP industry generated approximately $10.5 billion in manufacturer revenue in 2016. In contrast to manufactured cigarettes, which have been experiencing declining sales for decades based on data published by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (“TTB”), the OTP industry is demonstrating increased consumer appeal with low to mid-single digit consumer unit growth as reported by Management Science Associates, Inc. (“MSAi”), a third party analytics and information company.

Our portfolio of brands includes some of the most widely recognized names in the OTP industry, such as Zig-Zag^®, Beech-Nut^®, Stoker’s^®, Trophy^®, and VaporBeast^™. We currently ship to approximately 900 direct wholesale customers with an additional 100 secondary, indirect wholesalers in the U.S. that carry and sell our products. As of December 31, 2016, our products are available in over 170,000 U.S. retail locations which, with the addition of retail stores in Canada, brings our total North American retail presence to an estimated 200,000 points of distribution. Our sales team targets widespread distribution to all traditional retail channels, including convenience stores, where over 60% of all OTP volume is currently sold according to MSAi.

We operate under a lean, asset-light sourcing and marketing model, with a strategy that relies on outsourced product manufacturing and supply relationships and increased use of information technology and market analytics, which together allow us to maintain relatively low levels of capital expenditures compared to market participants with more significant manufacturing operations. For example, we have long-lasting relationships with some of the most well-known names in the industry, including a 19-year relationship with Bolloré, S.A. (“Bolloré”) – the trademark holder for Zig-Zag^® – for the exclusive rights to purchase and sell Zig-Zag^® cigarette paper and accessory products in the U.S. and Canada. We have partnered with Swedish Match NA, a subsidiary of Swedish Match AB (“Swedish Match”) for the manufacture of all of our loose leaf chewing tobacco products. We have a 3-year relationship with JJA Distributors LLC (“JJA”) for the sourcing of our cigars and cigarillos and an 8-year relationship with Durfort Holdings, S.A. (“Durfort”) for the sourcing of our MYO cigar wraps, each of which are marketed under the Zig-Zag^® tobacco brand. We have a relationship with VMR Products, LLC (“VMR”) for the exclusive supply and distribution of VMR’s V2Cigs^® (“V2^®”) brand of liquid vapor products and tobacco vaporizer products to retail outlets throughout the U.S.

We operate in three segments: (i) smokeless products, (ii) smoking products and (iii) NewGen products. Information regarding net sales, operating income or loss, and assets attributable to each of our segments, is included within Note 21 of our Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, which are incorporated herein by reference.

We have successfully commercialized new products and leveraged the value of our existing brands into new OTP categories. For example:

according to Nielsen Convenience and today have an 80% EQ unit share, as measured by MSAi. More recently, we introduced Rillo^™ size MYO cigar wraps to match the size of cigarillo cigars, which are the most popular and fastest growing form of large cigars in terms of unit volumes.

In our May 2016 initial public offering (the “IPO”), we sold 6,210,000 shares of our voting common stock (including 810,000 shares pursuant to the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares to cover over-allotments) at a public offering price per share of $10.00.

We raised a total of approximately $62.1 million in gross proceeds from the IPO, or $58.2 million in net proceeds after deducting underwriting commissions and other associated costs. We used the proceeds from the IPO, together with cash on hand to pay fees and expenses related to the IPO, repurchase outstanding warrants and options issued by our subsidiary, Intrepid Brands LLC (“Intrepid”), repay approximately $34 million of our floating rate PIK Toggle Notes due 2021 and to repay approximately $20 million in borrowings outstanding under our second lien credit facility.

We have a portfolio of widely recognized brands with significant customer loyalty and an experienced management team that possesses long-standing industry relationships and a deep understanding of the OTP industry. However, we have historically been capital constrained by high leverage and as a result we believe our brands, management and our management’s relationships are underutilized. We have identified additional opportunities to grow sales that we believe will be more readily achievable with reduced leverage following the IPO, including the launch of new products and expanding our distribution and salesforce. We also believe there are meaningful opportunities to grow through acquisitions and joint ventures across all product categories.

Recent Acquisitions

On November 18, 2016, we purchased five regional chewing tobacco brands from Wind River Tobacco Company (“Wind River”). The Wind River brands hold a 2% share of the chewing tobacco category, but command an 8% share in the stores where Wind River had secured distribution, demonstrating an opportunity to expand with our national salesforce. The purchase price was $2.5 million.

On November 30, 2016, a subsidiary of the Company, purchased all of the capital stock of Smoke Free Technologies, Inc. d/b/a VaporBeast (“VaporBeast”) for an aggregate purchase price of $27 million. VaporBeast is a leading distributor of liquid vapor products servicing the non-traditional retail channel. We estimate the non-traditional retail channel sells greater than 50% of all liquid vapor products. The VaporBeast acquisition will (i) accelerate our entry into the non-traditional retailers; (ii) provide distribution of select current products; and (iii) establish a best-in-class distribution platform marrying VaporBeast’s non-traditional selling skills with a national retail salesforce.

Competitive Strengths

We believe that our competitive strengths include the following:

Large, Leading Brands with Significant Scale

We have built a portfolio of leading brands with significant scale that are well recognized by consumers, retailers and wholesalers. Our Zig-Zag^®, Stoker’s^®, and Beech-Nut^® brands are each well established and date back 117 years, 77 years, and 120 years, respectively. In 2016, Zig-Zag^®, Stoker’s^®, and Beech-Nut^® together generated approximately $197.4 million, or 87.1%, of our total gross sales. Specifically:

Zig-Zag^® has strong, long-standing brand recognition. The Stoker’s^® brand is seen as an innovator in both the loose leaf chewing tobacco and moist snuff markets. The Beech-Nut^® brand has a long and enduring name in premium loose leaf chewing tobacco.

Successful Track Record of New Product Launches and Category Expansions

We have successfully launched new products and entered new product categories by leveraging the strength of our brands. We methodically target markets which we believe have significant growth potential. We have been successful in entering new product categories by both extending existing products and brands as well as by introducing new products. For example:

We strategically target product categories that we believe demonstrate significant growth potential and for which the value of our brands is likely to have a meaningful impact. As we continue to evaluate opportunities to extend our product lines or expand into new categories, we believe that our track record and existing portfolio of brands provide growth advantages.

Extensive Distribution Network and Data Driven Sales Organization

We have taken important steps to enhance our selling and distribution network and our consumer marketing capabilities, while keeping our capital expenditure requirements relatively low. We service our customer base with an experienced sales and marketing organization of approximately 140 professionals who possess in-depth knowledge of the tobacco industry. We have also adopted a data-driven culture supported by leading technology, which enables our salesforce to analyze changing trends and effectively identify evolving consumer preferences at the store level. In particular, we subscribe to a sales tracking system provided by MSAi that measures all OTP product shipments by all market participants on a weekly basis from approximately 1,000 wholesalers to over 250,000 retail stores in the U.S. This system enables us to understand volume and share trends across multiple categories at the individual store level, allowing us to target field salesforce coverage against the highest opportunity stores thereby enhancing the value of new store placements and sales activity. As the initial sales effort is critical to the success of a product launch, we believe that our experienced salesforce, expansive distribution network and our market analytics put us in a strong position to execute new product launches in response to evolving consumer and market preferences.

Long-standing, Strong Relationships with an Established Set of Producers

As part of our asset-light operating model, we built long-standing and extensive relationships with leading, high-quality producers. In 2016, our four most important producers were:

By outsourcing the production of products that represent approximately 83.5% of our gross sales to a select group of producers with whom we have strong relationships, we are able to maintain low overhead and minimal capital expenditures, which together drive our margins.

Experienced Management Team

With an average of 24 years of consumer products experience, including an average of 20 years in the tobacco industry, our senior management team has enabled us to grow and diversify our business while improving operational efficiency. Members of management have previous experience at other leading tobacco companies, including Altria Group, Inc. (formerly Philip Morris), Liggett & Myers Tobacco Company (now Liggett Group, a subsidiary of Vector Group ltd), Swedish Match, American Brands, Inc., and U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company (a subsidiary of Altria). Notably, Lawrence Wexler, our President and CEO, brings over 20 years of experience from Altria Group, Inc., where he held various leadership positions within the finance, marketing, planning, manufacturing and sales departments. Given the professional experience of the senior management team, we are able to analyze risks and opportunities from a variety of experienced perspectives. Our senior leadership has embraced a collaborative culture, in which all of our combined experience, analytical rigor and creativity are leveraged to assess opportunities and deliver products that satisfy consumers’ demands.

Growth Strategies

We are focused on building sustainable margin streams, expanding the availability of our products, new product development through innovation and improving overall operating efficiencies, with the goal of driving margins and cash flow. We adopted the following strategies to drive growth in our business and to enhance stockholder value:

Grow Share of Existing Product Lines, Domestically and Internationally

We intend to remain a consumer centric organization with an innovative view and understanding of the OTP market. We believe that there are meaningful opportunities for growth within the traditional OTP market and expect to continue to identify unmet consumer needs and provide quality products that we believe will result in genuine consumer satisfaction and foster strengthening revenue streams. We maintain a robust product pipeline and plan to strategically introduce new products in attractive, growing OTP segments, both domestically and internationally. For example, in addition to our successful launch of Stoker’s^® smaller 1.2 oz. MST cans, we believe there are opportunities for new products in the MST pouch, cigar and MYO cigar wrap markets. Products currently in our pipeline include Stoker’s^® MST Pouches in the smokeless products segment; Zig-Zag^® Natural Leaf Wraps and Zig-Zag^® Unbleached/Hemp Paper in the smoking products segment; and Primal^® Hemp Wraps/Cones, Premium e-liquids and Vape-not-Burn (“VnB”) Zig-Zag^® in the NewGen products segment. We believe we have successfully built strong, powerful brands that have significant potential. In certain of our product categories, we have seen a positive correlation between the store call frequency by our salesforce and the increase of our retail market share.

In 2016, less than 5% of our revenues were generated outside of the U.S. Having established a strong infrastructure and negotiated relationships across multiple segments and products, we intend to pursue an international growth strategy to broaden sales and strengthen margins. We believe international sales represent a meaningful growth opportunity, and our goals include expanding our presence in the worldwide OTP industry on a targeted basis. For example, we have begun to sell our moist snuff tobacco products in South America, Zig-Zag^® cigars in Canada, and have begun rolling out our Primal^® brand internationally. To support our international expansion, we intend to pursue a dual path of introducing our own products and brands as well as partnering with other industry leaders to improve market access and profitability.

Expand into Adjacent Categories through Innovation and New Partnerships

We continually evaluate opportunities to expand into adjacent product categories, by leveraging our portfolio or through new partnerships. In 2009, we leveraged the Zig-Zag^® brand and introduced Zig-Zag^® MYO cigar wraps with favorable results, and we now command the #1 market share position for that segment. We are currently expanding our Zig-Zag^® MYO cigar wraps through the expansion of the Zig-Zag^® ‘Rillo^™ size cigar wraps, which are similar in size to machine made cigarillos, the most popular and rapidly growing cigar type. In addition, in 2015, we negotiated the worldwide exclusive distribution rights to an herbal sheet material that does not contain tobacco or nicotine, affording us the opportunity to sell on a global basis an assortment of products that meet new and emerging consumer preferences. These products are sold under our Primal^® brand name and are a component of our NewGen Product segment. We intend to continue to identify new adjacent categories for which we are able to leverage our existing brands and partnerships.

Continue to Grow a Strong NewGen Platform

The OTP category is continually evolving as consumers actively seek out new products and product forms. Given this market demand, we have developed our NewGen Product platform, which we believe will serve new and evolving consumer demands across multiple product categories. Core products within our existing NewGen segment include:

Among these categories, we believe that the emerging liquid vapor segment may present the greatest growth opportunity as it allows each consumer to customize their experience by being able to choose both flavor and nicotine level. Although the liquid vapor segment is in its infancy, we believe that when properly commercialized, it may be highly disruptive to the traditional cigarette industry and emerge as a significant segment of the OTP market. We believe that a majority of current liquid vapor revenues are earned outside of the traditional retail environment through online sales or in non-traditional retail outlets. Our recent acquisition of VaporBeast accelerates our expansion in the non-traditional retail outlets for liquid vapor products.

Outside of the tobacco space, we believe there are meaningful opportunities for herbal smoking products, like wraps and cones. To capitalize on these opportunities, we have obtained the exclusive rights to a proprietary and patented herbal sheet process that will enable us to meet consumer interest and achieve strong margins. These products are marketed and sold on a worldwide basis under our Primal^™ brand.

We believe that the categories within our NewGen segment are poised to be the key industry growth drivers in the future, and we are well-positioned to capitalize on this growth. We intend to continue to pursue growth of our NewGen product platform by offering unique and innovative products to address evolving consumer demands.

Strategically Pursue Acquisitions

We believe there are meaningful acquisition opportunities in the fragmented OTP space and with the successful completion of our IPO in May 2016, we are well-positioned to act as a consolidator. We regularly evaluate acquisition opportunities across the OTP landscape. In evaluating acquisition opportunities, our focus is on identifying acquisitions that strengthen our current product offerings or enable category expansion in high potential growth areas.

Substantially all of our 2016 U.S. gross margin was derived from sales of products that are currently regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Center for Tobacco Products (“FDA”). We have significant experience in complying with the FDA regulatory regime with a compliance infrastructure composed of legal and scientific professionals. We believe many smaller OTP manufacturers currently lack this infrastructure, which we believe is necessary to comply with the broad scope of FDA regulations. We believe our regulatory compliance infrastructure, combined with our skilled management and strong distribution platform, position us to act as a consolidator within the OTP industry.

We have a strong track record of enhancing our OTP business with strategic and accretive acquisitions. For example, our acquisition of the North American Zig-Zag^® cigarette papers distribution rights in 1997 has made us the #1 cigarette paper brand in the U.S. in terms of retail dollar sales as measured by Nielsen. Perhaps more importantly, we own the Zig-Zag^® tobacco trademark in the U.S. and have leveraged this asset effectively, with approximately 54% of our total 2016 Zig-Zag^®-branded sales under our own Zig-Zag^® marks, rather than those we license from Bolloré. In 2003, we acquired the Stoker’s^® brand and have built the brand to a strong #2 position in the chewing tobacco industry while successfully leveraging the brand’s value through our MST expansion. More recently, and post IPO, we have completed two acquisitions. In November 2016, we purchased five chewing tobacco brands from Wind River and acquired all of the outstanding shares of VaporBeast, a leading distributor of liquid vapor products servicing the non-traditional retail channel.

