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RISK FACTORS

An investment in our common stock involves a high degree of risks. You should carefully consider all of the information in this prospectus, including the risks and uncertainties described below, before making an investment in our common stock. Any of the following risks could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In any such case, the market price of our common stock could decline, and you may lose all or part of your investment. 

Risks Related to Our Business and Industry

We sustained losses of approximately $2.0 million for the year ended June 30, 2022 and $6.0 million for the nine months ended March 31, 2032, and we cannot assure you that we can or will operate profitably in the future.

We sustained a loss of approximately $2.0 million, or $0.04 per share (basic and diluted) in the year ended June 30, 2022 and a loss of approximately $6.0 million, or $0.12 per share (basic and diluted) for the nine months ended March 31, 2023, following net income of approximately $2.9 million, or $0.06 per share (basic and diluted) in the year ended June 30, 2021. The losses resulted primarily because of increased operating expenses for both periods. We cannot assure you that we will be able to operate profitably in the future.

Existing laws, regulations and policies and the issuance of new or more stringent laws, regulations, policies and any other restrictions or limitations in relation to the tobacco vaping industry have and can materially and adversely affect our business operations.

As vaping products have become more and more popular in recent years, government authorities worldwide have imposed laws, regulations and policies to regulate nicotine vaping products and the vaping industry and may impose more stringent controls either with changes in existing laws or regulations, with new laws or regulations, or with new interpretations of existing laws or regulations. Some governments have prohibited the usage of vaping products in certain areas, imposed specific taxes on vaping products or imposed restrictions, in certain areas such as product advertising, flavorings or nicotine concentration. Governments, primarily state and municipal, have imposed restrictions or prohibitions on smoking in public and on public transportation, such as on trains, airplanes and buses. Such prohibitions have been or may in the future be extended to e-cigarettes, including vaping products, and such restrictions may be imposed by local, regional or national governments. As a result of government laws and regulations affecting tobacco products, we ceased selling nicotine vaping products in the United States.

We cannot assure you that government authorities will not impose further restrictions on vaping nicotine products in the future, including but not limited to requirements to obtain and maintain licenses, approvals or permits for relevant business operation. Such restrictions, if any, may adversely affect supplies of raw materials, production and sales activities, taxation or other aspects of our business operation. We may not be able to comply with any or all changes in existing laws and regulations or any new laws and regulations and may incur significant compliance costs. All of the above may affect our production or market demand for vaping products and thus adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. To the extent that we grow in scale and significance, we expect to face increased scrutiny, which may result in increased investment in compliance and related capabilities.

The WHO and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) have been clear in their view of the harmful effects of nicotine. Although they recognize that e-cigarettes may expose users to fewer harmful chemicals than burned cigarettes, which are considered very dangerous, and that any tobacco product, including e-cigarettes, is unsafe particularly for young people and pregnant women.

Countries have taken different steps to address the dangers of nicotine and to consider the difference between e-cigarettes and burned cigarettes. However, instances of death or serious illness resulting or perceived to result from the use of e-cigarettes as well as significant reported use by certain populations, including adolescents as well as nicotine-naïve individuals, may spur governments at all levels to increase restrictions on vaping products. We cannot assure you that the actions taken by municipal, state or provincial and national governments will not materially and adversely affect the market for vaping products generally and our business in particular.

Cannabis vapor products are subject to regulations and restrictions in the United States and are prohibited in many other countries.

Cannabis products are subject to federal and state regulation in the United States, and Western Europe generally prohibits the sale and use cannabis products, although some countries permit the use of approved cannabis products for medical purposes. Although an increasing number of states in the United States permit adult use of recreational marijuana, states have restrictions as to where the products can be sold and many of the states that permit recreational use of marijuana require that sales be made only at licensed stores. The U.S. federal government still prohibits non-hemp cannabis products (unless approved by the FDA) but has generally not enforced against entities and individuals operating in compliance with state laws permitting such products. Likewise, under certain circumstances, devices intended for use in consuming federally prohibited cannabis products may also technically qualify as prohibited drug paraphernalia under federal law and the laws of certain states that continue to broadly restrict production and sale of non-hemp cannabis. However, the Federal Controlled Substances Act includes an exemption for “any person authorized by local, State, or Federal law to manufacture, possess, or distribute such items.”

No country in Western Europe has yet legalized recreational cannabis, but the region has some of the most developed cannabis cultures in the world, such as in the Netherlands and Spain. However, great differences persist among consumers, with older generations typically being more reluctant to allow cannabis use. Clear generational and social gaps still exist that make legalization and development of the market a slow process, although the potential legalization of adult-use cannabis in Germany is likely to accelerate the cannabis debate within the EU and promote the development of the industry at a regional level. Our ability to expand our marketing of cannabis products in the European market is dependent upon whether recreational cannabis will become legal in Western Europe, and we cannot give any assurance that we will be able to sell products in Western Europe. These restrictions on the sale and use of cannabis could impair our ability to market and sell our products.

