CHARLOTTE, N.C. – In a move that brings an e-liquid line to c-stores from the vape-shop world, Mistic E-Cigs recently announced a strategic partnership with Cosmic Fog Vapors designed to engage the vape-shop customer at traditional brick-and-mortar national retailers.
Under the terms of the agreement, Mistic E-Cigs will serve as the exclusive distributor for Costa Mesa, Calif.-based Cosmic Fog to convenience, drug and mass retailers.
Starting in December, some of Cosmic Fog’s most popular flavors will begin shipping to 5,000 traditional retailers across the country in 30-mL glass bottles and 10-mL child-resistant, tamper-proof prefilled Cosmic Fog pods, exclusively designed for the Mistic 2.0 Pod-Mod product. Distribution will increase to more than 20,000 stores by early next year.
Cosmic Fog has spent the past several years building a brand presence within the vape-shop and specialty communities, according to Mistic officials. The new agreement allows both companies to broaden their reach and continue to build brand recognition with all vape consumers, officials said.
Talking about the importance of the c-store channel, John Wiesehan Jr., CEO of Mistic, Charlotte, N.C., told CSP Daily News that “as a category develops and gets more mature, we believe that price and convenience will always end up being a winner for any [emerging] consumer brand. Once educated, consumers understand how [a product] works. They know what they want. At that point, we need to offer the product in many locations.”
Mistic’s c-store distribution partners include companies on both the retail and wholesale side, the company said.
“We are seeing a resurgence of e-cigarette sales in the c-store channel, which is further indication that smokers and vapers are still looking for alternatives to combustible cigarettes at traditional retailers,” Wiesehan said in a press release. “Partnering with a great brand like Cosmic Fog, and offering their products that already have been available in the vape-shop segment for years, makes perfect sense as we build our customer base by offering vapers more flavor options of high-quality, made-in-the-USA e-liquids that also can be used with our new Mistic 2.0 platform and other Haus hardware.”
“We see our partnership with Mistic as an opportunity to grow sales by leveraging Mistic’s vast distribution network of traditional retailers alongside their established Mistic brand,” said Rob Crossley, founder of Cosmic Fog. “Ultimately, it’s about providing alternatives to all smokers and vapers wherever they shop for vapor products, and this deal allows us to offer our high-quality e-liquids to new and existing consumers via new retail sales channels.”
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