We will continue to evaluate acquisition opportunities as they may arise, while exercising care and diligence designed to ensure that we only pursue opportunities that we believe afford operational or distribution synergies and are accretive.

Maintain Lean, Low-Cost Operating Model

We have a lean, asset-light manufacturing and sourcing model, with a strategy of maintaining low capital requirements, outsourced supplier relationships, and increased utilization of market and consumer analytics. We believe that our asset-light model allows us to achieve favorable margins and our market analytics allow us to efficiently and effectively address evolving consumer and market demands. In addition, our relationships allow us to increase the breadth of our product offerings and quickly enter new OTP markets as management is able to focus on brand building and innovation. We intend to continue to optimize our asset-light operating model as we grow in order to maintain a low cost of operations and healthy margins. In 2016, approximately $189 million of our gross sales, or 83.5%, were from outsourced production operations and our capital expenditures have ranged between $0.7 million and $3.2 million per year over the previous 5 years. Capital expenditures in 2016 were on the high end of the range as we purchased our previously leased Dresden Tennessee manufacturing facility for $1.3 million. We do not intend to outsource our MST production as a result of our proprietary manufacturing processes which are substantively different than those of our competitors.

Raw Materials, Product Supply and Inventory Management

We source our products through a series of longstanding relationships that we value highly and that we rely on to allow us to continue conducting our business on an asset-light, distribution-focused basis.

The components of inventories at December 31 were as follows (in thousands):

Smokeless Products

Our loose leaf chewing and moist snuff tobaccos are produced from air-cured and fire-cured leaf tobacco. We utilize recognized suppliers that generally maintain 12- to 24-month supplies of our various types of tobacco at their facilities. We do not believe that we are dependent on any single country or supplier source for tobacco. We generally maintain up to a two-month supply of finished loose leaf chewing tobacco and moist snuff. This supply is maintained at our Louisville facility and in two regional public warehouses to facilitate distribution.

We also utilize a variety of suppliers for the sourcing of additives used in our smokeless products and for the supply of our packaging materials, and we believe we are not dependent on a single supplier for these products. There are no current U.S. federal regulations that restrict tobacco flavor additives in smokeless products, and the additives that we use are food-grade, generally accepted ingredients.

All of our loose leaf chewing tobacco production is facilitated through our agreement with Swedish Match. See “—Distribution and Supply Agreements—Swedish Match Manufacturing Agreement.” All of our moist snuff products are manufactured at our facility in Dresden, Tennessee and packaged at our facilities in Dresden, Tennessee and Louisville, Kentucky.

Smoking Products

Pursuant to our distribution agreements with Bolloré, which are discussed in more detail below under the heading “—Distribution and Supply Agreements—Bolloré Distribution and License Agreements,” we are required to purchase from Bolloré all cigarette papers, cigarette tubes and cigarette injecting machines that we sell, subject to Bolloré fulfilling its obligations under these Distribution Agreements. If Bolloré is unable or unwilling to perform its obligations or ceases its cigarette paper manufacturing operations in each case as set forth in the Distribution

Agreements, we may seek third-party suppliers and continue the use of the Zig-Zag^® trademark to market these products. To ensure that we have a steady supply of premium cigarette paper products as well as cigarette tubes and injectors, Bolloré is required to maintain, at its expense, a two-month supply of inventory in a bonded public warehouse in the U.S.

We obtain our MYO cigar wraps from the patent holder under our agreement with Durfort in the Dominican Republic. We obtain our Zig-Zag^® branded cigar products under our agreement with JJA, which sources the cigars on our behalf from the Dominican Republic.

We obtain our MYO cigarette tobaccos, MYO cigar smoking tobaccos, and pipe tobaccos from domestic sources. We generally purchase these tobaccos through multiple sources, and we believe we are not dependent on a single supplier. We package these products at our Louisville, Kentucky facility.

NewGen Products

We have developed sourcing relationships that are capable of producing liquid vapor products and tobacco vaporizer products for other companies’ brands and for our own branded product line in the category, including our Zig-Zag^® brand.

Our recent acquisition of VaporBeast will (i) accelerate our entry into the non-traditional retail channel, where we believe the majority of liquid vapor products are sold; (ii) provide distribution of select current products; and (iii) establish a best-in-class distribution platform marrying VaporBeast’s non-traditional selling skills with a national retail salesforce.

Our herbal smoking products are obtained from a supplier, which owns the patented process for producing the sheet material. We have worldwide exclusive rights to the material. The production and packaging of our herbal smoking products is subject to an agreement with Durfort whereby they manufacture and package the finished goods in the Dominican Republic subject to our specifications and coordinate delivery with JJA to our designated distribution center in the U.S. We believe that our early entry into the herbal smoking products market has provided us with a meaningful opportunity to capture market share, and to increase this share as the market grows.

Manufacturing

We primarily outsource our manufacturing and production processes and focus on packaging, marketing and distribution. We currently manufacture approximately 15% of our products as measured by gross sales. Our in-house manufacturing operations are limited to (i) the processing and packaging of our MYO smoking products and pipe tobacco products, which is completed at our manufacturing facility in Louisville, Kentucky, (ii) the manufacturing of our moist snuff products, which occurs at our facility in Dresden, Tennessee and (iii) the packaging of our moist snuff products at our facilities in Dresden, Tennessee and Louisville, Kentucky. These MST products are processed in-house, rather than outsourced, as a result of our proprietary manufacturing processes which are substantively different than those of our competitors.

Sales and Marketing

We have grown the size and capacity of our salesforce and intend to continue strengthening the organization to advance our ability to deepen and broaden the retail availability of our products and brands.

As of December 31, 2016, we had a nationwide sales and marketing organization of approximately 140 professionals. Our sales and marketing group focuses on priority markets and sales channels and seeks to operate with a high level of efficiency. In 2016, our sales and marketing efforts enabled our products to reach an estimated 200,000 retail doors in North America, and over 900 direct wholesale customers with an additional 100 secondary, indirect wholesalers in the U.S.

Our sales efforts are focused on wholesale distributors and retail merchants in the independent and chain convenience store, tobacco outlet, food store, mass merchandising and drug store channels. We have expanded and intend to continue to expand the sales of our products into previously underdeveloped geographic markets and retail channels. In 2016, we derived approximately 95% of our net sales from sales in the U.S., with the remainder primarily from sales in Canada.

We subscribe to a sales tracking system from MSAi that measures all OTP product shipments (ours as well as those of our competitors) on a weekly basis from approximately 1,000 wholesalers to over 250,000 retail stores in

the U.S. This system enables us to understand individual product volume and share trends across multiple categories down to the individual retail store level, allowing us to target field salesforce coverage to achieve the highest opportunity to access potential stores. In addition, the ability to select from a range of parameters and to achieve this level of granularity means that we can adapt to trends in the marketplace and constantly evolve our business planning to meet market opportunities.

We employ marketing activities to grow awareness, trial and sales including selective trade advertising to expand wholesale availability, point-of-sale advertising and merchandising by the field salesforce and permanent and temporary displays to improve consumer visibility for our products. We comply with all regulations relating to the marketing of tobacco products, such as directing marketing efforts to adult consumers, and we are committed to full legal compliance in the sales and marketing of our products. To date, we have neither relied upon nor conducted any substantial advertising in the consumer media for our products.

In the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, we did not have any customer that accounted for 10% or more of our gross sales. The Company had one customer that accounted for 10.9% of gross sales for 2014. In the year ended December 31, 2016, sales to our top three customers accounted for slightly over 20% of our gross sales. Our customers use an open purchase order system to buy our products and are not obligated to do so pursuant to ongoing contractual obligations. We perform periodic credit evaluations of our customers and generally do not require collateral on trade receivables. Historically, we have not experienced material credit losses.

Competition

Many of our competitors are better capitalized than we are and have greater financial and other resources. We believe our ability to effectively compete and our strong market positions in our principal product lines are due to our high brand recognition and the perceived quality of each of our products, and our sales, marketing and distribution efforts. We compete against “big tobacco,” including Altria Group, Inc. (formerly Philip Morris) and Reynolds American Inc., Swedish Match, Swisher International and manufacturers, including U.K. based Imperial Brands PLC, across our segments. “Big tobacco” has substantial resources and a customer base that has historically demonstrated loyalty to their brands.

Competition in the OTP market is based upon not only brand quality and positioning, but also on price, packaging, promotion and retail availability and visibility. Given the decreasing prevalence of cigarette consumption, the “big tobacco” companies continue to demonstrate an increased interest and participation in a number of OTP markets.

Smokeless Products

Our three principal competitors in the loose leaf chewing tobacco market are Swedish Match, the American Snuff Company, LLC (a unit of Reynolds American Inc.), and Swisher International Group Inc. We believe moist snuff products are used interchangeably with loose leaf products by many consumers. In the moist snuff category, we face the same competitors with the addition of U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company (a division of Altria Group, Inc.).

Smoking Products

Our two major competitors for premium cigarette paper sales are Republic Tobacco, L.P. and Commonwealth Brands, Inc. a wholly-owned subsidiary of Imperial Brands PLC. Our two major competitors for MYO cigar wraps are New Image Global, Inc. and Blunt Wrap USA. In cigars, we compete in the non-tipped cigarillo market with Swisher International, Inc., Swedish Match and Good Times USA.

NewGen Products

In the NewGen products segment, our competitors are varied as the market is relatively new and highly fragmented. Our direct competitors sell products that are substantially similar to our products and through the same channels through which we sell our liquid vapor products and tobacco vaporizer products. We compete with these direct competitors for sales through wholesalers and retailers, including but not limited to national chain stores, tobacco shops, gas stations and travel stores. Through our 2016 acquisition of VaporBeast, we now also compete directly with other non-traditional distributors including Vapor Shark.

Distribution and Supply Agreements

Bolloré Distribution and License Agreements

We are party to two long-term distribution and license agreements with Bolloré with respect to sales of cigarette papers, cigarette tubes and cigarette injector machines: one with respect to distribution in the U.S. and one with respect to distribution in Canada (collectively, the “Distribution Agreements”). Under the Distribution Agreements, Bolloré granted us the exclusive right to purchase the products bearing the Zig-Zag^® brand name from Bolloré for resale in the U.S. and Canada. We have the sole right to determine the price and other terms upon which we may resell any products purchased from Bolloré, including the right to determine the ultimate distributors of such products within these countries. In addition, on March 19, 2013, we entered into an additional License and Distribution Agreement with Bolloré (the “Bolloré License Agreement”), which permits us the exclusive use of the Zig-Zag^® brand name in the U.S. for electronic cigarettes and any related accessories, including vaporizers and e-liquids. The Bolloré License Agreement terminates upon termination of the Distribution Agreements.

Each of the Distribution Agreements were entered into on November 30, 1992 by a predecessor in interest for an initial twenty-year term, were automatically renewed in November 2012 for a second twenty year term and will automatically renew for successive twenty-year terms unless terminated in accordance with the provisions of such agreement. The Distribution Agreements provide that, in order to assure each of the parties receive commercially reasonable profits in light of inflationary trends and currency fluctuation factors, 120 days prior to December 31, 2004 and each fifth-year anniversary from such date thereafter, the parties are required to enter into good faith negotiations to agree on an index and currency adjustment formula to replace the index and formula currently in effect. If the parties are unable to agree, the dispute is to be submitted to binding arbitration. Pursuant to the Distribution Agreements, if at any time the price received by Bolloré fails to cover its costs, Bolloré may give us notice of this deficiency and the parties must promptly negotiate in good faith to adjust prices. If the parties cannot agree on new prices, we may purchase products from an alternative supplier reasonably acceptable to Bolloré until the next price adjustment period, subject to certain price-matching rights available to Bolloré and other terms and conditions. At the present time, we are operating under a temporary pricing structure and formula. The parties are considering a modified pricing formula and a potential new index and duration. See “Risk Factors—We depend on a small number of key third-party suppliers and producers for our products.”

Pursuant to the Distribution Agreements, export duties, insurance and shipping costs are the responsibility of Bolloré and import duties and taxes in the U.S. and Canada are our responsibility. Under the Distribution Agreements, we must purchase cigarette papers, cigarette tubes and cigarette injector machines from Bolloré, subject to Bolloré fulfilling its obligations under these agreements. Bolloré is required to provide us with the quantities of the products that we order consistent with specific order-to-delivery timelines detailed in the agreement. The Distribution Agreements provide us with certain safeguards to ensure that we will be able to secure a steady supply of product, including (i) granting us the right to seek third-party suppliers with continued use of the Zig-Zag^® trademark if Bolloré is unable to perform its obligations or ceases its cigarette paper manufacturing operation, in each case as set forth in the Distribution Agreements and (ii) maintaining a two-month supply of safety stock inventory of the premium papers, tubes and injector machines in the U.S. at Bolloré’s expense.

Under the Distribution Agreements, we have agreed that for a period of five years after the termination of the agreements we will not engage, directly or indirectly, in the manufacturing, selling, distributing, marketing or otherwise promoting in the U.S. and Canada, of cigarette paper or cigarette paper booklets of a competitor without Bolloré’s consent, except for certain de minimis acquisitions of debt or equity securities of such a competitor and certain activities with respect to an alternative supplier used by us as permitted under the Distribution Agreements.

Each of the Distribution Agreements permits Bolloré to terminate such agreement (i) if certain minimum purchases (which, in the case of both Distribution Agreements have been significantly exceeded in recent years) of cigarette paper booklets have not been made by us for resale in the jurisdiction covered by such agreement within a calendar year, (ii) if we assign such agreement without the consent of Bolloré, (iii) upon a change of control without the consent of Bolloré, (iv) upon certain acquisitions of our equity securities by one of our competitors or certain investments by our significant stockholders in one of our competitors, (v) upon certain material breaches, including our agreement not to promote, directly or indirectly, cigarette paper or cigarette paper booklets of a competitor or (vi) upon our bankruptcy, insolvency, liquidation or other similar event. Additionally, the Canada Distribution Agreement is terminable by either us or Bolloré upon the termination of the U.S. Distribution Agreement.