While we believe that our business and sales do not violate the Federal Paraphernalia Law, legal proceedings alleging violations of such law or changes in such law or interpretations thereof could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Under U.S. Code Title 21 Section 863 (the “Federal Paraphernalia Law”), the term “drug paraphernalia” means “any equipment, product or material of any kind which is primarily intended or designed for use in manufacturing, compounding, converting, concealing, producing, processing, preparing, injecting, ingesting, inhaling, or otherwise introducing into the human body a controlled substance.” That law exempts “(1) any person authorized by local, State, or Federal law to manufacture, possess, or distribute such items” and “(2) any item that, in the normal lawful course of business, is imported, exported, transported, or sold through the mail or by any other means, and traditionally intended for use with tobacco products, including any pipe, paper, or accessory.” Any non-exempt drug paraphernalia offered or sold by any person in violation of the Federal Paraphernalia Law can be subject to seizure and forfeiture upon the conviction of such person for such violation, and a convicted person can be subject to fines under the Federal Paraphernalia Law and even imprisonment.

Several states with legal cannabis programs, including California, have enacted legislation invoking this exemption to shield state-legal businesses from federal enforcement on paraphernalia grounds. In addition, a recent court decision from the U.S. Court of International Trade applied this exemption in prohibiting U.S. Customs and Border Protection from refusing import entry of cannabis paraphernalia components that the importer could legally possess in the state of importation.

We believe our sales do not violate the Federal Paraphernalia Law. We restrict the sale of products to comply with the Federal Paraphernalia Law’s exemption for sales authorized by state law. In particular, we (a) do not sell any vaping equipment or hardware into the 11 states that have maintained complete or near complete cannabis prohibition (i.e., Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Nebraska, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Wisconsin, and Wyoming),  and have the distributors we work with covenant that they will not sell our products into these states, and (b) in any states with laws that allow the sale of vaping equipment or hardware, but require such products to be sold to licensed cannabis businesses (such as dispensaries), we limit sales accordingly.

While we believe that our business and sales are legally compliant with the Federal Paraphernalia Law in all material respects, any legal action commenced against us under such law could result in substantial costs and could have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition or results of operations. In addition, changes in cannabis laws or interpretations of such laws are difficult to predict and could significantly affect our business.

Because Tuanfang Liu, our co-chief executive officer, who is also director, and his wife, Jiangyan Zhu, who is also a director, beneficially own 65.9% of our common stock and Mr. Liu owns 95% of the equity of our sole supplier, Mr. Liu has a conflict of interest.

Because our co-chief executive officer, Tuanfang Liu, and his wife own 65.9%, of our common stock, they have the power to elect all of our directors and to approve any matter which is subject to stockholder approval. Mr. Liu also own 95% of the equity in Shenzhen Yi Jia, which is currently our sole supplier. Mr. Liu is chairman of Shenzhen Yi Jia and his wife, Jiangyan Zhu, is its vice president of finance. The price and other terms at which Shenzhen Yi Jia sells product to us have been largely determined by Mr. Liu. In addition, as our co-chief executive officer, Mr. Liu has significant authority in the implementation of our business plan, including the expected commencement of our manufacturing operations in California and the proposed search for a location for additional manufacturing operations in Southeast Asia. He has also historically been responsible for our product development and our present products have been the result of his research and development efforts. Mr. Liu’s interests may be different from our interests. Because of Mr. Liu’s conflict of interest, there is a risk that any actions he may take may have an adverse effect upon the success and development of our business and the price of our common stock.

As a result of the voting power of Mr. Liu and his wife, Ms. Zhu, investors will have little, if any, power to influence our business or to approve any action submitted to stockholders for their approval. The fact that they have a controlling interest in us may, by itself, serve as a deterrent to any person seeking to obtain control of us or to enter into any business relationship which might be beneficial to the minority stockholders.

Although our supply agreements with Shenzhen Yi Jia require Shenzhen Yi Jia to sell products to us at the most favorable market price that it sells similar products to third parties, because our products are designed for us and based on technology that was either developed by Mr. Liu prior to the date of the agreement or is developed by us, we cannot determine whether another supplier would be able to provide the products at the same or a better price. However, all pricing will be designed to enable us to sell the products at a price which enables us to generate a gross margin that we consider acceptable, and Mr. Liu will have significant input as to what is an acceptable gross margin. Our supply agreements also require Shenzhen Yi Jia to provide us with quality products and services in a timely manner, to provide to our customers the same warranty that we provide to our customer and to give first priority to the manufacture of our products over any other manufacturing obligations. However, as our co-chief executive officer, Mr. Liu has the ability to determine whether to pursuant any legal action to enforce our supply agreements. Thus, we will be relying on Mr. Liu taking actions that are in our best interests, and we run the risk that he may not do so.

