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Below is our recent interview with Ryan Selby, CEO and Founder of Poda Lifestyle:
Q: Could you provide our readers with a brief introduction to your company?
A: Poda Lifestyle has developed an innovative new product for the heat-not-burn industry. For anyone who hasn’t heard of heat-not-burn, heat-not-burn refers to products that heat tobacco instead of burning it. Heating tobacco instead of burning is advantageous because many of the toxic constituents found in traditional cigarette smoke are created as a direct byproduct of the combustion of the tobacco. By eliminating the combustion, you can dramatically reduce the harmful toxicants, resulting in a potentially much safer cigarette. While we believe that quitting smoking now is the best choice for any adult smoker, heat-not-burn represents a potentially reduced-risk choice for those smokers who are unable or unwilling to quit. Heat-not-burn products provide adult smokers with the satisfaction of cigarette smoking while potentially reducing the risks associated with traditional cigarettes. By heating tobacco to precise temperatures rather than burning it, heat-not-burn allows nicotine and flavour to be released without creating any smoke and while still offering a cigarette-like experience to adult smokers.
In addition to our innovative heat-not-burn devices, Poda has also developed a proprietary tobacco-free product that we call our Beyond Burn blend. Our flagship Beyond Burn Poda Pods have two major innovations that make our products unique in the heat-not-burn space;
First, due to our patented closed-end pod design, all the mess is contained in the single-use pods, completely eliminating any cleaning requirements or cross-contamination between pods. This is a major pain point across the industry with all competitors requiring regular cleaning of the heating devices to keep them operating normally.
Second, our Beyond Burn Poda Pods contain a patented and completely tobacco-free blend of tea leaves, flavourings, and synthetic nicotine. They provide all the satisfaction that adult smokers are accustomed to with no tobacco, no residual odour, and no cleaning required.
Q: Any highlights on your recent announcement?
A: Our recent press releases detail our continued focus on intellectual property filings to secure Poda’s intellectual property in the many countries that we plan to launch our product offerings. This is just one more step in securing the rights to our products and brand identity in this competitive market. We believe that our Beyond Burn branding conveys the unique selling points of our innovative product line, and represents a new way to brand heated tobacco products.
We also recently announced the addition of Mr. Juan Manuel (Jon) Ruiz to our Strategic Advisory Board. Mr. Ruiz is a former top executive with Philip Morris International, one of the largest tobacco companies in the world. Mr. Ruiz brings an incredible amount of Big Tobacco experience and expertise to the Poda team, and we feel very lucky to have him joining our Strategic Advisory Board. Mr. Ruis believes that the Poda technology is truly revolutionary in the heat-not-burn space, and he is very excited to be joining the Poda team. I would encourage your readers to follow us at www.podalifestyle.com and to subscribe to our mailing list to stay up-to-date with all of our developments.
Q: Can you give us more insights into your offering?
A: Poda will launch with a thoughtfully designed heating device and a number of flavor offerings in our patented Beyond Burn Poda Pods. The device will be the first of a family of devices, designed to work exclusively with our pods. Offering fast charging and the ability to heat up to twenty pods per charge, our device is simple to use and requires no maintenance aside from charging the battery. No mess, no residual odour and no cross-contamination between pods means a fresh experience every time. The device heats the pods to precise temperatures, offering 3 heat settings and thus allowing users to experience our Beyond Burn Poda Pods in the way that best suits their personal preferences.
Our flagship Beyond Burn Poda Pods contain an innovative blend of pelletized tea leaves mixed with carefully crafted flavorings and synthetic nicotine. Synthetic nicotine is not derived from tobacco and our Beyond Burn blends contain no tobacco whatsoever. At the current time, most taxes, duties and restrictions on tobacco products do not apply to synthetic nicotine products, thus allowing Poda to offer aggressive pricing on our Beyond Burn
Poda Pods. With our zero-cleaning pods, combined with our delicious flavor offerings and cigarette-like satisfaction, Poda believes our product will compete head-to-head with the biggest players in the industry. A great product at a great price point is always a winning combination.
Q: What can we expect from your company in next 6 months? What are your plans?
A: Over the next 6 months, Poda anticipates launching our products in trial markets around the globe while continuing to invest in production scale-up. Our goal is to become a major player in the heat-not-burn industry, and we anticipate gaining market share from our competitors due to the advantages of our proprietary technology.
Q: What is the best thing about your company that people might not know about?
A: At this point in time, heat-not-burn is the fastest growing industry that most people have never heard of. Most of the world’s largest tobacco companies have put significant energy and resources into bringing heat-not-burn products to the market, with Philip Morris aiming to entirely replace their sales of traditional cigarettes with reduced-risk products over the coming years. Heat-not-burn products were introduced in Japan in 2016, and since then their popularity has exploded, with almost 25% of Japanese smokers having switched to heat-not-burn products. This trend is repeating itself around the world as the advantages of heating tobacco rather than burning it become more widely known. We believe that heated tobacco products will continue to increase their share of the global tobacco market, and with our proprietary technology and innovative Beyond Burn products, Poda aims to be at the forefront of this rapidly growing industry.
Poda brings a fresh perspective to the heat-not-burn market, unencumbered by the vast cigarette-making legacy applied by Big Tobacco. With this perspective, we set out to create something truly innovative in the space, solving pain points with patent protected solutions that solve some of the biggest problems facing all heat-not-burn competitors. We believe we have created the best heat-not-burn product ever made, and we are committed to growing our global market share and delivering exceptional returns to our valued shareholders.