Swedish Match Manufacturing Agreement

On September 4, 2008, we entered into a manufacturing and distribution agreement with Swedish Match whereby Swedish Match became the exclusive manufacturer of our loose leaf chewing tobacco. Under the agreement, the production of our loose leaf chewing tobacco products was completely transitioned to Swedish Match’s plant located in Owensboro, Kentucky on September 18, 2009 and we ceased all loose leaf manufacturing. We source all of the tobacco that Swedish Match uses to manufacture our products along with certain proprietary flavorings and retain all marketing, design, formula and trademark rights over our loose leaf products. We also have the right to approve all product modifications, and are solely responsible for decisions related to package design and branding of the loose leaf tobacco produced for us. Responsibilities related to process control, manufacturing activities and inventory management with respect to our loose leaf products are allocated between us and Swedish Match as specified in the agreement. We also have rights to monitor production and quality control processes on an ongoing basis.

The agreement had an initial ten-year term and will automatically be renewed for five successive ten-year terms unless either party provides at least 180 days’ notice prior to a renewal term of its intent to terminate the agreement or unless otherwise terminated by mutual agreement of the parties or in accordance with the provisions of the agreement. If a notice of non-renewal is delivered, the contract will expire two years after the date on which the agreement would have otherwise been renewed. The terms allow the agreement to be assumed by a buyer or it may be terminated for uncured material breach, or terminated by the Company subject to a buyout. We also hold a right of first refusal to acquire the manufacturing plant as well as Swedish Match’s chewing tobacco unit.

JJA Distributors Service Agreement

On April 1, 2013 we entered into an agreement with JJA to source our Zig-Zag^® branded cigars and cigarillos and other products from the Dominican Republic. Under the agreement, JJA and its Dominican Republic partner purchase and inventory all of the necessary raw materials, including packaging bearing our intellectual property, manufacture to our specifications and deliver to our designated U.S. distribution center. We retain all marketing, design and trademark rights over our cigar products.

Patents, Trademarks and Trade Secrets

We have numerous registered trademarks relating to our products, including: Beech-Nut^®, Trophy^®, Havana Blossom^®, Durango^®, Stoker’s^®, Tequila Sunrise^®, Fred’s Choice^®, Old Hillside^®, Our Pride^®, Red Cap^®, Tennessee Chew^®, Big Mountain^®, Springfield Standard^®, Snake River^® and VaporBeast^™. The registered trademarks, which are significant to our business, expire periodically and are renewable for additional 10-year terms upon expiration. Flavor and blend formulae trade secrets relating to our tobacco products, which are key assets of our businesses, are maintained under strict secrecy. The Zig-Zag^® trade name and trademark for premium cigarette papers and related products are owned by Bolloré and have been exclusively licensed to us in the U.S. and Canada. The Zig-Zag^® trade name and trademark for e-cigarette and vaporizers are also owned by Bolloré and have been exclusively licensed to us in the U.S. We own the Zig-Zag^® trademark with respect to its use in connection with products made with tobacco, including without limitation, cigarettes, cigars and MYO cigar wraps in the U.S.

Production and Quality Control

We use proprietary production processes and techniques, including strict quality controls. Our quality control group routinely tests the quality of the tobacco, flavorings, application of flavorings, premium cigarette papers, tubes and injectors, cigars, MYO cigar wraps, liquid vapor products, tobacco vaporizer products and packaging materials. We utilize sophisticated quality control to test and closely monitor the quality of our products. The high quality of our tobacco products is largely the result of using high-grade tobacco leaf and food-grade flavorings and an ongoing analysis of tobacco cut, flavorings and moisture content together with strict specifications for sourced products.

Given the importance of contract manufacturing to our business, our quality control group ensures that established written procedures and standards are adhered to by each of our contract manufacturers. Responsibilities related to process control, manufacturing activities, quality control and inventory management with respect to our loose leaf were allocated between us and Swedish Match under the manufacturing agreement.

Research and Development and Quality Assurance

We have a research and development and quality assurance function that tests raw materials and finished products in order to maintain a high level of product quality and consistency. The research and development is also

responsible for new product development across our segments, and largely base their efforts on our high-tech data systems. We spent approximately $1.8 million, $1.4 million and $1.2 million dollars on research and development and quality control efforts for the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, respectively.

Employees

As of March 6, 2017, we employed approximately 286 full-time employees. None of our employees are represented by unions. We believe we have a positive relationship with our employees.

Risks Related to Our Business

Sales of tobacco products are generally expected to continue to decline.

As a result of restrictions on advertising and promotions, increases in regulation and excise taxes, health concerns, a decline in the social acceptability of tobacco and tobacco-related products, increased pressure from anti-tobacco groups and other factors, the overall U.S. market for tobacco products has generally been declining in terms of volume of sales, and is expected to continue to decline. The general climate of declining sales of tobacco products is principally driven by the long-standing declines in cigarettes. OTP, on the other hand, as measured by MSAi, have been generating modest volume gains. For instance, while loose leaf chewing tobacco products have declined for over a decade, MST, a much larger smokeless segment, has been growing in the low single digits over the same period. Additionally, cigarillo cigars and MYO cigar wraps have each demonstrated MSAi volume gains in recent years. Our tobacco products comprised approximately 68% of our total 2016 gross sales and, while some of our sales volume declines have been offset by higher prices or by increased sales in other product categories, there can be no assurance that these price increases or increased sales can be sustained, especially in an environment of increased regulation and taxation and changes in consumer spending habits.

Sales of NewGen products have weakened over the last several years, as consumers of Liquid Vapor products have migrated to purchasing from non-traditional retail outlets. We have not historically covered these non-traditional outlets and have therefore suffered slowing sales of NewGen products. The market for our NewGen products is new and developing and is only a fraction of the size of the conventional tobacco market. In addition, although we do not market NewGen products as cessation products, in the event they are used as such, the size of the opportunity in this new market may be limited as the population of smokers that is seeking such cessation products continues to shrink.

There can be no assurance that sales of NewGen products will offset any decrease in sales of tobacco products. To the extent that any decrease in sales of tobacco products is not offset by increases in price or increases in sales of NewGen products, it may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We depend on a small number of key third-party suppliers and producers for our products.

Our operations are largely dependent on a small number of key suppliers and producers to supply or manufacture our products pursuant to long-term contracts. In 2016, our four most important suppliers and producers were: (i) Bolloré, which provides us with exclusive access to the Zig-Zag cigarette paper and related accessories in the U.S. and Canada, (ii) Swedish Match, which produces all of our loose leaf chewing tobacco in the U.S., (iii) Durfort, from which we source our MYO cigar wraps and (iv) JJA, from which we source our Zig-Zag^® tobacco branded cigars and cigarillos.

All of our Zig-Zag^® premium cigarette papers, cigarette tubes and injectors are sourced from Bolloré, pursuant to a renewable 20-year exclusive agreement. This agreement was most recently renewed in 2012. In addition, under the terms of the agreement with Bolloré, we renegotiate pricing terms every five years. At the present time, we are operating under a temporary price structure and formula. The parties are considering a modified pricing formula and a potential new index and duration. There is no guarantee that we will be able to reach a new five-year pricing agreement with Bolloré at all or on terms satisfactory to us. Further, Bolloré sources its needs for our orders from an affiliate of one of our competitors.

All of our loose leaf tobacco products are manufactured for us by Swedish Match pursuant to a ten-year renewable agreement, which we entered into in 2008. The agreement will automatically be renewed for five successive ten-year terms unless either party provides at least 180 days’ notice prior to a renewal term of its intent to terminate the agreement or unless otherwise terminated in accordance with the provisions of the agreement. If a notice of non-renewal is delivered, the contract will expire two years after the date on which the agreement would have otherwise been renewed. Under this agreement, we retain the rights to all marketing, distribution and trademarks over the loose leaf brands that we own or license. We share responsibilities with Swedish Match related to process control, manufacturing activities, quality control and inventory management with respect to our loose leaf products. We rely on the performance by Swedish Match of its obligations under the agreement for the production of our loose

leaf tobacco products. Any significant disruption in Swedish Match’s manufacturing capabilities or our relationship with Swedish Match, a deterioration in Swedish Match’s financial condition or an industry-wide change in business practices with respect to loose leaf tobacco products could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We source our MYO cigar wraps through Durfort pursuant to an agreement entered into in October 2008. We rely on Durfort to produce and package our MYO cigar wraps to our specifications. Any significant disruption in our relationship with Durfort, a deterioration in Durfort’s financial condition, an industry-wide change in business practices relating to MYO cigar wraps or our ability to source the MYO cigar wraps from them could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We source our Zig-Zag^® tobacco branded cigars and cigarillos through JJA and its Dominican Republic partner pursuant to an agreement we entered into in April 2013. We rely on JJA to purchase and maintain an inventory all of the necessary raw materials, including packaging bearing our intellectual property, and to manufacture to our specifications and deliver the products to our designated U.S. distribution center. We cannot guarantee that JJA will continue to source sufficient quantities of our Zig-Zag^® tobacco branded cigars or cigarillos in order for us to meet our customer demands. Any significant disruption in our relationship with JJA, a failure to supply us with inventory in sufficient amounts, a deterioration in JJA’s financial condition or an industry-wide change in business practices with respect to Zig-Zag^® tobacco branded cigars could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Pursuant to agreements with certain suppliers, we have agreed to store tobacco inventory purchased on our behalf and generally maintain a 12- to 24-month supply of our various tobacco products at their facilities. We cannot guarantee that our supply of these products will be adequate to meet the demands of our customers. Further, a major fire, violent weather conditions or other disasters that affect us or any of our key suppliers or producers, including Bolloré, Swedish Match, Durfort or JJA, as well as those of our other suppliers and vendors, could have a material adverse effect on our operations. Although we have insurance coverage for some of these events, a prolonged interruption in our operations, as well as those of our producers, suppliers and vendors, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. In addition, we do not know whether we will be able to renew any or all of our agreements on a timely basis or on terms satisfactory to us or at all.

Any disruptions in our relationships with Bolloré, Swedish Match, Durfort or JJA, a failure to renew any of our agreements, an inability or unwillingness by any supplier to produce sufficient quantities of our products in a timely manner or finding a new supplier would have a significant impact on our ability to continue distributing the same volume and quality of products and maintain our market share, even during a temporary disruption, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We may be unable to identify or contract with new suppliers or producers in the event of a disruption to our supply.

In order to continue selling our products in the event of a disruption to our supply, we would have to identify new suppliers or producers that would be required to satisfy significant regulatory requirements. Only a limited number of suppliers or producers may have the ability to produce our products at the volumes we need, and it could be costly or time-consuming to locate and approve such alternative sources. Moreover, it may be difficult or costly to find suppliers to produce small volumes of our new products in the event we are looking only to supplement current supply as suppliers may impose minimum order requirements. In addition, we may be unable to negotiate pricing or other terms with our existing or new suppliers as favorable as those we currently enjoy. Even if we were able to successfully identify new suppliers and contract with them on favorable terms, these new suppliers would also be subject to stringent regulatory approval procedures that could result in prolonged disruptions to our sourcing and distribution processes.

Furthermore, there is no guarantee that a new third-party supplier could accurately replicate the production process and taste profile of our existing products. We cannot guarantee that a failure to adequately replace our existing suppliers would not have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our licenses to use certain brands and trademarks may be terminated or not renewed.

We are reliant upon brand recognition in the OTP markets in which we compete, as the OTP industry is characterized by a high degree of brand loyalty and a reluctance to switch to new or unrecognizable brands on the

part of consumers. Some of the brands and trademarks under which our products are sold are licensed to us for a fixed period of time in respect of specified markets, such as our distribution and license agreement with Bolloré for use of the Zig-Zag^® name and associated trademarks in connection with certain of our cigarette papers and related products.

We have two licensing agreements with Bolloré, the first of which governs licensing and the use of the Zig-Zag^® name with respect to cigarette papers, cigarette tubes and cigarette injector machines, and the second of which governs licensing and the use of the Zig-Zag^® name with respect to e-cigarettes, vaporizers and e-liquids. In 2016, we generated $124.7 million in gross sales of Zig-Zag^® products, of which $56.8 million was generated from products sold through our license agreement with Bolloré. In the event the licensing agreements with Bolloré are not renewed, the terms of the agreements bind us under a five-year non-compete clause, under which we cannot engage in direct or indirect manufacturing, selling, distributing, marketing or otherwise promoting of cigarette papers of a competitor without Bolloré’s consent, except in limited instances. We do not know whether we will renew these agreements on a timely basis or on terms satisfactory to us or at all. As a result of these restrictions, if our agreements with Bolloré are terminated, we may not be able to access the markets with recognizable brands that would be positioned to compete in these segments.

In the event that the licenses to use the brands and trademarks in our portfolio are terminated or are not renewed after the end of the term, there is no guarantee we will be able to find a suitable replacement, or that if a replacement is found, that it will be on favorable terms. Any loss in our brand-name appeal to our existing customers as a result of the lapse or termination of our licenses could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We may not be successful in maintaining the consumer brand recognition and loyalty of our products.

We compete in a market that relies on innovation and the ability to react to evolving consumer preferences. The tobacco industry in general, and the OTP industry in particular, is subject to changing consumer trends, demands and preferences. Therefore, products once favored may over time become disfavored by consumers or no longer perceived as the best option. Consumers in the OTP market have demonstrated a high degree of brand loyalty, but producers must continue to adapt their products in order to maintain their status among these customers as the market evolves. The Zig-Zag^® brand has strong brand recognition among smokers, and our continued success depends in part on our ability to continue to differentiate the brand names that we own or license and maintain similarly high levels of recognition with target consumers. Trends within the OTP industry change often and our failure to anticipate, identify or react to changes in these trends could, among other things, lead to reduced demand for our products. Factors that may affect consumer perception of our products include health trends and attention to health concerns associated with tobacco, price-sensitivity in the presence of competitors’ products or substitute products and trends in favor of new NewGen products that are currently being researched and produced by participants in our industry. For example, in recent years, we have witnessed a shift in consumer purchases from chewing tobacco to moist snuff, due in part to its increased affordability. Along with our biggest competitors in the chewing tobacco market, which also produce moist snuff, we have been able to shift priorities and adapt to this change. A failure to react to similar trends in the future could enable our competitors to grow or establish their brands’ market share in these categories before we have a chance to respond.