The recent implementation of regulations relating to e-cigarettes has resulted in our decision not to market nicotine products in the United States.

The FDA has authority to regulate e-liquids, e-cigarettes, and other vaping products that contain (or are used to consume e-liquid containing) tobacco-derived ingredients and nicotine from any source as “tobacco products” under the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (the “Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act”), as amended by Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009 (the “Tobacco Control Act”) and subsequent legislation. Through the issuance of the “Deeming Regulation” that became effective on August 8, 2016, the FDA began regulating e-liquids, e-cigarettes, and other vaping products that qualify as “tobacco products” under the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act’s requirements added by the Tobacco Control Act. The Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act requires that any Deemed Tobacco Product that was not commercially marketed as of the “grandfather” date of February 15, 2007, obtain premarket authorization before it can be marketed in the United States. The compliance policy generally allowed companies to market Deemed Tobacco Products that qualify as “new tobacco products” but that were on the U.S. market on August 8, 2016, until September 9, 2020, and the continued marketing of such products without otherwise-required authorization for up to one year during the FDA’s review of a pending marketing application submitted by September 9, 2020. The compliance policy did not apply to otherwise-eligible products (i) for which the manufacturer has failed to take (or is failing to take) adequate measures to prevent minors’ access and (ii) that are targeted to minors or with marketing that is likely to promote use by minors. In the absence of this policy, we would have had to obtain prior authorization from the FDA to market any of our products after August 8, 2016. Accordingly, through September 9, 2020, Aspire North America marketed tobacco vaping products in the United States pursuant to the FDA’s compliance policy based on evidence that they were on the U.S. market on August 8, 2016, and had not been physically modified since.

FDA authorization to introduce a “new tobacco product” (or to continue marketing a “new tobacco product” covered by the current compliance policy for Deemed Tobacco Products that were on the U.S. market on August 8, 2016) could be obtained via any of the following three authorization pathways: (1) submission of a premarket tobacco product application (“PMTA”) and receipt of a marketing authorization order; (2) submission of a substantial equivalence report and receipt of a substantial equivalence order; or (3) submission of a request for an exemption from substantial equivalence requirements and receipt of a substantial equivalence exemption determination.

Since there were few, if any, e-liquid, e-cigarette, or other vaping products on the market as of February 15, 2007, there is no way to utilize the less onerous substantial equivalence or substantial equivalence exemption pathways that traditional tobacco companies can utilize for cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, and other traditional tobacco products. In order to obtain marketing authorizations, manufacturers of practically all e-liquid, e-cigarette, or other vaping products would have to use the PMTA pathway, which could potentially cost $1.0 million or more per application. Furthermore, the Deeming Regulation created a significant barrier to entry for any new e-liquid, e-cigarette, or other vaping product seeking to enter the market after August 8, 2016, since any such product would require an FDA marketing authorization through one of the aforementioned pathways.

We filed a PMTA for the Nautilus Prime open system vaping products on September 9, 2020, and the FDA has not to date taken final action on our PMTA. For this reason, and based on public FDA statements, it appears that the FDA would not prioritize enforcement of the premarket review requirements against any covered Nautilus Prime products during the continued pendency of the PMTA’s review, despite the fact that the one-year compliance period closed on September 9, 2021. The PMTA application process is very expensive, and we did not submit a PMTA for any other product. The Nautilus Prime System is an enhancement of an earlier developed Nautilus line, for which we did not submit a PMTA. Our tobacco vaping sales in the United States were $2.5 million for the year ended June 30, 2021 and approximately $0.9 million for the year ended June 30, 2022, largely as a result of our inability to sell products that we sold in prior years, even though the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States were not as severe during most of the year ended June 30, 2021, as states relaxed their regulations that affected commerce and shopping. We cannot assure you that our pending PMTA (or any other PMTA filed in the future) will ultimately result in the FDA’s timely issuance of marketing orders for the Nautilus Prime product line (or other products). See “Regulations.” We have stopped marketing tobacco vapor products in the United States because our sales volume in the United States did not justify the marketing and regulatory compliance costs.

