LAS VEGAS and VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Dec. 31, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TAAT ™ LIFESTYLE & WELLNESS LTD. (CSE: TAAT) (OTCQB: TOBAF) (FRANKFURT: 2TP2) (the “Company” or “TAAT ™ ”) is pleased to announce progress with its initiatives to potentially expand production and commercialization of its flagship product TAAT™ both domestically within the United States as well as in new international markets. By optimizing production line layouts, automating workflows, and adding new machinery to the Company’s Las Vegas, NV processing facility in which the Beyond Tobacco™ base material of TAAT™ is produced, the facility’s maximum capacity will be increased by approximately 100%. Based on this enhanced production bandwidth which could enable TAAT™ to be supplied on a larger scale, the Company has accelerated development of an e-commerce platform through which TAAT™ can be purchased online by legal-aged smokers in the United States. To further prepare for potential international expansions, the Company has now filed a total of 54 trademark applications internationally for the TAAT™ and/or Beyond Tobacco™ terms in an effort to secure intellectual property rights in markets where TAAT™ may be sold in the future. In a press release dated November 13, 2020, the Company announced it was upgrading its equipment in order to increase the production rate of Beyond Tobacco™. At the time, the Company was producing approximately 600 lb / 272 kg of Beyond Tobacco™ per day, which was approximately 50% of its maximum capacity of 1,200 lb / 544 kg per day based on two eight-hour shifts. The Company has received and installed several upgraded units of production machinery and reconfigured its equipment and fixtures to maximize use of space and achieve greater efficiency through automation. As a result, the Company has determined it will be able to produce more than 2,400 lb / 1,088 kg of Beyond Tobacco™ per day, which is sufficient to manufacture more than four pallets (1,440 cartons each) of TAAT™. Furthermore, the Company has engaged a REALTOR® who specializes in industrial properties to find a larger facility which could allow for in-house production of Beyond Tobacco™ to be scaled to an even greater degree. Based on initial sales performance and positive reception of TAAT™ by legal-aged smokers in Ohio, the Company has made the decision to expedite the launch of its e-commerce platform from which legal-aged smokers in the United States will be able to purchase TAAT™ Original, Smooth, and Menthol online by the carton. Subscription delivery options for TAAT™ will also be available, offering legal-aged smokers the option to automate their repeat purchases of TAAT™. Although the Company has access to nearly half of all tobacco points of sale in the state of Ohio through its first tobacco wholesale partner¹, the management of TAAT™ recognizes the opportunities presented by introducing a direct-to-consumer sales channel through the Internet to potentially access a wider audience of legal-aged smokers across the United States. Moreover, the Company intends to leverage insights from sales through the TAAT™ online store to identify new markets in the United States for potential expansions in the future. The TAAT™ online store will also include features that are standard for the tobacco industry such as verification tools for age and location. The Company anticipates that the TAAT™ online store for the United States will be launched in January 2021.