Consumer perceptions of the overall health of tobacco-based products is likely to continue to shift, and our success depends, in part, on our ability to anticipate these shifting tastes and the rapidity with which the markets in which we compete will evolve in response to these changes on a timely and affordable basis. If we are unable to respond effectively and efficiently to changing consumer preferences, the demand for our products may decline which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Regulations may be enacted in the future, particularly in light of increasing restrictions on the form and content of marketing of tobacco products that would make it more difficult to appeal to our consumers or to leverage existing recognition of the brands that we own or license. Furthermore, even if we are able to continue to distinguish our products, there can be no assurance that the sales, marketing and distribution efforts of our competitors will not be successful in persuading consumers of our products to switch to their products. Many of our competitors have greater access to resources than we do, which better positions them to conduct market research in relation to branding strategies or costly marketing campaigns. Any loss of consumer brand loyalty to our products or in our ability to effectively brand our products in a recognizable way will have a material effect on our ability to continue to sell our products and maintain our market share, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We are subject to substantial and increasing regulation.

The tobacco industry has been under public scrutiny for over fifty years. Industry critics include special interest groups, the U.S. Surgeon General and many legislators and regulators at the state and federal levels. A wide variety of federal, state and local laws limit the advertising, sale and use of tobacco and these laws have proliferated in recent years. Together with changing public attitudes towards tobacco consumption, the constant expansion of regulations has been a major cause of the overall decline in the consumption of tobacco products since the early 1970s. These regulations relate to, among other things, the importation of tobacco products and shipping throughout the U.S. market, increases in the minimum age to purchase tobacco products, imposition of taxes, sampling and advertising bans or restrictions, flavor bans or restrictions, ingredient and constituent disclosure requirements and media campaigns and restrictions on where smokers can smoke. Additional restrictions may be legislatively imposed or agreed to in the future. These limitations may make it difficult for us to maintain the value of any brand.

Moreover, the current trend is toward increasing regulation of the tobacco industry, which is likely to differ between the various U.S. states and Canadian provinces in which we currently conduct the majority of our business. Extensive and inconsistent regulation by multiple states and at different governmental levels could prove to be particularly disruptive to our business as well, as we may be unable to accommodate such regulations in a cost-effective manner that allows us to continue to compete in an economically viable way. Regulations are often introduced without the tobacco industry’s input and have been a significant reason behind reduced industry sales volumes and increased illicit trade.

In 1986, federal legislation was enacted regulating smokeless tobacco products (including dry and moist snuff and chewing tobacco) by, among other things, requiring health warnings on smokeless tobacco packages and prohibiting the advertising of smokeless tobacco products on media subject to the jurisdiction of the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”). Since 1986, other proposals have been made at the federal, state and local levels for additional regulation of tobacco products and it is likely that additional proposals will be made in the coming years. For example, the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act prohibits the use of the U.S. Postal Service to mail most tobacco products and amends the Jenkins Act, which established cigarette sales reporting requirements for state excise tax collection, to require individuals and businesses that make interstate sales of cigarettes or smokeless tobacco comply with state tax laws. See “—There is uncertainty related to the federal regulation of NewGen products, cigars and pipe tobacco products.” Additional federal or state regulation relating to the manufacture, sale, distribution, advertising, labeling, mandatory ingredients disclosure and nicotine yield information disclosure of tobacco products could reduce sales, increase costs and have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

On June 22, 2009, the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (the “Tobacco Control Act”) authorized the FDA for regulatory authority over tobacco products. The Act also amended the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act, which governs how cigarettes can be advertised and marketed, as well as the Comprehensive Smokeless Tobacco Health Education Act (“CSTHEA”), which governs how smokeless tobacco can be advertised and marketed. In addition to the FDA and FCC, we are subject to regulation by numerous other federal agencies, including the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”), the Department of Justice (“DOJ”), the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (“TTB”), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (“USDA”), the Consumer Product Safety Commission (“CPSC”), the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) and the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Office on Smoking and Health (“CDC”). There have also been adverse legislative and political decisions and other unfavorable developments concerning cigarette smoking and the tobacco industry, which have received widespread public attention. There can be no assurance as to the ultimate content, timing or effect of any regulation of tobacco products by governmental bodies, nor can there be any assurance that potential corresponding declines in demand resulting from negative media attention would not have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our products are regulated by the FDA, which has broad regulatory powers.

Substantially all of our 2016 U.S. gross sales are derived from the sale of products that are currently regulated by the FDA. The Tobacco Control Act grants the FDA broad regulatory authority over the design, manufacture, sale, marketing and packaging of tobacco products. Among the regulatory powers conferred to the FDA under the Tobacco Control Act is the authority to impose tobacco product standards that are appropriate for the protection of the public health, require manufacturers to obtain FDA review and authorization for the marketing of certain new or modified

tobacco products and impose various additional restrictions. Such restrictions may include requiring reduction or elimination of the use of particular constituents or components, requiring product testing, or addressing other aspects of tobacco product construction, constituents, properties or labeling.

Specifically, the Tobacco Control Act (i) increases the number of health warnings required on cigarette and smokeless tobacco products, increases the size of warnings on packaging and in advertising, requires the FDA to develop graphic warnings for cigarette packages, and grants the FDA authority to require new warnings, (ii) imposes restrictions on the sale and distribution of tobacco products, including significant restrictions on tobacco product advertising and promotion as well as the use of brand and trade names, (iii) bans the use of “light,” “mild,” “low” or similar descriptors on tobacco products, (iv) bans the use of “characterizing flavors” in cigarettes other than tobacco or menthol, (v) requires manufacturers to report ingredients and harmful constituents and requires the FDA to disclose certain constituent information to the public, (vi) authorizes the FDA to require the reduction of nicotine and the potential reduction or elimination of other constituents or additives, including menthol, (vii) establishes potentially expensive and time-consuming pre-market and “substantial equivalence” review pathways for tobacco products that are considered new, (viii) gives FDA broad authority to deny product applications thereby preventing the sale or distribution of the product subject to the application (and requiring such product to be removed from the market, if applicable), and (ix) requires tobacco product manufacturers (and certain other entities) to register with the FDA.

The FDA charges user fees based on the USDA unit calculations pro-rated to the annualized FDA congressionally allocated budget. These fees only apply to certain products currently regulated by the FDA, which include our smokeless and smoking products (other than cigarette paper products), but we may in the future be required to pay such fees on more of our products, and we cannot accurately predict which additional products may be subject to such fees or the magnitude of such fees, which could become significant.

Although the FDA is prohibited from issuing regulations banning all cigarettes or all smokeless tobacco products, or requiring the reduction of nicotine yields of a tobacco product to zero, it is likely that its regulations in accordance with the Tobacco Control Act could result in a decrease in cigarette and smokeless tobacco sales in the U.S. We believe that such regulation could adversely affect our ability to compete against our larger competitors, who may be able to more quickly and cost-effectively comply with these new rules and regulations. Our ability to gain efficient market clearance for new tobacco products, or even to keep existing products on the market, could also be affected by FDA rules and regulations. Some of our currently marketed products that are subject to FDA regulation will require marketing authorizations from the FDA for us to continue marketing them (e.g., pre-market or substantial equivalence marketing authorizations, as applicable to the product), which we cannot guarantee we will be able to obtain. In addition, failure to comply with new or existing tobacco laws under which the FDA imposes regulatory requirements could result in significant financial penalties and government investigations of us. To the extent we are unable to respond to, or comply with, new FDA regulations it could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Many of our products contain nicotine, which is considered to be a highly addictive substance.

Many of our products contain nicotine, a chemical that is considered to be highly addictive. The Tobacco Control Act empowers the FDA to regulate the amount of nicotine found in tobacco products, but not to require the reduction of nicotine yields of a tobacco product to zero. Any FDA regulation, whether of nicotine levels or other product attributes, may require us to reformulate, recall and/or discontinue certain of the products we may sell from time to time, which may have a material adverse effect on our ability to market our products and have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

There is uncertainty related to the federal regulation of NewGen products, cigars and pipe tobacco products.

Since their introduction, there has been significant uncertainty regarding whether, how and when tobacco regulations would apply to NewGen products, such as electronic cigarettes or other vaporizer products. Based on a decision in December 2010 by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (the “Sottera decision”), the FDA is permitted to regulate electronic cigarettes containing tobacco-derived nicotine as “tobacco products” under the Tobacco Control Act.

Effective August 8, 2016, FDA’s regulatory authority under the Tobacco Control Act was extended to all remaining tobacco products, including: (i) certain NewGen products (such as electronic cigarettes, vaporizers and e-liquids) and their components or parts (such as tanks, coils and batteries); (ii) cigars and their components or parts

(such as cigar tobacco); (iii) pipe tobacco, (iv) hookah products; or (v) any other tobacco product “newly deemed” by FDA. These deeming regulations apply to all products made or derived from tobacco intended for human consumption, but excluding accessories of tobacco products (such as lighters).

The deeming regulations require us to (i) register with the FDA and report product and ingredient listings; (ii) market newly deemed products only after FDA review and approval; (iii) only make direct and implied claims of reduced risk if the FDA approves after finding that scientific evidence supports the claim and that marketing the product will benefit public health as a whole; (iv) refrain from distributing free samples; (v) implement minimum age and identification restrictions to prevent sales to individuals under age 18; (vi) develop an approved warning plan and include prescribed health warnings on packaging and advertisements; and (vii) refrain from selling the products in vending machines, unless the machine is located in a facility that never admits youth. Newly-deemed tobacco products are also subject to the other requirements of the Tobacco Control Act, such as that they not be adulterated or misbranded. The FDA could in the future promulgate good manufacturing practice regulations for these and our other products, which could have a material adverse impact on our ability and the cost to manufacture our products.

Marketing authorizations will be necessary in order for us to continue our distribution of NewGen and cigar and pipe tobacco products. Compliance dates vary depending upon type of application submitted, but all newly-deemed products will require an application no later than February 8, 2018 (substantial equivalence filing) or August 8, 2018 (pre-market application filing) with the exception of our “grandfathered” products (products in commerce as of February 15, 2007) which are already authorized, unless FDA grants extensions to these compliance periods. We intend to timely file for the appropriate authorizations to allow us to sell our products in the U.S. We have no assurances that the outcome of such processes will result in our products receiving marketing authorizations from the FDA. We also have certain previously-regulated tobacco products which remain subject to “provisional” substantial equivalence filings made on March 22, 2011. If the FDA establishes regulatory processes that we are unable or unwilling to comply with, our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects could be adversely affected.

The anticipated costs of complying with future FDA regulations will be dependent on the rules issued by the FDA, the timing and clarity of any new rules or guidance documents accompanying these rules, the reliability and simplicity (or complexity) of the electronic systems utilized by FDA for information and reports to be submitted, and the details required by FDA for such information and reports with respect to each regulated product (which have yet to be issued by FDA). Failure to comply with existing or new FDA regulatory requirements could result in significant financial penalties and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and ability to market and sell our products. Compliance and related costs could be substantial and could significantly increase the costs of operating in our NewGen and cigar and pipe tobacco product markets.

In addition, failure to comply with the Tobacco Control Act and with FDA regulatory requirements could result in litigation, criminal convictions or significant financial penalties and could impair our ability to market and sell our electronic and vaporizer products. At present, we are not able to predict whether the Tobacco Control Act will impact our products to a greater degree than competitors in the industry, thus affecting our competitive position.

Furthermore, neither the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act nor the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act currently apply to NewGen products. There may, in the future, also be increased regulation of additives in smokeless products and internet sales of NewGen products. The application of either or both of these federal laws, and of any new laws or regulations which may be adopted in the future, to NewGen products or such additives could result in additional expenses and require us to change our advertising and labeling, and methods of marketing and distribution of our products, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Significant increases in state and local regulation of our NewGen products have been proposed or enacted and are likely to continue to be proposed or enacted in numerous jurisdictions.

There has been increasing activity on the state and local levels with respect to scrutiny of NewGen products. State and local governmental bodies across the U.S. have indicated NewGen products may become subject to new laws and regulations at the state and local levels. For example, in January 2015, the California Department of Health declared electronic cigarettes a health threat that should be strictly regulated like tobacco products. Further, some states and cities have enacted regulations that require obtaining a tobacco retail license in order to sell electronic cigarettes and vaporizer products. Many states and some cities have passed laws restricting the sale of electronic cigarettes and vaporizer products to minors. If one or more states from which we generate or anticipate generating

significant sales of NewGen products bring actions to prevent us from selling our NewGen products unless we obtain certain licenses, approvals or permits, and if we are not able to obtain the necessary licenses, approvals or permits for financial reasons or otherwise and/or any such license, approval or permit is determined to be overly burdensome to us, then we may be required to cease sales and distribution of our products to those states, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Certain states and cities have already restricted the use of electronic cigarettes and vaporizer products in smoke-free venues. Additional city, state or federal regulators, municipalities, local governments and private industry may enact rules and regulations restricting the use of electronic cigarettes and vaporizer products in those same places where cigarettes cannot be smoked. Because of these restrictions, our customers may reduce or otherwise cease using our NewGen products, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Increases in tobacco-related taxes have been proposed or enacted and are likely to continue to be proposed or enacted in numerous jurisdictions.

Tobacco products, premium cigarette papers and tubes have long been subject to substantial federal, state and local excise taxes. Such taxes have frequently been increased or proposed to be increased, in some cases significantly, to fund various legislative initiatives or further disincentivize smoking. Since 1986, smokeless products have been subject to federal excise tax. Smokeless products are taxed by weight (in pounds or fractional parts thereof) manufactured or imported.

Since the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (“S-CHIP”) reauthorization in early 2009, which utilizes, among other things, taxes on tobacco products to fund health insurance coverage for children, the federal excise tax increases adopted have been substantial and have materially reduced sales in the “roll your own” (“RYO”) /MYO cigarette smoking products market, and also caused volume declines in other markets. Although the RYO/MYO cigarette smoking tobacco and related products market had been one of the fastest growing markets in the tobacco industry in the five years prior to 2009, the reauthorization of S-CHIP increased the federal excise tax on RYO tobacco from $1.10 to $24.78 per pound, and materially reduced the MYO cigarette smoking tobacco market in the U.S. There have not been any increases announced since 2009, but we cannot guarantee that we will not be subject to further increases, nor whether any such increases will affect prices in a way that further deters consumers from purchasing our products and/or affects our net revenues in a way that renders us unable to compete effectively.