Further, although we are not marketing tobacco vapor products in the United States market, and we can contractually prohibit our distributors from selling our tobacco vaping products in the United States market, in the event that those products are sold in the United States market, we cannot assure you that we will not be subject to regulatory or enforcement action as a result of such products’ being sold in the United States. We may also face regulatory or enforcement action from the FDA for certain of our products that remained distributed in the United States between September 9, 2020, and April 30, 2021, and for which we did not file a PMTA by the September 9, 2020, deadline. While we have taken steps intended to ensure that no such distribution occurs, we cannot assure you that, should the FDA prioritize these violations for regulatory action, the FDA will follow its standard of approach of issuing a public warning letter and seeking voluntary corrective action rather than initiating an enforcement action under its various Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act authorities. Such a result could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

On March 17, 2021, the FDA issued letters to four companies operating in the e-cigarette industry, including Aspire North America, requesting documents related to their social media marketing practices. Specifically, the FDA requested the documents “to further understand the relationship between rising youth exposure to online e-cigarette marketing and youth e-cigarette use,” and the FDA asserted in each letter that each recipient had “active brand pages on multiple popular social media platforms, a large number of followers, and did not use age restriction tools to prevent youth exposure.” Under its Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act authority requiring industry members to produce certain documents upon request, the FDA requested that we respond within 60 days but granted us a 30-day extension. On June 15, 2021, Aspire North America provided the required information to the FDA. To date, the FDA has not substantively responded or taken any further action in the matter. However, we cannot assure you that the FDA will consider the response adequate and will not initiate regulatory or enforcement action based on an alleged failure to comply with the request or that the FDA will not initiate regulatory or enforcement action on other grounds based on the contents of the documents produced in the response. Either result could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

In the event that similar legislation or regulations are adopted with respect to cannabis products, our business will be materially impaired since all of our sales of cannabis products were in the United States.

Recently enacted legislation and regulations in the United States may make it more difficult to sell nicotine and cannabis vaping products in the United States.

Provisions of the 2021 Appropriations Act subjected e-cigarettes and other vaping devices (including, based on recent regulations, cannabis and hemp vaporization products that aerosolize liquids), as well as e-liquids products, to the provisions of the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act of 2009 (the “PACT Act”), which imposes stringent rules on interstate shippers and, in particular, online sellers. Under the PACT Act, interstate shippers must register with the U.S. Attorney General and the tobacco tax administrator of each jurisdiction into which they ship products as well as submit monthly reports to such tobacco tax administrators. In addition, online retailers making delivery sales to consumers must also (i) verify the age of customers using a commercially available database, (ii) use private shipping services that collect an adult signature and verify the recipient’s age using government-issued identification at the point of delivery, (iii) if shipping to jurisdictions that tax vaping products, collect and remit all applicable local and state taxes and comply with all applicable licensing requirements of the recipient’s jurisdiction, (iv) comply with shipping-package quantity restrictions and labeling requirements, and (v) maintain records for five years of any delivery interrupted because the carrier or delivery service determines or has reason to believe that the person ordering the delivery is in violation of the PACT Act. Shippers and delivery sellers who do not comply with the PACT Act are subject to civil and criminal penalties. Accordingly, compliance with the requirements of the PACT Act may significantly increase the costs of our and our customers’ online businesses, increasing the prices of our products sold online and making them less attractive to consumers as compared to products sold at local retailers. In addition, failure to comply with the PACT Act could expose us to significant penalties that could materially adversely affect our business and our financial condition and results of operations. Further, as a result of the issuance of final regulations implementing the PACT Act amendments by the United States Postal Service (the “USPS”), the USPS generally prohibits the mailing of such products, subject to potential exceptions already applicable to combusted cigarettes and smokeless tobacco (e.g., for shipments between legally operating businesses). The USPS issued these final regulations on October 21, 2021, and the regulations took effect immediately. Further, the most commonly used carriers, Federal Express and United Parcel Service, have recently announced that they would cease all deliveries of vapor products.  These restrictions on use of the USPS to ship our products and the decisions by private carriers not to deliver vapor products in the United States could materially impair our ability to sell products in the United States which would adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Further, since most of our revenue from cannabis vapor product sales is from sales to other cannabis vaping brands, if our customers are not able to deliver product in the United States, which is the largest market for cannabis vaping products, our ability to generate revenue from cannabis products would be materially impaired. We use a combination of advanced accounting software and PACT Act compliant carriers to remain compliant with the tax and delivery restrictions of the PACT Act. To the extent that the carriers that we currently use change their policies and refuse to ship or are prohibited from shipping vaping products and we are not able to find other carriers that are PACT Act compliant, our business and prospects will be materially impaired, and we may not be able to continue in the cannabis vaping business.

We are exposed to risks relating to our relationship with a related party, and we may not be able to successfully establish and operate manufacturing operations.

