Circle K is relaunching the Bidi Stick in certain business units, the convenience-store chain confirmed to CSP Daily News. The electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) from Bidi Vapor will also be added to more than 900 Kwik Trip and MAPCO c-store locations, said Kaival Brands, the company that distributes Bidi Vapor products.
- Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc., which owns Circle K, is No. 2 on CSP’s 2023 Top 202 ranking of convenience store chains by store count. Kwik Trip is No. 11 and MAPCO is No. 27.
“As of this week, we have activated over 1,000 new Circle K locations, with the goal of ramping up to 5,000 this year,” said Eric Mosser, president and COO of Kaival Brands, Grant-Valkaria, Florida. “Important milestones like this are a natural outgrowth of the marketing and distribution efforts previously announced as we’ve worked since late last year to educate retailers of the benefits of Bidi Stick versus non-compliant competition.”
The expansion planned for the rest of the year includes Circle K’s South Atlantic and Midwest regions, Kaival Brands said.
Bidi and Circle K confirmed the Bidi Sticks were temporarily not carried in the stores but would not comment on a reason why.
While the Food and Drug Administration issued marketing denial orders (MDOs) to Bidi Vapor in September 2021 for its flavored Bidi Sticks, in August 2023, the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit granted petitions for review, set aside the MDOs and remanded the matters to FDA, according to the agency’s records. This allowed Bidi Sticks back on the market while its premarket tobacco product applications (PMTAs) were under further review.
Kaival also announced a shipment of Bidi Sticks to more than 900 Kwik Trip and MAPCO locations, with a ramp-up to more than 1,200 locations planned for the remainder of the year.
A Kwik Trip spokesperson told CSP the La Crosse, Wisconsin-based company’s policy is to not comment on outside brands. MAPCO, Franklin, Tennessee, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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