 Hi, how's everybody doing today? This is Rich, here on behalf of RichTV Live with Joe Deegan, the president and CEO of Tatt Herb Co. How you doing today, Joe? I'm doing good. Richard, thanks for having me. Thank you for being here. Now we're really excited about the new IPO that's coming up. And before we get started in learning more about the company, why don't we get started by you telling us a little bit about who Joe Deegan is? Yeah, I think for myself, first and foremost, I'm a dad, I'm married, I'm a husband. I have a background in entrepreneurship. I actually have a degree in entrepreneurship. And I really do believe that I hope to make products that can make the world a better place. Wow, that's great. Well, hopefully this is a product that can definitely make a huge impact. And I believe it will. Can you give us some background on your career? Yeah. So back in 2012, I started an e-liquid company called Jjuice. It was good timing in the vape industry all the way back in 2012. I was one of the first movers. And I focused solely on e-liquid manufacturing. And so I built a manufacturing facility that did the liquid for electronic cigarettes. I built this into all 50 states, 26 countries. I private label manufactured for over 50 other brands domestically and internationally. And through this, subsequently, I was fortunate enough to sell this to one of the major tobacco companies. And then through that venture, immediately once I began crusading that company, I had built a deep passion for CBD and hemp products, even all the way back in 2014. I mean, six years ago, I was looking at CBD products. I was private label manufacturing for CBD brands that are still in the market today. Some of the biggest, most dominant players. And I really got a hands-on experience with the benefits of the plant. So I just continued deepening my research and paying attention to it. So after selling my company to a major tobacco company, I was able to found Wild Hemp, which remains one of the market leaders today for the category of hemp cigarettes. And so it's just been a, this is my life. This is my passion. This is what I do. But it's a product that I deeply believe in. Very good. Where did you come up with that name, Tatt International? Well, the name Tatt, the name Tatt is actually, it's a tribute to one of my best friends who had passed away. Oh, sorry to hear that. Josh. Yeah, thank you. He did pass away about four years ago now. And Josh was, he was someone who had a deep passion for making the world a better place. And he was an extremely talented tattoo artist in Huntington Beach, California. So I feel like, for me, it's a tribute to him, but it's also significant and symbolic to me. His dedication to his craft of tattooing was similar to what I hope to put into our products here at Tatt. So yeah, it's a tribute to him. Good for you. I think that that's a great, great, great cause. Now, Beyond Meat has been a huge story this year. The stock has done extremely well. Where does the term Beyond Tobacco come from? Well, I think it's interesting. I think about different industries. I think, yeah, we'll look at Beyond Meat, but also let's look at Tesla. The internal combustion engine is going to become a thing of the past. And then we're seeing all these different car companies, they're going to innovate, or they're going to let Tesla continue munching up market share and becoming that much more valuable. So innovation is inevitable. And if we look at Big Tobacco, they're a dinosaur. They've done very little to innovate. Sure, they've tried heat not burn. And they've tried some other things, but to no prevail. And so I think this is really the true, Beyond Tobacco comes from that term, just like Beyond Meat, a plant-based meat that has macro effects in the environment. It can benefit it without all the, and we're no different. I think hemp is an unbelievable plant that can benefit the environment on a macro scale. But then on a micro scale, when it comes to our products, it's an incredible experience to smoke a cigarette that has no tobacco, no nicotine, but it tastes just like a light cigarette. And nicotine addiction, I come from the world of apine and eliquid. So it's a serious product to help people. Absolutely. Now, what sets TAT products apart from the competition? You kind of touched on it. Wild Hemp, Plain Jane, Right On Brands, what sets you guys apart? Well, first off, I don't actually see ourselves competing with anyone in the hemp cigarette space. We're really going after the old line tobacco industry. We want to be side by side with all the major cigarette brands, offering our beyond tobacco alternative to a traditional tobacco cigarette. So we feel that our proprietary blend, and it's developed over years of my world and my previous experience in the world of flavors with eliquid, manufacturing for so many different brands, my operational background. But getting that first-hand experience of what the market actually likes, the way that you can really appeal to different customer bases with the right flavor profiles, and being able to replicate a cigarette is, I can't emphasize, it's a smooth satisfying experience. It's one of my biggest passions. And also, one thing to emphasize, Rich, is this is a cigarette that actually has no tobacco, no nicotine. So I come from the world of consumable and addictive. And so when you vape, it fulfills your nicotine habit. But you're really replacing one nicotine with another form of nicotine. And arguably, you start to consume even more nicotine. So this is actually a product that can help you get off of nicotine. So that's big. That's huge. I like it. Now you did say that it actually tastes and smells exactly like a traditional cigarette. Is that true? Yeah, that's true. Yeah, so just like you vape, you can create a vapor flavor that tastes like tobacco. We have terpenes that we infuse into our blend. We're very delicate into handling of our material. We control the environment. We control the moisture content. We control the grain size. We sift all the seeds and stems. It's a very complex process for us to dial in and actually end up with a