All of our products are presently manufactured by Shenzhen Yi Jia, a related party. Due to the reliance on our business relationship with Shenzhen Yi Jia, any interruption of its operations, any failure of Shenzhen Yi Jia to accommodate our growing business demands, any termination or suspension of our cooperation terms, or any deterioration of cooperative relationships with Shenzhen Yi Jia may materially and adversely affect our operation. Failure by Shenzhen Yi Jia to provide us satisfactory products and/or services in a timely manner is likely to have a have material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. There is a risk in relying on any third-party supplier in that we are dependent on the supplier’s ability to product a product which meets our quality standards and delivery requirements as well as being dependent upon the supplier’s priorities. These risks are present when the supplier is controlled by Tuanfang Liu, our co-chief executive officer. We do not presently have any plans to engage another supplier since Shenzhen Yi Jia is familiar with our products, and we are devoting our efforts to establishing our own production facilities with no assurance that we can successfully establish manufacturing facilities.

In 2021, Shenzhen Yi Jia suffered a chip shortage resulting in a slowdown in delivery of its products to us from April to August 2021. Since September 2021, Shenzhen Yi Jia has obtained a supply of chips to meet its production need and Shenzhen Yi Jia has advised us that a chip shortage no longer affect its production. However, we cannot assure you that we will not suffer from a chip shortage affecting Shenzhen Yi Jia or any other supplier. The delay in shipment and chip shortage had a negative impact on the results of our operation. In the year ended June 30, 2022, we suffered a loss of potential sales orders of approximately $2 million, around 2.3% of our total sales, which caused a decline of $0.3 million in our gross profit, resulting from delay in supply chain. Although we are not presently experiencing delays in our orders for Shenzhen Yi Jia, we cannot assure you that we will not suffer delays or shortages in the future. We cannot assure you that we will not suffer from a chip shortage affecting Shenzhen Yi Jia or any other supplier.

If it is determined or perceived that the usage of nicotine or cannabis vaping products poses long-term health risks, the use of vaping products may decline significantly, which is likely to materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Since vaping products were only introduced to the market in the last two decades and are rapidly evolving, studies relating to the long-term health effects of nicotine and cannabis vaping product usage are still ongoing. Currently, there remain uncertainties regarding whether vaping products are sufficiently safe for their intended use, and health risks associated with the usage of vaping products have been under scrutiny. According to the WHO, there is no conclusive evidence that the use of nicotine vaping products facilitates smoking cessation. The WHO recommended governments to strengthen relevant laws and regulations on the sale of vaping products, including to, among others, prohibit marketing strategies targeting the underage and the non-smoking population.

Negative publicity on the health consequences of vaping products or other similar devices may also adversely affect the usage of vaping products. For example, the FDA and the CDC issued a joint statement on August 30, 2019, linking a number of cases of respiratory illnesses to nicotine vaping product use. On November 8, 2019, the CDC announced that it had preliminarily linked cases of severe respiratory illness to the presence of Vitamin E acetate, which was found in certain cannabis-derived tetrahydrocannabinol-containing vaping cartridges not intended for use with nicotine-containing e-liquids that may have been obtained illegally. However, evidence is not sufficient to rule out the contribution of other chemicals of concern, including chemicals in either cannabis or non-cannabis products. In January 2020, after further research, the FDA and CDC recommended against the use of cannabis-containing vaping products, especially those from unofficial sources, and that the underage, pregnant women and adults who do not currently use tobacco products should not start using vaping products. On February 25, 2020, the CDC issued a final update, stating that the number of cases of severe respiratory illnesses had declined to single digits as of February 9, 2020. The CDC also reconfirmed that (i) Vitamin E acetate, which was found in some cannabis-derived vaping cartridges that were mostly obtained illegally, was strongly linked to and indicated to be the primary cause of the severe respiratory illnesses, and (ii) cannabis-derived vaping products from illicit sources were linked to most cases of severe respiratory illnesses. Furthermore, there have been recent claims that users of vaping products may suffer a greater risk of more serious COVID-19 complications. However, it remained unclear whether the exposure to toxic chemicals through vaping product usage will increase the risk of COVID-19.

Research regarding the actual causes of these illnesses is still ongoing. If vaping product usage is determined or perceived to pose long-term health risks or to be linked to illnesses, the usage of vaping products may significantly decline, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Any perceived correlation between cannabis and Vitamin E acetate may adversely affect the public’s perception of vaping products in general, regardless of whether such products contain cannabis and/or Vitamin E acetate and may impact sales of our cannabis vapor product.

Because cannabis oil, unlike nicotine oil, is not of a uniform quality, products we design may not perform as intended, which could result in a loss of business.

We do not include cannabis oil in our products. The cannabis oil is provided by our customer before selling the product or a cartridge with oil is inserted in the product by the customer or the end user. Unlike nicotine oil, cannabis oil is not of a uniform quality or viscosity. Although we test our product with cannabis oil having the viscosity which is acceptable to our customer, if the end user uses cannabis oil that is too viscous for or product and does not have the desired experience from the product, our client may reject an order, cancel an order or seek a refund of the payment made to us and/or discontinue purchasing our products. These refunds and the cost of cancellation of orders are reflected as sales return, the amount for both the years ended June 30, 2021 and 2022 was not material. We cannot assure you that we will not incur significant warranty expenses and lose business as a result cannabis oil not providing the end user’s desired experience or that we will not lose significant business as a result of this problem.