In addition to federal excise taxes, every state and certain city and county governments have imposed substantial excise taxes on sales of tobacco products, and many have raised or proposed to raise excise taxes in recent years. Approximately one-half of the states tax MST on weight-based versus unit-based. Additional states may consider adopting such revised tax structures as well. Tax increases, depending on their parameters, may result in consumers switching between tobacco products or depress overall tobacco consumption, which is likely to result in declines in overall sales volumes.

Any future enactment of increases in federal or state excise taxes on our tobacco products or rulings that require certain of our products to be categorized differently for excise tax purposes could adversely affect demand for our products and may result in consumers switching between tobacco products or a depression in overall tobacco consumption, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

If our NewGen products become subject to increased taxes it could adversely affect our business.

Presently the sale of NewGen products is generally not subject to federal, state and local excise taxes like the sale of conventional cigarettes or other tobacco products, all of which generally have high tax rates and have faced significant increases in the amount of taxes collected on their sales. In recent years, however, state and local governments have taken actions to move towards imposing excise taxes on NewGen products. As of January 1, 2017, the District of Columbia, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and certain localities impose excise taxes on electronic cigarettes and/or liquid vapor. In addition, the state of California has passed legislation approving excise taxes that will take effect in April 2017. Other jurisdictions are contemplating similar legislation and other restrictions on electronic cigarettes. Should federal, state and local governments and or other taxing authorities begin or continue to impose excise taxes similar to those levied against conventional cigarettes and tobacco products on NewGen products, it may have a material adverse effect on the demand for these products, as consumers may be unwilling to pay the increased costs, which in turn could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We may be subject to increasing international control and regulation.

The World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (“FCTC”) is the first international public health treaty that establishes a global agenda to reduce initiation of tobacco use and regulate tobacco in an effort to encourage tobacco cessation. Over 170 governments worldwide have ratified the FCTC. The FCTC has led to increased efforts to reduce the supply and demand of tobacco products and to encourage governments to further regulate the tobacco industry. The tobacco industry expects significant regulatory developments to take place over the next few years, driven principally by the FCTC. Regulatory initiatives that have been proposed, introduced or enacted include:

If the U.S. becomes a signatory to the FCTC and/or national laws are enacted in the U.S. that reflect the major elements of the FCTC, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected. If NewGen products become subject to one or more of the significant regulatory initiatives proposed under the FCTC, our NewGen products segment may also be materially adversely affected.

As part of our strategy, we have begun strategic international expansions, such as introducing our moist snuff tobacco products in South America and cigar products in Canada. This and other future expansions may subject us to additional or increasing international regulation, either by the countries that are the object of the strategic expansion or through international regulatory regimes, such as the FCTC, to which those countries may be signatories.

Liquid vapor products containing nicotine have not been approved for sale in Canada. Some Canadian provinces have restricted sales and marketing of electronic cigarettes, and other provinces are in the process of passing similar legislation. Furthermore, some Canadian provinces have limited the use of electronic cigarettes and vaporizer products in public places. As a result, we are unable to market these products in the relevant parts of Canada. These measures, and any future measures taken to limit the marketing, sale and use of NewGen products may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

To the extent our existing or future products become subject to international regulatory regimes that we are unable to comply with or fail to comply with, they may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our distribution efforts rely in part on our ability to leverage relationships with large retailers and national chains.

Our distribution efforts rely in part on our ability to leverage relationships with large retailers and national chains to sell and promote our products, which is dependent upon the strength of the brand names that we own or license and our salesforce effectiveness. In order to maintain these relationships, we must continue to supply products that will bring steady business to these retailers and national chains. We may not be able to sustain these relationships or establish other relationships with such entities, which could have a material adverse effect on our ability to execute our branding strategies, our ability to access the end-user markets with our products or our ability to maintain our

relationships with the producers of our products. For example, if we are unable to meet benchmarking provisions in contracts or if we are unable to maintain and leverage our retail relationships on a scale sufficient to make us an attractive distributor, it would have a material adverse effect on our ability to source products, and on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

In addition, there are factors beyond our control that may prevent us from leveraging existing relationships, such as industry consolidation. If we are unable to develop and sustain relationships with large retailers and national chains, or are unable to leverage those relationships due to factors such as a decline in the role of brick-and-mortar retailers in the North American economy, our capacity to maintain and grow brand and product recognition and increase sales volume will be significantly undermined. In such an event, we may ultimately be forced to pursue and rely on local and more fragmented sales channels, which will have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We have a substantial amount of indebtedness that could affect our financial condition.

We currently have $145 million outstanding under our 2017 First Lien Credit Agreement, $55.0 million outstanding under our 2017 Second Lien Credit Facility and $31.5 million of borrowings outstanding under our 2017 Revolving Credit Facility, with the ability to borrow an additional $18.5 million under the 2017 Revolving Credit Facility. If we cannot generate sufficient cash flow from operations to service our debt, we may need to further refinance our debt, dispose of assets or issue equity to obtain necessary funds. We do not know whether we will be able to do any of this on a timely basis or on terms satisfactory to us or at all.

Our substantial amount of indebtedness could limit our ability to:

The terms of the agreement governing our indebtedness may restrict our current and future operations, which would adversely affect our ability to respond to changes in our business and to manage our operations.

Our 2017 Revolving Credit Facility, 2017 First Lien Credit Agreement and 2017 Second Lien Credit Facility contain, and any future indebtedness of ours would likely contain, a number of restrictive covenants that impose significant operating and financial restrictions on us, including restrictions on our ability to, among other things:

Our 2017 Revolving Credit Facility, 2017 First Lien Credit Agreement and 2017 Second Lien Credit Facility also require us to maintain certain financial ratios. As of December 31, 2016, we were in compliance with the financial and restrictive covenants in our previous debt facility. However, a failure by us to comply with the covenants or financial ratios in our debt instruments could result in an event of default under the applicable facility, which could adversely affect our ability to respond to changes in our business and manage our operations. In the event of any

default under our 2017 Revolving Credit Facility, 2017 First Lien Credit Agreement or 2017 Second Lien Credit Facility, the lenders under our debt instruments could elect to declare all amounts outstanding under such instruments to be due and payable and require us to apply all of our available cash to repay these amounts. If the indebtedness under our 2017 Revolving Credit Facility, 2017 First Lien Credit Agreement or 2017 Second Lien Credit Facility were to be accelerated, which would cause an event of default and a cross-acceleration of our obligations under our other debt instruments, there can be no assurance that our assets would be sufficient to repay this indebtedness in full, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We face intense competition and may fail to compete effectively.

We are subject to significant competition across our segments, and compete against companies in all segments that have access to significant resources in terms of technology, relationships with suppliers and distributors and access to cash flow and financial markets.

The OTP industry is characterized by brand recognition and loyalty, with product quality, price, marketing and packaging constituting the primary methods of competition. Substantial marketing support, merchandising display, competitive pricing and other financial incentives generally are required to introduce a new brand or to improve or maintain a brand’s market position. Our principal competitors are “big tobacco,” Altria Group, Inc. (formerly Phillip Morris) and Reynolds American Inc., as well as Swedish Match, Swisher International and manufacturers of electronic cigarettes, including U.K.-based Imperial Brands PLC. These competitors are significantly larger than us and aggressively seek to limit the distribution or sale of other companies’ products, both at the wholesale and retail levels. For example, certain competitors have entered into agreements limiting retail-merchandising displays of other companies’ products or imposing minimum prices for OTP products, thereby limiting their competitors’ ability to offer discounted products. In addition, the tobacco industry is experiencing a trend toward industry consolidation, most recently evidenced by the planned acquisition of Reynolds American, In. by British American Tobacco p.l.c. which is expected to close in the third quarter of 2017 and the June 2015 acquisition of Lorillard Inc. by Reynolds American Inc. Industry consolidation could result in a more competitive environment if our competitors are able to increase their combined resources, enhance their access to national distribution networks, or become acquired by established companies with greater resources than ours. Any inability to compete due to our smaller scale as the industry continues to consolidate and be dominated by “big tobacco” could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

The competitive environment and our competitive position is also significantly influenced by economic conditions, the state of consumer confidence, competitors’ introduction of low-priced products or innovative products, higher taxes, higher absolute prices and larger gaps between price categories and product regulation that diminishes the consumer’s ability to differentiate tobacco products. Due to the impact of these factors, as well as higher state and local excise taxes and the market share of deep discount brands, the tobacco industry has become increasingly price competitive. As we seek to adapt to the price competitive environment, our competitors that are better capitalized may be able to sustain price discounts for long periods of time by spreading the loss across their expansive portfolios, with which we are not positioned to compete.

Competition in the electronic cigarette and vaporizer products industry is particularly intense. The nature of our NewGen product competitors is varied as the market is highly fragmented. In addition, some marketers still have the ability to access sales channels through the mail, which is no longer available in the markets for traditional tobacco products, and which facilitates market access for a range of competitors who would otherwise find themselves at a competitive disadvantage in a brick-and-mortar context.

“Big tobacco” has also established its presence in the NewGen products market. There can be no assurance that our products will be able to compete successfully against these companies or any of our other competitors, some of which have far greater resources, capital, experience, market penetration, sales and distribution channels than us. In addition, there are currently no U.S. restrictions on advertising electronic cigarettes and vaporizer products and competitors, including “big tobacco,” may have more resources than us for advertising expenses, which could have a material adverse effect on our ability to build and maintain market share, and thus have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

The market for NewGen products is a niche market, subject to a great deal of uncertainty and is still evolving.

Vaporizer products and electronic cigarettes, having recently been introduced to market, are at an early stage of development, and represent core components of a niche market that is evolving rapidly and is characterized by a number of market participants. Rapid growth in the use of, and interest in, vaporizer products and electronic

cigarettes is recent, and may not continue on a lasting basis. The demand and market acceptance for these products is subject to a high level of uncertainty. Therefore, we are subject to all of the business risks associated with a new enterprise in a niche market. Continued evolution, uncertainty and the resulting increased risk of failure of our new and existing product offerings in this market could have a material adverse effect on our ability to build and maintain market share and on our business, results of operations and financial condition. Further, there can be no assurance that we will be able to continue to effectively compete in the NewGen products marketplace.

We may become subject to significant product liability litigation.

The tobacco industry has experienced and continues to experience significant product liability litigation. Most tobacco liability lawsuits have been brought against manufacturers and sellers of cigarettes by individual plaintiffs, often participating on a class-action basis, for injuries allegedly caused by cigarette smoking or by exposure to cigarette smoke. However, several lawsuits have also been brought against us and other manufacturers and sellers of smokeless products for injuries to health allegedly caused by use of smokeless products. There are several such suits pending against us with limited activity. In addition to the risks to our business, results of operations and financial condition resulting from adverse results in any such action, ongoing litigation may divert management’s attention and resources, which could have an impact on our business and operations. For a description of current material litigation to which we or our subsidiaries are a party, see “Item 3. Legal Proceedings.” We cannot predict with certainty the outcome of these claims and there can be no assurance that we will not sustain losses in connection with such lawsuits and that such losses will not have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

In addition to current and potential future claims related to our smoking and smokeless products, we may be subject to claims in the future relating to our NewGen products. As a result of their relative novelty, electronic cigarette and vaporizer product manufacturers and sellers have only recently become subject to litigation. We may see increasing litigation over NewGen products or the regulation of our products as the regulatory regimes surrounding these products develop.

As a result, we may face substantial costs due to increased product liability litigation relating to new regulations or other potential defects associated with our NewGen products, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

The scientific community has not yet studied extensively the long-term health effects of electronic cigarette, vaporizer or e-liquids products use.

Electronic cigarettes, vaporizers and related products were recently developed and therefore the scientific community has not had a sufficient period of time to study the long-term health effects of their use. Currently, there is no way of knowing whether these products are safe for their intended use. If the scientific community were to determine conclusively that use of any or all of these products poses long-term health risks, market demand for these products and their use could materially decline. Such a determination could also lead to litigation and significant regulation. Loss of demand for our product, product liability claims and increased regulation stemming from unfavorable scientific studies on these products could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We are required to maintain and contribute cash amounts to an escrow account in order to be compliant with a settlement agreement between us and certain U.S. states and territories.

In November 1998, the major U.S. cigarette manufacturers entered into the Master Settlement Agreement (“MSA”) and the Smokeless Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement (“STMSA”) with 46 U.S. states and certain U.S. territories and possessions. Pursuant to the MSA and subsequent states’ statutes, a “cigarette manufacturer” (which is defined to also include a manufacturer of RYO/MYO cigarette tobacco) has the option of either becoming a signatory to the MSA, or, as we have elected, operating as a non-participating manufacturer (“NPM”) by funding and maintaining an escrow account, with sub-accounts on behalf of each settling state. These NPM escrow accounts are governed by states’ escrow and complementary statutes that are generally monitored by the Office of the State Attorney General. The statutes require NPM companies to deposit, on an annual basis, into qualified banks’ escrow funds based on the number of cigarettes or cigarette equivalents, which is measured by pounds of RYO/MYO tobacco sold. NPM companies are, within specified limits, entitled to direct the investment of the escrowed funds and withdraw any interest or appreciation, but cannot withdraw the principal for twenty-five years from the year of each

annual deposit, except to withdraw funds deposited pursuant to an individual state’s escrow statute to pay a final judgment to that state’s plaintiffs in the event of such a final judgment. The investment vehicles available to us are specified in the state escrow agreements and are limited to low-risk government securities.

Various states have enacted or proposed complementary legislation intended to curb the activity of certain manufacturers and importers of cigarettes or MYO tobacco that are selling into MSA states without signing the MSA or who have failed to properly establish and fund a qualifying escrow account. We believe we have been and are currently fully compliant with all applicable laws, regulations and statutes, although compliance-related issues may, from time to time, be disruptive to our business, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Pursuant to the NPM escrow account statutes, in order to be compliant with the NPM escrow requirements, we are required to deposit such funds for each calendar year into a qualifying escrow account by April 15 of the following year with each year’s deposit being released from escrow after 25 years. We have deposited less than $0.1 million relating to 2016 sales and anticipate deposits of less than $0.1 million relating to 2016 sales during April 2017. As of December 31, 2016, we had made deposits of approximately $31.9 million.