product that tastes like a cigarette. But it's really, it's in all these different steps, I think, is what really sets us apart. But I'm very excited for people to try it. I smoke at least 10 to 15 of them every day. Like I really sincerely enjoy them. I've been able to reduce. I got addicted to my own vape product. And I've been able to reduce the amount of vape. So I'm a believer that this is actually something to help you get off of nicotine. And there's also other positive side effects from using it. Wow, that's impressive. So are you a cigarette smoker? I was a cigarette smoker for about seven, eight years I was. And then I switched over to vaping and probably got even more addicted to vaping. And so now I've started in keeping my vape to the side and not using it as frequently. And I've been using, particularly, my favorite is our original Beyond Tobacco hemp cigarette because I prefer the taste of tobacco. Even if I'm vaping, I just, and that's so, that for me is my preference. But it's helped me. Absolutely no doubt about it. It's helped me reduce even the amount that I vape. Wow, that's impressive. Maybe one day I'll be able to try one myself. If you're a cigarette smoker, I'll send you some. I'm not, I'm not, but I'd be willing to try it. Yeah, definitely. I'd be willing to try it. I'll send you some anyways. Yeah, thank you. How difficult was it to create a product like this? Oh, I think it's, you know, the thing that I think about is, you know, it's almost like Malcolm Gladwell, 10,000 hours. Anybody in the hemp field is gonna tell you it's an incredibly complex plant to work with. It's why the farmers, you know, out there that have been farming their whole lives will say, hey, I've never thought it was gonna be this difficult to grow a weed. Wow, really? You know, they spend their lives picking weeds. They just grow, you know, they're a nuisance to them. But it is a much more complicated plant than I think the market completely understands. And then when it comes down to processing and blending down to a product that actually tastes and smells and burns like a cigarette, we're talking about, you know, 20 steps in our system and our process that have to be done perfectly. It's like I mentioned earlier, it's every detail. It's the environment controls. It's the moisture content of the flower before we start process A. It's the moisture of the content of the flower before we finish process Z. And so every step from A to Z has to be done perfectly, consistently, especially if we want, you know, which is, you know, what we're doing is coming out with a cigarette that really does rival old tobacco cigarettes. I mean, something without tobacco and without nicotine. It's a lot of steps, it's a lot of work, but a lot of attention to detail. What are your target markets? Well, you know, we're based here in Las Vegas, Nevada. That's where, you know, our head operation is based. My experience building distribution in all 50 states and internationally, the United States is obviously our initial focus and is our most important priority to build distribution in. You know, very soon after our corporate headquarters is located in Toronto, Canada. We're focused on North America. I've got business in Mexico and I also have business in Canada. But very soon thereafter, you know, we're looking at the UK and other markets in the European, you know, in the European Union. So the four largest cigarette markets in the world is North America, Eastern Europe, China and Indonesia. China is an example of a country where we're probably gonna have some regulatory restrictions. But, you know, there's a lot of benefits in working with hemp and not cannabis. We don't have as much regulatory red tape. So the amount that we can scale distribution in this company is it's bigger than cannabis. Hemp boom is bigger than the green boom. Wow, that's big. That's big. That's a big statement and considering you guys are about to start brand new IPO this is pretty exciting. There are obvious benefits in having tobacco flavored hemp products on the market when compared with tobacco products. What are the rules and regulations surrounding CBD hemp cigarettes in the US and Canada? Well, I think, first of all, I think, you know, I've been in even this space all the way as early as 2016, like I had mentioned earlier. And at that time there was a 2014 experimental hemp bills. And so depending on which state you were in in the United States, it was whether or not it was legal for you to experiment with the hemp plant. And then later came the real bill for the hemp industry, which we've been anticipating, which is the 2018 Farm Bill. You know, the Farm Bill is basically the federal government's way of really legalizing and giving us the framework that every state and tribal territory in the United States can follow is from labeling requirements, testing requirements, using a third party laboratory to verify. It tells us exactly the THC content that we're allowed to have within our products. So it gives us all the regulatory framework, very secure from the federal government, how we have to package our product, the QR codes we have to put on it. So it's one of the most exciting times is right now in the industry. There's just no doubt about it. And so state by state by state, they're all coming out with their own bills as well. And so, you know, for us, it is a bit of a challenge to keep up with the regulations, but with my background, especially with my experience with Wild Hemp, I've learned a lot about not just here in the United States, state by state, but also I've learned a lot about international regulations. There's many countries right now, no problem at all. We could take the product that is packaged exactly the way it is right now without making huge adjustments. You think about big tobacco and all the regulatory hurdles they have to deal with. We are not a tobacco company. We are a hemp cigarette company. We don't have the same burdensome regulations. In fact, the regulations are in our favor. I can't emphasize that enough. We have the framework. Now is the time to capitalize. Very good, very good. When do you expect to launch the product? We plan to launch the product in the fall this year, 2020. And what products will you be introducing first? Well, we plan to, you know, initially we plan to launch two products on a large scale. It's gonna be our original beyond tobacco hemp cigarette and our menthol beyond tobacco hemp cigarette. Those will be the two that we're gonna focus on right out of the gates is, you know, we're gonna stay on side by side there with cigarette companies. Very good. Tell me why you choose to launch a menthol flavored hemp cigarette. Well, it's a, actually it's a big reason. So I hope your, you know, viewers can understand this, but, okay, so we look at the, let's look at the cigarette industry. Global cigarette industry is a $1 trillion industry. And 30% of that industry is menthol. So we're talking about $300 billion industry is menthol. 