The vaping market may develop more slowly or differently than we expect.

The tobacco vaping market worldwide has experienced rapid growth through 2019 and the cannabis market is developing, with the United States accounting for the overwhelming majority of sales. The growth rate for tobacco vapor products decreased in 2021 and 2022, in part, we believe, because of the steps taken by governments worldwide to address the COVID-19 pandemic, which negatively affected our revenue and industry sales in general. The growth of cannabis vaping products is largely confined to those states in the United States where recreational cannabis is legal. The growth rate may decrease or decline due to uncertainties with respect to the acceptance of vaping technologies and products, health studies relating to vaping product use, general economic conditions, disposable income growth, and pace of development of technologies and other factors. There can be no assurance that the penetration of vaping products among adult smokers will further deepen, or that the tobacco and cannabis vaping market will grow at a pace that we expect. Additionally, vapor market development is subject to the uncertainty of overall regulatory landscape for such products, which may have a material impact on the market development of vaping products, particularly in Western Europe. There can be no assurance that the regulatory regime will be favorable to nicotine or cannabis vaping products in general and us. It is also uncertain whether our products and services will achieve and sustain high levels of market acceptance and meet users’ expectations. Our ability to increase the sales of our vaping products depends on several factors, some of which may be beyond our control, including users’ receptiveness towards and adoption of vaping technologies and products, market awareness of our brand, the market acceptance of our products and services, the “word-of-mouth” effects of our products and services, our ability to attract, retain and effectively train customer representatives, our ability to develop effective relationships with distributors and expand our distribution networks and the cost, performance and functionality of our products and services and meeting consumer trends. The market for nicotine products has recently seen a change in consumer preference as closed systems are overtaking open systems in market share. If we are not successful in implementing our business strategies, developing our vaping products, anticipating consumer trends or reaching adult smokers, or if these users do not accept our vaping products, the market for our products may not develop or may develop more slowly than we expect, any of which could materially and adversely affect our profitability and growth prospects.

We are exposed to product liability and user complaints arising from the products we sell, which could have a material adverse impact on us.

Currently, we primarily sell our tobacco products to our distributors, who then supply our products to wholesale companies that in turn sell to retail outlets, and we sell our cannabis products primarily to other cannabis brands on an ODM basis, and the customers sell the products through their own distribution networks. The retail market is dominated by stores, primarily grocery stores, convenience stores and tobacco stores. Even though we generally do not sell our products directly to users, we may nevertheless be liable for defects in our products pursuant to general laws on product liability. We are exposed to potential product liability claims from users of our products in the event that the use of our products results in any personal injury, property damage or health and safety issues.

There is no assurance that we can succeed in defending ourselves, and we may be required to pay significant amounts of damages for product liability claims and, to the extent that we are able to obtain product liability coverage, product liability insurance may not provide sufficient coverage against claims of injury based on the fact that they are inhaling a nicotine product. Further, product liability claims against us, whether or not successful, are costly and time-consuming to defend. These claims, whether against us or another manufacturer, may result in negative publicity that could severely damage our reputation and affect the marketability of our products, and could result in substantial costs and diversion of our resources and management’s attention. Any of the above could in turn materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Although we may seek indemnification or contribution from our suppliers in certain circumstances, we cannot assure you that we will be able to receive indemnification or contribution in full, or at all.

We maintain limited product liability insurance for claims of personal injury and property damage caused by our products. Our insurance coverage may not be adequate to cover claims which may be made against us. Our insurance does not provide coverage for all liabilities (including liability for certain events involving pollution or other environmental claims). In addition, there can be no assurance that we will be able to maintain our product liability insurance on acceptable terms. If we cannot maintain our product liability insurance on reasonable terms or our insurance does not sufficiently compensate us for the losses we sustain in the event of a legal proceeding, our business, financial condition and results of operations would be adversely affected.

At present, our products are manufactured by Shenzhen Yi Jia, a Chinese company of which Tuanfang Liu, our co-chief executive officer is a 95% owner. In the event of any claim of product liability resulting from a product manufactured by Shenzhen Yi Jia, any legal action would most likely be brought against us since the plaintiff may not be willing or able to commence an action against Shenzhen Yi Jia in China. Our co-chief executive officer has a conflict of interest in determining the extent to which Shenzhen Yi Jia would accept responsibility for any product liability claim relating to a product manufactured by Shenzhen Yi Jia or for making changes in the manufacturing process to address the substance of any claim, whether or not such claim is valid. To the extent that that we have product liability insurance, the insurer may seek to recover any amount paid from Shenzhen Yi Jia for products manufactured by Shenzhen Ji Jia.