Although no such legislation has been proposed or enacted, future changes to the MSA, such as legislation that extends the MSA to products to which it does not currently apply, or legislation that limits the ability of companies to receive unused escrow funds after 25 years, may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Despite the amounts maintained and funded to the escrow account, compliance with the funding requirements for the escrow account does not necessarily prevent future federal and/or state regulations with respect to the OTP industry from having a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Competition from illicit sources may have an adverse effect on our overall sales volume, restricting the ability to increase selling prices and damaging brand equity.

Illicit trade and tobacco trafficking in the form of counterfeit products, smuggled genuine products and locally manufactured products on which applicable taxes are evaded, represent a significant and growing threat to the legitimate tobacco industry. Factors such as increasing tax regimes, regulatory restrictions, compliance requirements and economic downturn are encouraging more consumers to switch to illegal, cheaper tobacco products and providing greater rewards for smugglers. Illicit trade can have an adverse effect on our overall sales volume, restrict the ability to increase selling prices, damage brand equity and may lead to commoditization of our products.

Although we combat counterfeiting of our products by engaging in certain tactics, such as requiring all sales force personnel to randomly collect our products from retailers in order to be tested by our quality control team, maintaining a quality control group that is responsible for identifying counterfeit products and using a private investigation firm to help perform surveillance of retailers we suspect are selling counterfeit products, no assurance can be given that we will be able to detect or stop sales of all counterfeit products. In addition, we have in the past and will continue to bring suits against retailers and distributors that sell certain counterfeit products. While we have been successful in securing financial recoveries from and helping to obtain criminal convictions of counterfeiters in the past, no assurance can be given that we will be successful in any such suits or that such suits will be successful in stopping other retailers or distributors from selling counterfeit products. Even if we are successful, such suits could consume a significant amount of management’s time and could also result in significant expenses to the company. Any failure to track and prevent counterfeiting of our products could have a material adverse on our ability to maintain or effectively compete for the products we distribute under our brand names, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Reliance on information technology means a significant disruption could affect our communications and operations.

We increasingly rely on information technology systems for our internal communications, controls, reporting and relations with customers and suppliers and information technology is becoming a significantly important tool for our sales staff. Our marketing and distribution strategy is dependent upon our ability to closely monitor consumer and market trends on a highly specified level, for which we are reliant on our highly sophisticated data tracking systems, which are susceptible to disruption or failure. In addition, our reliance on information technology exposes us to cyber-security risks, which could have a material adverse effect on our ability to compete. Security and privacy

breaches may expose us to liability and cause us to lose customers, or may disrupt our relationships and ongoing transactions with other entities with whom we contract throughout our supply chain. The failure of our information systems to function as intended, or the penetration by outside parties intent on disrupting business processes, could result in significant costs, loss of revenue, assets or personal or other sensitive data and reputational harm.

Security and privacy breaches may expose us to liability and cause us to lose customers.

Federal and state laws require us to safeguard our wholesalers’ and retailers’ financial information, including credit information. Although we have established security procedures to protect against identity theft and the theft of our customers’ and distributors’ financial information, our security and testing measures may not prevent security breaches, and breaches of privacy may occur and could harm our business. Typically, we rely on encryption and authentication technology licensed from third parties to enhance transmission security of confidential information in relation to financial and other sensitive information that we have on file. Advances in computer capabilities, new discoveries in the field of cryptography, inadequate facility security or other developments may result in a compromise or breach of the technology used by us to protect customer data. Any compromise of our security could harm our reputation or financial condition and, therefore, our business. In addition, a party who is able to circumvent our security measures or exploit inadequacies in our security measures, could, among other effects, misappropriate proprietary information, cause interruptions in our operations or expose customers and other entities with which we interact to computer viruses or other disruptions. Actual or perceived vulnerabilities may lead to claims against us. To the extent the measures we have taken prove to be insufficient or inadequate, we may become subject to litigation or administrative sanctions, which could result in significant fines, penalties or damages and harm to our reputation.

Contamination of, or damage to, our products could adversely impact sales volume, market share and profitability.

Our market position may be affected through the contamination of our tobacco supply or products during the manufacturing process or at different points in the entire supply chain. We keep significant amounts of inventory of our products in warehouses and it is possible that this inventory could become contaminated prior to arrival at our premises or during the storage period. If contamination of our inventory or packaged products occurs, whether as a result of a failure in quality control by us or by one of our suppliers, we may incur significant costs in replacing the inventory and recalling products. We may be unable to meet customer demand and may lose customers who purchase alternative brands or products. In addition, consumers may lose confidence in the affected product.

Under the terms of our contracts, we impose requirements on our suppliers to maintain quality and comply with product specifications and requirements, and on our third-party co-manufacturer to comply with all federal, state and local laws. These third-party suppliers, however, may not continue to produce products that are consistent with our standards or that are in compliance with applicable laws, and we cannot guarantee that we will be able to identify instances in which our third-party suppliers fail to comply with our standards or applicable laws. A loss of sales volume from a contamination event may occur, and such a loss may affect our ability to supply our current customers and to recapture their business in the event they are forced to switch products or brands, even if on a temporary basis. We may also be subject to legal action as a result of a contamination, which could result in negative publicity and lower sales. During this time, our competitors may benefit from an increased market share that could be difficult and costly to regain. Such a contamination event could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our intellectual property may be infringed.

We currently rely on trademark and other intellectual property rights to establish and protect the brand names and logos we own or license. Third parties have in the past infringed, and may in the future infringe, on these trademarks and our other intellectual property rights. Our ability to maintain and further build brand recognition is dependent on the continued and exclusive use of these trademarks, service marks and other proprietary intellectual property, including the names and logos we own or license. Despite our attempts to ensure these intellectual property rights are protected, third parties may take actions that could materially and adversely affect our rights or the value of this intellectual property. Any litigation concerning our intellectual property rights, whether successful or unsuccessful, could result in substantial costs to us and diversions of our resources. Expenses related to protecting our intellectual property rights, the loss or compromise of any of these rights or the loss of revenues as a result of infringement could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition, and may prevent the brands we own or license from growing or maintaining market share.

Third parties may claim that we infringe their intellectual property and trademark rights.

Competitors in the tobacco products market have claimed, and others may claim, that we infringe their proprietary rights. In particular, we have been involved in ongoing litigation with the Republic Group concerning the Zig-Zag^® trademark in certain territories outside the U.S. and Canada. Such claims, whether or not meritorious, may result in the expenditure of significant financial and managerial resources, injunctions against us or the payment of damages.

We may fail to manage our growth.

We have expanded over our history and intend to grow in the future. For example, we acquired the Stoker’s^® brand in 2003, and have continued to develop it through the introduction of new products, such as moist snuff in 2009. We have also focused on growing our relationships with our key suppliers through expansion into new product lines, such as the addition of cigarillos, which are sourced by JJA, and MYO cigar wraps, which are sourced from Durfort. In addition, the acquisition of VaporBeast will accelerate our entry into the non-traditional retail channels. However, any future growth will place additional demands on our resources, and we cannot be sure we will be able to manage our growth effectively. If we are unable to manage our growth while maintaining the quality of our products and profit margins, or if new systems that we implement to assist in managing our growth do not produce the expected benefits, our business, financial position, results of operations and cash flows could be adversely affected. We may not be able to support, financially or otherwise, future growth, or hire, train, motivate and manage the required personnel. Our failure to manage growth effectively could also limit our ability to achieve our goals as they relate to streamlined sales, marketing and distribution operations and the ability to achieve certain financial metrics.

We may fail to successfully integrate our acquisitions or otherwise be unable to benefit from pursuing acquisitions

We believe there are meaningful opportunities to grow through acquisitions and joint ventures across all OTP product categories and we expect to continue a strategy of selectively identifying and acquiring businesses with complementary products. We may be unable to identify, negotiate, and complete suitable acquisition opportunities on reasonable terms. There can be no assurance that any business acquired by us will be successfully integrated with our operations or prove to be profitable to us. We may incur future liabilities related to acquisitions. Should any of the following problems, or others, occur as a result of our acquisition strategy, the impact could be material:

We may fail to achieve the expected benefits of the VaporBeast acquisition and to integrate VaporBeast’s operations with ours which could adversely affect our operating results.

We are in the process of integrating and expect to achieve some synergies from the acquisition of VaporBeast. However, we cannot be certain whether, and to what extent, synergies will be realized in connection with the VaporBeast transaction in the future. Such integration may be complex and the failure to do so efficiently and effectively may negatively affect earnings.

We are subject to fluctuations in our results that make it difficult to track trends and develop strategies in the short-term.

In response to competitor actions and pricing pressures, we have engaged in significant use of promotional and sales incentives. We regularly review the results of our promotional spending activities and adjust our promotional spending programs in an effort to maintain our competitive position. Accordingly, unit sales volume and sales promotion costs in any period are not necessarily indicative of sales and costs that may be realized in subsequent periods. Additionally, promotional activity significantly increases net sales in the month in which it is initiated and net sales are adversely impacted in the month after a promotion. Accordingly, based upon the timing of our marketing

and promotional initiatives, we have and may continue to experience significant variability in our results, which could affect our ability to formulate strategies that allow us to maintain our market presence across volatile periods. If our fluctuations obscure our ability to track important trends in our key markets, it may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We are subject to the risks of exchange rate fluctuations.

Currency movements and suppliers’ price increases relating to premium cigarette papers and cigarette tubes are the primary factors affecting our cost of sales. These products are purchased from Bolloré and we make payments in euros. Thus, we bear certain foreign exchange rate risk for certain of our inventory purchases. In addition, as part of our strategy, we have begun strategic international expansions, such as introducing our MST products in South America. As a result, we may be more sensitive to the risks of exchange rate fluctuations. To manage this risk, we sometimes utilize short-term forward currency contracts to purchase euros for our inventory purchases. We have a foreign exchange currency policy which governs our hedging of risk. While we engage in hedging transactions from time to time, no assurance can be made that we will be successful in eliminating currency exchange risks or that changes in currency rates will not have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Adverse U.S. and global economic conditions could negatively impact our business, prospects, results of operations, financial condition or cash flows.

Our business and operations are sensitive to global economic conditions. These conditions include interest rates, energy costs, inflation, recession, fluctuations in debt and equity capital markets and the general condition of the U.S. and world economy. A material decline in the economic conditions affecting consumers, which cause a reduction in disposable income for the average consumer, may change consumption patterns, and may result in a reduction in spending on OTP or a switch to cheaper products or products obtained through illicit channels. Electronic cigarettes, vaporizer and e-liquid products are relatively new to market and may be regarded by users as a novelty item and expendable. As such, demand for our NewGen products may be particularly sensitive to economic conditions such as inflation, recession, high energy costs, unemployment, changes in interest rates and money supply, changes in the political environment and other factors beyond our control, any combination of which could result in a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our supply to our wholesalers and retailers is dependent on the demands of their customers who are sensitive to increased sales taxes and economic conditions affecting their disposable income.

Consumer purchases of tobacco products are historically affected by economic conditions, such as changes in employment, salary and wage levels, the availability of consumer credit, inflation, interest rates, fuel prices, sales taxes, and the level of consumer confidence in prevailing and future economic conditions. Discretionary consumer purchases, such as of OTP, may decline during recessionary periods or at other times when disposable income is lower and taxes may be higher.

In addition, states such as New York, Hawaii, Rhode Island, Georgia and North Carolina have begun collecting taxes on internet sales where companies have used independent contractors in those states to solicit sales from residents of those states. These taxes apply to our online sales of NewGen products into those states, and may result in reduced demand from the independent wholesalers who may not be able to absorb the increased taxes or successfully pass them onto the end-user without experiencing reduced demand. The requirement to collect, track and remit taxes based on independent affiliate sales may require us to increase our prices, which may affect demand for our products or conversely reduce our net profit margin, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our failure to comply with certain environmental, health and safety regulations could adversely affect our business.

The storage, distribution and transportation of some of the products that we sell are subject to a variety of federal and state environmental regulations. In addition, our manufacturing facilities are similarly subject to federal, state and local environmental laws. We are also subject to operational, health and safety laws and regulations. Our failure to comply with these laws and regulations could cause a disruption in our business, an inability to maintain our manufacturing resources, and additional and potentially significant remedial costs and damages, fines, sanctions or other legal consequences that could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

The departure of key management personnel and the failure to attract and retain talent could adversely affect our operations.

Our success depends upon the continued contributions of our senior management. Our ability to implement our strategy of attracting and retaining the best talent may be impaired by the decreasing social acceptance of OTP usage. The OTP industry competes for talent with the consumer products industry and other companies that enjoy greater societal acceptance. As a result, we may be unable to attract and retain the best talent, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

The value of our deferred tax assets could adversely affect our operating results.

The value of our deferred tax assets could be adversely affected by a change in statutory tax rates. For example, President Trump’s administration has indicated it will propose reductions to the corporate statutory tax rate. A decline in the federal corporate tax rate may lower the Company’s tax provision expense; however, it may also significantly decrease the value of the Company’s deferred tax assets, which would result in a reduction of net income in the period in which the tax change is enacted. Further, there is no assurance that any potential tax savings from a reduction in corporate tax rates, if enacted, would be realized to the extent anticipated or at all.

Imposition of significant tariffs on imports into the U.S., could have a material and adverse effect on our business.

We are required to purchase all our cigarette papers, cigarette tubes and cigarette injector machines from Bolloré in France, and we source our Zig-Zag^® branded cigars and cigarillos and other products from the Dominican Republic. President Trump and his administration have made comments that indicate an intention to impose significant tariffs on goods and services imported from outside the U.S. If the U.S. were to impose such tariffs, it is likely to make it more costly for us to import goods from other countries. As a result, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.

The reduced disclosure requirements applicable to emerging growth companies may make our common stock less attractive to investors, potentially decreasing our stock price.

We are an “emerging growth company” as defined under the federal securities laws. For as long as we continue to be an emerging growth company, we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies. Investors may find our common stock less attractive because we may rely on these exemptions, which include but are not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (“Section 404”), reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act (“Section 107”) provides that an emerging growth company can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. We have elected to opt out of the extended transition period for complying with the revised accounting standards.

If investors find our common stock less attractive as a result of exemptions and reduced disclosure requirements, there may be a less active trading market for our common stock and our stock price may be more volatile or decrease.

