When we were at the Canadian Vape Expo in Toronto last year, I had the pleasure of shaking a lot of hands in this industry. Many of the people present we had already talked to on the phone and it was great to put a face to the voice, but there were a few people who made a bit of an impression that day.
Jeff, the CEO of True North Vapor and myself had the pleasure of meeting up with a young and ambitious guy named Joseph. We’ve met all walks of life in this industry, but Joseph had such a positive energy and genuine kindness to him that was simply infectious, and we spent a little longer hanging out with him than we did a few others that day. He told us the story about studying to be a dentist and how he transitioned into the e-liquid world and the friends he made.
The next couple of weeks after CVE I was on the phone constantly, following up with the flavour crafters we had met to see who wanted their product in Canada and how we could work out the logistics of the deal. One thing I learned about this process is that every company runs at different speeds and have varying levels of control they want over their brands in another country.
One of the most refreshing calls I had was right at the end of my work day. 5:55pm, I get a call from Joseph’s sister Nicole from FL8VORS so we can work out a deal. We talked for only half an hour on my drive home and we had already come up a foundation of a deal that worked well for both of us as well as plans for additional products in the future.
It was extremely refreshing to simply chat with someone who was on the same wavelength from the start as us in terms of how they wanted to see their brand represented in Canada, what marketing we would co-ordinate together and how we would launch additional products.
For those of you who aren’t already aware, FL8VORS is the company that brought “Dirty” to us in Canada. All three flavours in that line are a lemon-lime soda base mixed with a different fruit (Grape, Cherry and Blue Raspberry). At this point in our relationship, I am very proud to call Nicole a friend in addition to our very fruitful (no pun intended) working relationship. If their brother Mario is half as awesome as Nicole and Joseph, I can’t wait to meet him too.
Since the very successful launch of Dirty here in Canada, Nicole also brought the two sequel lineups to Canada, “Dirtier” and “Dirtiest”; following the same Lemon-Lime theme, they added Watermelon, Mango, Green Apple, Rainbow Candy, Strawberry and Fruit Love. Dirtiest was launched in Canada before the USA, much to some of her customers dismay.
If anyone wants to support a company in the vaping industry because of the people behind it, you can’t go wrong with this family operated business with some unforgettable fl8vors.
Tim Howey
General Manager
True North Vapor
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