ITG Brands
Corporate brand
UnclaimedITG Brands is the third-largest tobacco manufacturer in the United States, a subsidiary of Imperial Brands formed in 2015 to acquire divested cigarette brands and blu eCigs.
Last updated October 31, 2026
AI crawler reads
No AI crawler has read this profile yet.
Overview
ITG Brands, LLC is the third-largest tobacco manufacturing company in the United States and a subsidiary of British multinational Imperial Brands. The company was created in June 2015 when Imperial Brands acquired four cigarette brands—Winston, Salem, Kool, and Maverick—along with the blu eCigs electronic cigarette brand from Reynolds American Inc. and Lorillard Inc. for $7.1 billion, as required by the Federal Trade Commission following the merger of those two companies. ITG Brands also markets and sells cigar brands already owned by Imperial, including Backwoods, Dutch Masters, and Phillies. The company is headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, where it also operates production and regulatory compliance facilities. David Taylor, former CFO of Lorillard, served as ITG Brands' first CEO in 2015. In 2021, Kim Reed was named president and CEO. The company has faced regulatory scrutiny, including an FDA warning for unauthorized modified-risk claims, and has made charitable contributions such as $25,000 to the North Carolina Disaster Relief Fund for Hurricane Florence relief. As of 2022, ITG Brands employed 895 people in Greensboro, down from 1,700 in 2015, following the closure of its Reidsville manufacturing plant in 2020.
History
ITG Brands was formed in June 2015 as an American subsidiary of multinational conglomerate Imperial Brands. The creation of the company was tied to the merger of Reynolds American Inc. and Lorillard Inc., two competing tobacco companies. As a condition of that merger, the Federal Trade Commission required the divestiture of four cigarette brands. Imperial Brands acquired Winston, Salem, Kool, and Maverick, along with the blu eCigs electronic cigarette brand, from the merging companies for $7.1 billion. ITG Brands was established to hold and operate these assets. Cigar brands already owned by Imperial, such as Backwoods, Dutch Masters, and Phillies, were also part of the portfolio. David Taylor, who had been CFO of Lorillard Inc. before the merger, became ITG Brands' first CEO in 2015. The company set up its production, headquarters, and regulatory compliance facilities in Greensboro, North Carolina. In 2020, ITG Brands announced the closure of its Reidsville manufacturing plant by April 2020, affecting 117 manufacturing jobs, and planned to move manufacturing to Greensboro. By 2022, the number of Greensboro employees had fallen to 895 from 1,700 in 2015. In 2021, Kim Reed was named president and CEO. The company has also faced regulatory attention; it was one of three tobacco companies warned by the FDA that they did not have approval to claim their products were free of certain harmful substances or posed less risk than other tobacco products. ITG Brands has engaged in charitable giving, including a $25,000 donation to the North Carolina Disaster Relief Fund for Hurricane Florence relief. In 2023, ITG Brands forced the closure of the historic Winston Cup Museum in Winston-Salem, NC, due to numerous copyright lawsuits filed against the small business.
ITG Brands formed as subsidiary of Imperial Brands; acquires Winston, Salem, Kool, Maverick, and blu eCigs for $7.1 billion.
David Taylor, former CFO of Lorillard, becomes first CEO.
Reidsville manufacturing plant closed, affecting 117 jobs; manufacturing moved to Greensboro.
Kim Reed named president and CEO.
ITG Brands forces closure of Winston Cup Museum due to copyright lawsuits.
Products and positioning
Third-largest tobacco manufacturer in the US, focused on cigarette, cigar, and e-cigarette brands.
Winston
Salem
Kool
Maverick
blu eCigs
Backwoods
Dutch Masters
Phillies
Controversies
2026
Denver sues tobacco companies over cigarette butt litter cleanup costs
The City of Denver filed a 72-page lawsuit against 10 cigarette companies, including Philip Morris USA and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., accusing them of creating a public nuisance by selling cigarettes with environmentally persistent synthetic plastic filters. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and a court order requiring the companies to prevent, reduce, manage, remove, or remediate cigarette-filter impacts.
Recent events
- Unconfirmed
Reported
Denver sues tobacco companies over cigarette butt litter cleanup costs[3]
The City of Denver filed a 72-page lawsuit against 10 cigarette companies, including Philip Morris USA and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., accusing them of creating a public nuisance by selling cigarettes with environmentally persistent synthetic plastic filters. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and a court order requiring the companies to prevent, reduce, manage, remove, or remediate cigarette-filter impacts.
Reported
Denver sues tobacco companies over cigarette butt litter cleanup costs[4]
The City and County of Denver filed a lawsuit in state court on Aug. 7, 2026, against nine major tobacco manufacturers and one distributor, including companies behind Marlboro, Newport and Camel, seeking compensation for environmental damage caused by non-biodegradable plastic cigarette filters to municipal property, infrastructure, stormwater systems and waterways.
Sources4 sources
Cite this profile: Cite the canonical profile. /brand-wiki/itg-brands · Editorial policy · How profiles are compiled