We may lose our status as an emerging growth company before the five-year maximum time period a company may retain such status.

We have elected to rely on the exemptions and reduced disclosure requirements applicable to emerging growth companies and expect to continue to do so. However, we may choose to “opt out” of such reduced disclosure requirements and provide disclosure required for companies that do not qualify as emerging growth companies. In addition, we chose to opt out of the provision of the JOBS Act that permits us to take advantage of an extended transition period to comply with new or revised accounting standards applicable to public companies. Section 107 provides that our decision to opt out of the extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards would be irrevocable.

Furthermore, although we are able to remain an emerging growth company for up to five years, we may lose such status at an earlier time if (i) our annual gross revenues exceed $1 billion, (ii) we become a “large accelerated

filer” as defined in Rule 12b-2 under the Exchange Act, which would occur if the market value of our common stock that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the last business day of our most recently completed second fiscal quarter, or (iii) we issued more than $1 billion in non-convertible debt during the preceding three-year period.

When we lose our emerging growth company status, whether due to an election, the end of the five-year period, or one of the circumstances listed in the preceding paragraph, the emerging growth company exemptions will cease to apply and we expect we will incur additional expenses and devote increased management effort toward ensuring compliance with the non-emerging growth company requirements. We cannot predict or estimate the amount of additional costs we may incur as a result of the change in our status under the JOBS Act or the timing of such costs, though such costs may be substantial.

Our principal stockholders will be able to exert significant influence over matters submitted to our stockholders and may take certain actions to prevent takeovers.

Funds managed by Standard General L.P. (together with the funds it manages, “Standard General”) and Fort George Investments, LLC (“Fort George”), are significant stockholders. Standard General beneficially owns approximately 54.1% of our common stock. Thomas Helms, our Chairman, directly or indirectly holds approximately 9.3% of our common stock. The existence of these and other significant stockholders may have the effect of deterring hostile takeovers, delaying or preventing changes in control or changes in management, or limiting the ability of our other stockholders to approve transactions that they may deem to be in the best interests of our company. In addition, our significant stockholders will be able to exert significant influence over the decision, if any, to authorize additional capital stock, which, if issued, could have a significant dilutive effect on holders of common stock.

On November 25, 2016, Standard General and Thomas Helms entered into a contribution and exchange agreement whereby, in the aggregate, they will contribute approximately 52% of our issued and outstanding stock in exchange for newly issued shares of Class A Common Stock of Special Diversified Opportunities Inc. (“SDOI”). As a result of the exchange and contribution which is expected to close in the second quarter 2017, SDOI will own approximately 52% of our stock and Standard General and Thomas Helms will own approximately 90.9% of SDOI’s issued and outstanding stock.

Our certificate of incorporation provides that the doctrine of “corporate opportunity” will not apply against Standard General in a manner that would prohibit them from investing in competing businesses or doing business with our customers. To the extent they invest in such other businesses, Standard General may have differing interests than our other stockholders. In addition, Standard General is permitted to engage in business activities or invest in or acquire businesses which may compete with or do business with any competitors of ours.

Furthermore, Standard General is in the business of managing investment funds and therefore may pursue acquisition opportunities that may be complementary to our business and, as a result, such acquisition opportunities may not be available to us.

Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws, as well as Delaware law and certain regulations, could discourage or prohibit acquisition bids or merger proposals, which may adversely affect the market price of our common stock.

Our certificate of incorporation authorizes our board of directors to issue preferred stock without stockholder approval. If our board of directors elects to issue preferred stock, it could be more difficult for a third party to acquire us. In addition, some provisions of our certificate of incorporation, bylaws and applicable law could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire control of us, even if the change of control would be beneficial to our stockholders, including:

Our certificate of incorporation limits the ownership of our common stock by individuals and entities that are Restricted Investors. These restrictions may affect the liquidity of our common stock and may result in Restricted Investors being required to sell or redeem their shares at a loss or relinquish their voting, dividend and distribution rights.

For so long as we or one of our subsidiaries is party to any of the Bolloré distribution agreements, our certificate of incorporation will limit the ownership of our common stock by any “Restricted Investor” to 14.9% of our outstanding common stock and shares convertible or exchangeable therefor (including our non-voting common stock) (the “Permitted Percentage”). A “Restricted Investor” is defined as: (i) any entity that directly or indirectly manufactures, sells, markets, distributes or otherwise promotes cigarette paper booklets, filter tubes, injector machines or filter tips in the United States, the District of Columbia, the territories, possessions and military bases of the United States and the Dominion of Canada (a “Bolloré Competitor”), (ii) any entity that owns more than a 20% equity interest in any Bolloré Competitor, or (iii) any person who serves as a director or officer of, or any entity that has the right to appoint an officer or director of, any Bolloré Competitor or of any Entity that owns more than a 20% equity interest in any Bolloré Competitor (each, a “Restricted Investor”). Our certificate of incorporation further provides that any issuance or transfer of shares to a Restricted Investor in excess of the Permitted Percentage will be ineffective as against us and that neither we nor our transfer agent will register the issuance or transfer of shares or be required to recognize the transferee or owner as a holder of our common stock for any purpose except to exercise our remedies described below. Any shares in excess of the Permitted Percentage in the hands of a Restricted Investor will not have any voting or dividend rights and are subject to redemption by us in our discretion. The liquidity or market value of the shares of our common stock may be adversely impacted by such transfer restrictions.

As a result of the above provisions, a proposed transferee of our common stock that is a Restricted Investor may not receive any return on its investment in shares it purchases or owns, as the case may be, and it may sustain a loss. We are entitled to redeem all or any portion of such shares acquired by a Restricted Investor in excess of the Permitted Percentage (“Excess Shares”) at a redemption price based on a fair market value formula that is set forth in our certificate of incorporation, which may be paid in any form, including cash or promissory notes, at our discretion. Excess Shares not yet redeemed will not be accorded any voting, dividend or distribution rights while they constitute Excess Shares. As a result of these provisions, a stockholder who is a Restricted Investor may be required to sell its shares of our common stock at an undesirable time or price and may not receive any return on its investment in such shares. However, we may not be able to redeem Excess Shares for cash because our operations may not have generated sufficient excess cash flow to fund the redemption and we may incur additional indebtedness to fund all or a portion of such redemption, in which case our financial condition may be materially weakened.

Our certificate of incorporation permits us to require that owners of any shares of our common stock provide certification of their status as a Restricted Investor. In the event that a person does not submit such documentation, our certificate of incorporation provides us with certain remedies, including the suspension of the payment of dividends and distributions with respect to shares held by such person and deposit of any such dividends and distributions into an escrow account. As a result of non-compliance with these provisions, an owner of the shares of our common stock may lose significant rights associated with those shares.

Although our certificate of incorporation contains the above provisions intended to assure compliance with the restrictions on ownership of our common stock by Restricted Investors, we may not be successful in monitoring or enforcing the provisions. A failure to enforce or otherwise maintain compliance could lead Bolloré to exercise its termination rights under the agreements, which would have a material and adverse effect on the Company’s financial position and its results of operations.

In addition to the risks described above, the foregoing restrictions could delay, defer or prevent a transaction or change in control that might involve a premium price for our common stock or that might otherwise be in the best interest of our stockholders.

Future sales of our common stock in the public market could reduce our stock price, and any additional capital raised by us through the sale of equity or convertible securities may dilute our stockholders.

We may sell additional shares of common stock in subsequent public offerings. We may also issue additional shares of common stock or convertible securities.

We cannot predict the size of future issuances of our common stock or securities convertible into common stock or the effect, if any, that future issuances and sales of shares of our common stock will have on the market price of

our common stock. Sales of substantial amounts of our common stock (including shares issued in connection with an acquisition), or the perception that such sales could occur, may adversely affect prevailing market prices of our common stock.

We may issue preferred stock whose terms could adversely affect the voting power or value of our common stock.

Our certificate of incorporation authorizes us to issue, without the approval of our stockholders, one or more classes or series of preferred stock having such designations, preferences, limitations and relative rights, including preferences over our common stock respecting dividends and distributions, as our board of directors may determine. The terms of one or more classes or series of preferred stock could adversely impact the voting power or value of our common stock. For example, we might grant holders of preferred stock the right to elect some number of our directors in all events or on the happening of specified events or the right to veto specified transactions. Similarly, the repurchase or redemption rights or liquidation preferences we might assign to holders of preferred stock could affect the residual value of the common stock.

None

As of December 31, 2016, we operated manufacturing, distribution, office and warehouse space in the U.S. with a total floor area of approximately 337,841 square feet. Previously, all of this footage was leased. On October 31, 2016, we purchased the Dresden, Tennessee facility for approximately $1.3 million. To provide a cost-efficient supply of products to our customers, we maintain centralized management of internal manufacturing and nationwide distribution facilities. Our two manufacturing and distribution facilities are located in Louisville, Kentucky and Dresden, Tennessee. We believe our facilities are generally adequate for our current and anticipated future use.

The following table describes our principal properties as of December 31, 2016:

We are a party from time to time to various proceedings in the ordinary course of business. For a description of the Master Settlement Agreement, to which we are a party, see “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 2 Summary of Significant Accounting Policies: Risk and Uncertainties.” There is no material litigation, arbitration or governmental proceeding currently pending against us or any of our officers or directors in their capacity as such.

Other major tobacco companies are defendants in a number of product liability claims. In a number of these cases, the amounts of punitive and compensatory damages sought are significant, and could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations. We cannot guarantee that we will not become defendants in such product liability cases in the future. We are currently a defendant in certain cases which have been dormant for many years. Plaintiffs’ counsel appears to be trying to revive the cases but it is unclear that they are still viable. Should these cases become active again, the time and expense associated with litigating these cases could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations. See “Risk Factors—We may become subject to significant product liability litigation.”

Not applicable.

Executive Officers of the Registrant

Listed below are the executive officers of the Company. Our executive officers are appointed by, and serve at the discretion of, our board of directors. There are no family relationships between any of the executive officers, and there is no arrangement or understanding between any executive officer and any other person pursuant to which the executive officer was selected.

Thomas F. Helms, Jr., age 76, currently serves as our Chairman, a position he has served in since May 2016. Previously, Mr. Helms served as Executive Chairman of the board of directors from May 2006 to May 2016 and as Non-Executive Chairman of the board of directors from June 1997 to May 2006. Mr. Helms has also formerly served as our President. In 1988, Mr. Helms formed our predecessor to acquire certain loose leaf chewing tobacco assets of Lorillard, Inc. Mr. Helms served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Culbro Corporation’s smokeless tobacco division from 1983 until shortly prior to its sale to American Maize-Products Company in March 1986. From 1979 to 1982, Mr. Helms was General Manager of the Etherea Cosmetics and Designer Fragrances Division of Revlon, Inc. From 1964 to 1979, Mr. Helms was employed in marketing and sales positions in various divisions of Revlon, Inc.

Lawrence S. Wexler, age 64, has served as our President and CEO since June 2009 and as President and Chief Operating Officer of NATC, our primary operating subsidiary since June 2006. Prior to June 2006, Mr. Wexler had been the Chief Operating Officer of NATC since June 2005, and prior to that, the President and Chief Operating Officer of one of our other subsidiaries since December 2003. Mr. Wexler was a consultant to a number of emerging marketing, communication and financial companies, advising them on financial, marketing and strategic matters, at times in an operating role from 1998 to 2003. From 1977 to 1998, he was employed by Philip Morris, USA in various positions in the Sales, Marketing and Finance Departments. As Group Director, Discount Brands, his group introduced the Basic and Alpine brands. He served as Senior Vice President of Marketing from 1992 to 1993 and Senior Vice President Finance, Planning and Information Services from 1993 until his departure in 1998. Mr. Wexler holds a bachelor of science in administrative science from Yale and a master of business administration from Stanford.

Mark A. Stegeman, age 55, has served as our Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President since August 2015. Prior to joining us, Mr. Stegeman was Vice President and Assistant Treasurer at Brown-Forman Corporation, a producer of premium spirits, from 2007 to 2015. Mr. Stegeman previously served as Vice President and Treasurer of La-Z-Boy Incorporated from 2001 to 2007. Mr. Stegeman was Vice President & Relationship Manager at UBS from 2000 to 2001, Citigroup from 1997 to 2000 and KeyBank from 1987 to 1997. He was a Senior Audit Accountant at PricewaterhouseCoopers from 1982 to 1987. Mr. Stegeman holds a bachelor of business administration and a master of business administration, both from the University of Toledo.

James W. Dobbins, age 57, has been our Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary since June 1999 and has served in various roles in our legal department since joining us in June 1999. Prior to joining us, Mr. Dobbins was in private practice in North Carolina and held various positions in the legal department of Liggett Group Inc., a major cigarette manufacturer, including, at the time he left that company, Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary. Mr. Dobbins has also practiced as an outside litigation attorney with Webster & Sheffield, a New York law firm, representing a variety of clients including Liggett Group Inc. Prior to joining Webster & Sheffield, he served as a law clerk to the Honorable J. Daniel Mahoney, U.S. Circuit Judge for the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. Mr. Dobbins holds a bachelor of arts in mathematics and political science from Drew University and a J.D. from Fordham University School of Law.

James Murray, age 56, has served as our Senior Vice President of Business Planning since 2005. Prior to 2005, Mr. Murray was our Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing since 2002, and prior to that, our Vice President of Marketing since 2000. Previously, Mr. Murray held various marketing positions at Brach’s Confections from 1995 to 1999 and various sales and marketing positions at American Tobacco (American Brands) from 1985 to 1994. Mr. Murray also held various sales and research positions at Schrafft’s Ice Cream and Nielsen Research from 1982 to 1985. Mr. Murray holds a bachelor of science in marketing from Fairfield University and a master of business administration from Fordham University.

Part II

Market Information

The principal stock exchange on which Turning Point Brands, Inc.’s common stock (par value $0.01 per share) is listed is the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “TPB”. At March 6, 2017, there were approximately 296 holders of record of Turning Point Brands, Inc.’s common stock.

The table below discloses the high and low sales prices per share for Turning Point Brands, Inc.’s common stock as reported by the New York Stock Exchange.