Further, although we may have legal recourse against Shenzhen Yi Jia pursuant to applicable laws, attempts to enforce our rights against Shenzhen Yi Jia may be expensive, time-consuming and may not be successful, particularly since Shenzhen Yi Jia is located in China, and we may not be able prevail in a Chinese court.

The interests of the stockholders of Shenzhen Yi Jia in their capacities as such stockholders may differ from our interests. What is in the best interests of Shenzhen Yi Jia may not be in our best interests, including with respect to matters such as the warranty period and allocation of expenses with respect to the warranted repair or replacement. There can be no assurance that when conflicts of interest arise, the stockholders of Shenzhen Yi Jia, principally, our chairman as 95% owner, will act in our best interests of or that any conflicts of interest will be resolved in our favor. In addition, these related parties may breach or refuse to renew the existing cooperation arrangements with us.

Since our products involve inhaling nicotine or cannabis, we may be subject to claims based on the known effects of nicotine or cannabis. Because e-vaping is a relatively recent method of ingesting nicotine and cannabis and is thought by some that, for adults, it may be less toxic than cigars and cigarettes or marijuana cigarettes, it is possible that long-term effects of inhaling nicotine or cannabis may not become generally known for many years and may prove to be not significantly less toxic than cigars, cigarettes and marijuana cigarettes, and we cannot assure you that manufacturers and distributors of vaping products may not face liability resulting from the nature of the product – a device for inhaling nicotine or cannabis, which could materially impair our ability to operate profitably if at all.

Furthermore, negative publicity including but not limited to negative online reviews on social media and crowd-sourced review platforms, industry findings or media reports related to the quality, functionality and health concerns of vaping products, whether or not accurate, and whether or not concerning our products, can adversely affect our business, results of operations and reputation. Such negative publicity may reduce users’ confidence in us, our products and our brand, which may adversely affect our business and results of operations.

Our business, financial condition and results of operations may be adversely impacted by product defects or other quality issues.

Our products may contain defects that are not detected until after they are shipped or inspected by our users. The failure of our supplier or, when we commence manufacturing operations, our operations to maintain the consistency and quality throughout our production process could result in substandard quality or performance of our products, and product defects could cause significant damage to our market reputation and reduce our sales and market share. For example, the products we distribute may contain lithium-ion or similar types of batteries. Defects in these products could result in personal injury, property damage, pollution, release of hazardous substances or damage to equipment and facilities. As we primarily rely on one supplier, Shenzhen Yi Jia, which is a related party, to supply our products, if this supplier does not produce products that meet the industrial and our standards, we may fail to maintain our quality control over our products. Actual or alleged defects in the products we distribute may give rise to claims against us for losses and expose us to claims for damages. If we deliver any defective products, or if there is a perception that our products are of substandard quality, we may incur substantial costs associated with mass product recalls, product returns and replacements and significant warranty claims, our credibility and market reputation could be harmed and our results of operations and market share may be adversely affected.

Further, defective products may result in compliance issues that could subject us to administrative proceedings and unfavorable results such as product recall and other actions. Such proceedings and unfavorable results could have a material adverse effect on our brand, reputation and results of operations.

Our business and the industry in which we operate are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties, including, among others, developments in regulatory landscape, medical discovery and market acceptance of vaping devices.

Our business and the industry in which we operate are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties, including, among others, developments in regulatory landscape, medical discovery and market acceptance of vaping devices. Our business and the vaping industry are subject to inherent risks, challenges and uncertainties, including but not limited to the following:

If we fail to cope with the challenges and compete with other industry players in such uncertain and evolving vaping industry, our future prospects, business, financial conditions and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

We may not be able to develop and introduce new products or upgrade existing products in a timely and cost-effective manner, which may adversely affect our business, results of operations and prospects.

To optimize adult smokers’ experience, we must introduce new products and upgrade our existing products to meet our users’ evolving preferences and to incorporate the latest technological developments. It is difficult to predict the preferences of users or a specific segment of users. Changes and upgrades to our existing products may not be well received by our users, and newly introduced products may not achieve expected results. Going forward, we may introduce new products with different features. Such efforts may require substantial investments of additional human capital and financial resources. However, if we are not able to develop or obtain rights to the latest technological developments, we may not be able to market a product that meets the adult consumer’s changing taste. If we fail to improve our existing products or introduce new products that meet consumer taste ones in a timely or cost-effective manner, our ability to attract and retain users may be impaired, and our results of operations and prospects may be adversely affected.