30% of those smokers are menthol smokers. Now, on top of that, there's been so many different regulations that continue to hit cigarettes. And I don't mean just in the United States, you could look at Canada, you could look at countries in the European Union, we can look all over the world and we can see that cigarette companies are constantly dealing with new regulations, making it harder and harder for people to smoke cigarettes. Menthol is one of those things that are being targeted, especially here in the United States. So we, again, are not a tobacco company. We are not regulated like a tobacco company. We are a hemp company. So we can have a king pack, 20 pack of cigarettes that you may even be able to see behind me here up there on the shelf. Yeah, yeah. We can have a, it looks identical to a traditional box of hemp cigarettes and we can have menthol flavor. So when those menthol cigarettes come off the shelves, we're still gonna be there on the shelves to satisfy smokers need for just that cooling menthol hit, that mimics their menthol cigarettes. That's impressive. I'm really excited about seeing how that's gonna play out. Are there any notable studies in regards to the effectiveness of hemp cigarettes as smoking cessation therapy that you'd like to share or highlight? Well, there's quite a bit of studies that have been done showing the benefits of CBD, of course. I think for our product in particular, there's one that I tend to highlight. There was a study done with 24 participants, all 24 participants were cigarette smokers, 12 of them had a placebo and 12 of them had a actual CBD inhaler. So they would just inhale CBD or they were inhaling water. And it showed conclusively that there was a 40% reduction in cigarettes smoked by those who were using the CBD inhalers compared to those who had the placebo. Almost no effect. The placebo trial candidates, almost no change in their cigarette habits, but those consuming CBD had a 40% reduction. So like if that doesn't show you the future of cigarettes, like it's what we mean by beyond tobacco, it's there's a new wave coming. And we're positioned to be one of the major players, especially with my background in distribution on that conflict. Confidently telling everybody, pay attention to it. Because it's a category that's gonna continue to grow. I agree. I think it's very smart what you guys are doing. And you just touched on it. Have you signed any distribution agreements to date with convenience stores, grocers, e-commerce platforms? Yes, we have. So a lot of these guys are in my network, guys that I've worked with for years and years with building up my previous companies. We've already signed a distribution deals in Texas, California, Illinois, Nevada. And we also expect national distribution prior to launch this fall. Wow, that's huge. What would you say are your five key selling points? Well, I think number one is, it's an enormous market. We're talking about a $1 trillion global market. And we're talking about hemp is no longer banned as this controlled substance anymore. The regulations are favorable. So those two things, three, it smokes as well, if not better than a traditional cigarette. So it's non-psychoactive. It contains no tobacco, no nicotine. So this is really the ideal cigarette to use if you're an e-cigarette smoker or you're, this can be used as a tobacco replacement or sensation tool. I'd say four is, it's a, I'd say it's a better for you alternative to traditional cigarettes. So, and I think you'd be blown away at how many people smoke cigarettes. They're like your best friends that are with you through good times and bad times, but they're so addictive. I'm telling you as a nicotine addict, it's to have this kind of option available for people to still be able to smoke a cigarette, but have a better for you option like this, I think is definitely something to look at. And it's also the fifth reason is, this is one of the most effective ways to consume CBD. Smoking the plant was like, this is what God intended the use of the plant to be. You have to heat it up to 220 degrees to release the acidic molecule. And convert the cannabinoid into something that your body can ingest. So you can immediately, when you smoke a cigarette, compared to take a tincture within 30, 45 seconds, you immediately feel the entire entourage effect of smoking it. You'll noticeably feel the difference for hour and a half, two hours after you smoke a cigarette, just like a tobacco cigarette. So I think those would be the, those are big points, but like, you know, test me on it. Seriously, pick up a pack and like I'm, it's a noticeable difference. I'm very excited about this product. I am very excited about your guys IPO. Congratulations on all your success so far. And we'll be watching our entire community very, very closely and very, very carefully on your IPO and the progress as it happens. So once again, thank you so much for joining us here, Joe. Joe Deegan, the president and CEO of Tatt, Herb and Co. And we look forward to the launch next week. Congratulations on all your hard work, all your success. And I'm sure there's going to be a lot more success to come. Hey, appreciate it. Thank you so much, Rich. We'll see you soon, Joe. Thank you very much. Thank you. Bye.