Dividends. We have not paid dividends to holders of our common stock within the past five years. Any future determination to pay dividends will be at the discretion of our board of directors and will be dependent on then-existing conditions, including our financial condition and results of operations, capital requirements, contractual restrictions, acquisition opportunities, business prospects and other factors that our board of directors considers relevant. Furthermore, because we are a holding company, any dividend payments would depend on the cash flow of our subsidiaries.

Securities authorized for issuance under equity compensation plans. The information required by this item will be included in an amendment to this Annual Report on Form 10-K or incorporated by reference from our Proxy Statement to be filed with the SEC for our 2017 Annual Meeting of Stockholders within 120 days after the end of our fiscal year ended December 31, 2016.

Performance graph

The graph below compares the cumulative total shareholder return of Turning Point Brands, Inc. common stock since our initial public offering on May 11, 2016 with the Russell 3000 Index and the S&P Small Cap 600 Consumer Staples Index. The information presented assumes an initial investment of $100 on May 11, 2016, and that all dividends were reinvested. The cumulative returns shown represent the value that these investments would have had on December 31, 2016.

Sales of unregistered securities. Not applicable.

Use of proceeds. On May 10, 2016, the SEC declared our registration statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-207816)) effective for our IPO. There has been no material change in the planned use of proceeds from our initial public offering as described in our final prospectus filed with the SEC on May 12, 2016.

Issuer purchases of equity securities. No shares of common stock were purchased during 2016.

The following selected financial data should be read in conjunction with “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and consolidated financial statements and notes thereto contained in “Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” of this report. Prior years have been restated for comparison purposes due to the adoptions of ASU 2015-03, Interest – Imputation of Interest (Subtopic 835-30): Simplifying the Presentation of Debt Issuance Cost and ASU 2015-17, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Balance sheet classification of deferred taxes. A reconciliation of non-GAAP measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure is presented following the Selected Financial Data.

performance. “Adjusted EBITDA Margin” is defined as the Adjusted EBITDA for that period divided by the net sales for that period. We present EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA in this Form 10-K because they are key metrics used by management and our board of directors to assess our financial performance and are also used by management to assess performance for the purposes of our executive compensation programs. EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin are also frequently used by analysts, investors and other interested parties to evaluate companies in our industry. We believe that EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin are appropriate measures of operating performance because they eliminate the impact of expenses that do not relate to business performance.

EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin have limitations as analytical tools, and you should not consider them in isolation, or as a substitute for analysis of our results as reported under GAAP. Some of these limitations are:

The following table presents a reconciliation of EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure for the periods indicated.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This annual report on Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements may generally be identified by the use of words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan” and “will” or, in each case, their negative, or other variations or comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements include all matters that are not historical facts. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future. As a result, actual events may differ materially from those expressed in or suggested by the forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statement made by TPB in this annual report on Form 10-K speaks only as of the date hereof. New risks and uncertainties come up from time to time, and it is impossible for TPB to predict these events or how they may affect it. TPB has no obligation, and does not intend, to update any forward-looking statements after the date hereof, except as required by federal securities laws. Factors that could cause these differences include, but are not limited to:

MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

You should read the following discussion of the historical financial condition and results of operations in conjunction with our historical condensed consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes, which are included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. In addition, this discussion includes forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that may result in actual results differing from statements we make. See “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.” Factors that could cause actual results to differ include those risks and uncertainties that are discussed in “Risk Factors.”

The following discussion relates to the audited financial statements of Turning Point Brands, Inc. included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. In this discussion, unless the context requires otherwise, references to “our Company” “we,” “our,” or “us” refer to Turning Point Brands, Inc. and our consolidated subsidiaries. References to “TPB” refer to Turning Point Brands, Inc. without any of its subsidiaries. We were incorporated in 2004 under the name North Atlantic Holding Company, Inc. On November 4, 2015, we changed our name to Turning Point Brands, Inc. Many of the amounts and percentages in this discussion have been rounded for convenience of presentation.

Overview

We are a leading independent provider of Other Tobacco Products (“OTP”) in the U.S. We sell a wide range of products across the OTP spectrum, including MST, loose leaf chewing tobacco, premium cigarette papers, make-your-own (“MYO”) cigar wraps and cigar smoking tobacco, cigars, liquid vapor products and tobacco vaporizer products. We do not sell cigarettes. We estimate that the OTP industry generated approximately $10.5 billion in manufacturer revenue in 2016. In contrast to manufactured cigarettes, which have been experiencing declining sales for decades based on data published by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (“TTB”), the OTP industry is demonstrating increased consumer appeal with low to mid-single digit consumer unit growth as reported by Management Science Associates, Inc. (“MSAi”), a third party analytics and informatics company.

Our portfolio of brands includes some of the most widely recognized names in the OTP industry, such as Zig-Zag^®, Beech-Nut^®, Stoker’s^®, Trophy^®, and VaporBeast^™ The following table sets forth the market share and category rank of our core products and demonstrates their industry positions:

We currently ship to approximately 900 direct wholesale customers with an additional 100 secondary, indirect wholesalers in the U.S. that carry and sell our products. As of December 31, 2016, our products are available in over 170,000 U.S. retail locations which, with the addition of retail stores in Canada, brings our total North American retail presence to an estimated 200,000 points of distribution. Our sales team targets widespread distribution to all traditional retail channels, including convenience stores where over 60% of all OTP volume is currently sold according to MSAi.

We generate revenues from the sale of our products primarily to wholesale distributors who in turn resell them to retail operations, as well as from the sale of our products directly to retail operations. Our net sales, which include federal excise taxes, consist of gross sales, net of cash discounts, returns, and selling and marketing allowances.

Our principal operating expenses include the cost of raw materials used to manufacture the limited number of our products which we manufacture; the cost of finished products, which are purchased goods; federal excise taxes; legal expenses and compensation expenses, including benefits and costs of salaried personnel. Our other principal expenses include interest expense and amortization of deferred financing costs and other expenses.

We operate in three segments: (i) smokeless products, (ii) smoking products and (iii) NewGen products. In our smokeless products segment we manufacture and market moist snuff and contract for and market loose leaf chewing tobacco products. In our smoking products segment, we (i) market and distribute cigarette papers and related products, as well as package, market and distribute MYO cigarette smoking tobaccos and related products and (ii) market and distribute MYO cigar wraps, MYO loose cigar smoking tobacco, and cigars, and package, market and distribute traditional pipe tobaccos. In our NewGen products segment, we (i) market and distribute liquid vapor products, tobacco vaporizer products, and certain other products without tobacco and/or nicotine and (ii) distribute a wide assortment of vaping related products to non-traditional retail via VaporBeast.

In November 2016, a subsidiary of the Company, purchased all of the capital stock of Smoke Free Technologies, Inc. d/b/a VaporBeast (“VaporBeast”) for an aggregate purchase price of $27 million. VaporBeast is a leading distributor of liquid vapor products servicing the non-traditional retail channel. Also in November 2016, we purchased five regional chewing tobacco brands from Wind River Tobacco Company (“Wind River”) for a purchase price of $2.5 million.

Key Factors Affecting Our Results of Operations

We consider the following to be the key factors affecting our results of operations:

Initial Public Offering

In April of 2016, we increased the total authorized shares of preferred and voting and non-voting common stock and effected a 10.43174381 for 1 stock split of the voting and non-voting common stock. As a result of the stock split, all previously reported share amounts (including options and warrants) in the accompanying financial statements and related notes have been retrospectively restated to reflect the stock split.

In our May 2016 initial public offering (the “IPO”) we sold 6,210,000 shares of our voting common stock (including 810,000 shares pursuant to the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares to cover over-allotments) at a price per share of $10.00.

The Company raised a total of approximately $62.1 million in gross proceeds from the IPO, or $58.2 million in net proceeds after deducting underwriting commissions and other associated costs. We used the proceeds from the IPO together with cash on hand to pay fees and expenses related to the IPO, repurchase outstanding warrants and options issued by our subsidiary, Intrepid Brands LLC (“Intrepid”), repay approximately $34 million of our floating rate PIK Toggle Notes due 2021 (the “PIK Toggle Notes”) and to repay approximately $20 million of the borrowings outstanding under our second lien credit facility.

In connection with the IPO, we exchanged (i) all of the PIK Toggle Notes that were not repaid in cash for 3,168,438 shares of common stock and (ii) all of our outstanding 7% Senior Notes for 1,289,819 shares of our common stock.

As noted above, in connection with the IPO and related transactions we were able to significantly reduce our leverage. The following table provides outstanding balances under our debt facilities and instruments as of December 31, 2016 (in millions):

Recent Developments

Credit Facility Refinancing

On February 17, 2017, we entered into a new $250 million credit facility, consisting of $200 million in first and second lien term loans and $50 million in a revolving credit facility (the “2017 Credit Facility”). We used a portion of the proceeds from the 2017 Credit Facility to repay in full our prior credit facility. (For a more complete description of our 2017 Credit Facility, see “-- Subsequent Event – Refinancing”)

Critical Accounting Policies and Uses of Estimates

The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States. When more than one accounting principle, or the method of its application, is generally accepted, we select the principle or method that is appropriate in the specific circumstances. Application of these accounting principles requires us to make estimates about the future resolution of existing uncertainties; actual results could differ from these estimates. We evaluate our estimates, including those related to revenue recognition, collectability of accounts receivable, inventory valuation and obsolescence, goodwill, intangibles, pension and post-retirement obligations, income taxes, litigation, and contingencies on an on-going basis. We base these estimates on our historical experience and other assumptions that we believe are appropriate under the circumstances. In preparing these consolidated financial statements, we have made our best estimates and judgments of the amounts and disclosures included in the consolidated financial statements.

Revenue Recognition. We recognize revenues, net of sales incentives and sales returns, including shipping and handling charges billed to customers, upon delivery to the customer at which time there is a transfer of title and risk of loss to the customer in accordance with the ASC 605-10-S99. We classify customer rebates as sales deductions in accordance with the requirements of ASC 605-50-25.

Derivative Instruments. We use foreign currency forward contracts to hedge a portion of our exposure to changes in foreign currency exchange rates from time to time. We account for our forward contracts under the provisions of ASC 815, “Derivatives and Hedging”. Under our policy, as amended, we may hedge up to 100% of our anticipated purchases of inventory in the denominated invoice currency over a forward period not to exceed twelve months. We may also, from time to time, hedge up to ninety percent of our non-inventory purchases in the denominated invoice currency. Forward contracts that qualify as hedges are adjusted to their fair value through other comprehensive income as determined by market prices on the measurement date except any hedge ineffectiveness which is recognized currently in income. Gains and losses on these contracts are transferred from other comprehensive income into net income as the related inventories are received. Changes in fair value of any contracts that do not qualify for hedge accounting or are not designated as hedges are recognized in income currently.

Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets. We follow the provisions of ASC 350, Intangibles – Goodwill and Other. In accordance with ASC 350-20-35, goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets are reviewed for impairment annually on December 31 or more frequently if certain indicators arise. If the carrying value of goodwill exceeds its fair value, which is determined using discounted cash flows, goodwill is considered impaired. The amount of impairment loss is measured as the difference between the carrying value and the implied fair value. If the carrying value of an indefinite-lived intangible asset exceeds its fair value, which is determined using discounted cash flows, the intangible asset is considered impaired and is reduced to fair value.

We had no such impairment of Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets as of December 31, 2016.

Fair Value: GAAP establishes a framework for measuring fair value. That framework provides a fair value hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value. The hierarchy gives the highest

priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (level 1) and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs (level 3). The three levels of the fair value hierarchy under GAAP are described below:

Level 1 – Inputs to the valuation methodology are unadjusted quoted prices for identical assets or liabilities in active markets at the measurement date.

Level 2 – Inputs to the valuation methodology include: quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities in active markets; quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in inactive markets; inputs other than quoted prices that are observable for the asset or liability; and inputs that are derived principally from or corroborated by observable market data by correlation or other means.

Level 3 – Unobservable inputs that reflect management’s best estimate of what market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability at the measurement date.

Retirement Plans. We follow the provisions of ASC 715, Compensation – Retirement Benefits in accounting for our retirement plans, which requires an employer to (i) recognize in its statement of financial position the funded status of a benefit plan, measured as the difference between the fair value of plan assets and benefit obligations, (ii) recognize net of tax, the gains or losses and prior service costs or credits that arise during the period but are not recognized as components of net periodic benefit cost, and (iii) measure defined benefit plan assets and obligations as of the date of the employer’s statement of financial position.

Income Taxes. We account for income taxes under ASC 740. We record the effects of income taxes under the liability method in which deferred income tax assets and liabilities are recognized based on the difference between the financial and tax basis of assets and liabilities using the enacted tax rates in effect for the years in which the differences are expected to reverse. We assess our ability to realize future benefits of deferred tax assets to determine if they meet the “more likely than not” criteria in ASC 740, Income Taxes. If we determine that future benefits do not meet the “more likely than not” criteria, a valuation allowance is recorded.

Stock-Based Compensation. We measure stock compensation costs related to our stock options on the fair value based method under the provisions of ASC 718, Compensation – Stock Compensation, which requires compensation cost for stock options to be recognized based on the fair value of stock options granted. We determined the fair value of these awards using the Black-Scholes option pricing model.

Accounts Receivable. Accounts receivable are recognized at their net realizable value. All accounts receivable are trade-related and are recorded at the invoiced amount and do not bear interest. We maintain allowances for doubtful accounts receivable for estimated uncollectible invoices resulting from the customer’s inability to pay, which may result in write-offs. The activity of allowance for doubtful accounts for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015 is as follows (in thousands):

Inventories. Inventories are stated at the lower of cost or market. Cost was determined using the LIFO method for approximately 50% of the inventories. Leaf tobacco is presented in current assets in accordance with standard industry practice, notwithstanding the fact that such tobaccos are carried longer than one year for the purpose of curing. We recorded an inventory valuation allowance of $0.6 million and $0.3 million at December 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively.

Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012

We chose to “opt out” of the provision of the JOBS Act that permits us, as an “emerging growth company,” to take advantage of an extended transition period to comply with new or revised accounting standards applicable to public companies. As a result, we will comply with new or revised accounting standards as required for public companies. Our decision to opt out of the extended transition period provided in the JOBS Act is irrevocable.

Results of Operations

Summary

The table and discussion set forth below relates to our consolidated results of operations for the years ended December 31 (in thousands):