Although we endeavor to understand user preferences through surveys, sampling and other forms of interactions from time to time, we cannot assure you that we can anticipate, identify, develop or market products that respond to changes in users’ preferences and expectations. For example, our surveys may not yield accurate or useful insights on user behaviors, and feedbacks on our products may be different after such products are commercially available to a wider public. There can be no assurance that any of our new products will achieve market acceptance or generate sufficient revenues to offset the costs and expenses incurred in relation to our development and promotion efforts. There can be no assurance that each of our new products will achieve market acceptance and be successful.

Outbreaks of communicable diseases, natural disasters or other events, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, have materially and adversely affected, and in the future, may materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our business could be adversely affected by the effects of communicable diseases, pandemics and epidemics, such a COVID-19. On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization (“WHO”) declared the outbreak a public health event of international concern, and on March 11, 2020, the WHO declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic. The World Health Organization ended the global emergency status for COVID-19 on May 5, 2023, and the United States Department of Health and Human Services declared that the public health emergency from COVID-19 expired at the end of the day on May 11, 2023. Despite these declarations, the lasting impacts of COVID-19 on the United States and broader global economy, including, in particular, China, including supply chain disruption, may have a significant continuing negative effect on the Company and may continue to materially impact the Company.

The extent to which COVID-19 impacts our operations on an ongoing basis is highly uncertain. Since our products are presently manufactured in China by a related party, any changes in the outbreak in China and any changes in the Chinese government’s policy may affect our supplier’s operations which could affect its ability to manufacture and deliver product in a timely manner.

We are also vulnerable to natural disasters and other calamities that may affect our supplier and may affect us when we establish our own manufacturing facilities.

Misuse or abuse of our products may lead to potential adverse health effects, subjecting us to complaints, product liability claims and negative publicity.

We are unable to control how our users choose to use our products. For example, we cannot prevent the users from misusing or abusing our products or prevent minors from obtaining access to our products. Our users may also use our products to inhale chemicals obtained from informal sources and in other potentially hazardous applications that can result in personal injury, product liability and environmental claims.

Misuse or abuse of our products, including use of our products in combination with other products and components from third parties, may significantly and adversely affect the health of our users, subjecting us to user complaints and product liability litigation, even though such products were not used in the manner recommended by us. Applicable law may render us liable for damages without regard to negligence or fault. The FDA strongly advises against vaping during pregnancy on the ground that any products containing nicotine are not safe to use during pregnancy since nicotine is a health risk for pregnant women and developing babies and can damage a baby’s brain and lungs. We cannot assure you that we would not be subject to liability resulting from a birth defect in a baby born to a woman who used vaping products during pregnancy, notwithstanding our warnings not to use during pregnancy. Any such liability may not be covered by insurance and may materially impair our ability to operate profitably.

Regardless of whether these complaints or product liability litigation have merit, they may be costly and time-consuming to defend and resolve, bring negative publicity that could damage our reputation and result in higher scrutiny by the government or stricter regulations, all of which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our business may be impacted by supply chain issues, which are affecting businesses worldwide.

One of effects of the COVID-19 were delays resulting from supply chain issues, which relate to the difficulty that companies have in having their products manufactured, shipped to the country of destination, and delivered from the port of entry to the customer’s location. To the extent that products are shipped by sea, there are additional risks resulting from ports not being able to unload ships promptly, causing delays in getting into port, including potential damage from seawater and fire, product degradation and the possibility of containers being destroyed, damaged or falling off the ship into the water. The inability to delivery products to the ultimate vendor impaired our ability to generate revenue from our products. As the port delays have significantly decreased, we do not believe that the supply chain issues that affected our operations are currently affecting us. We cannot assure you that such delays will not affect our business in the future.

In 2021, our supplier, Shenzhen Yi Jia, suffered a chip shortage resulting in a slowdown in the delivery of its products to us from April to August 2021. Since September 2021, Shenzhen Yi Jia has been able to meet our requirements and a chip shortage no longer affect its production. However, we cannot assure you that Shenzhen Yi Jia and, if and when we commence manufacturing operations, any other supplier we may engage, will not suffer from a chip shortage in the future.

The delay in shipment and chip shortage had a negative impact on our results of operation. In 2022, there was a loss of potential sales orders of approximately $2 million, around 2.3% of our total sales, which caused a decline of $0.3 million in our gross profit, resulting from delay in supply chain. We believe delays in supply chain may continue in the coming year, which may affect around 3% of our total sales orders. Since our manufacturing operations will initially be assembly, we may continue to face supply chain issues with respect to components and delivery delays with respect to one or a small number of components may affect our ability to assemble our products.

Failure to manage inventory at optimal levels could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We are required to manage a large volume of inventory effectively for our business. We depend on our forecasts for the anticipated demand for our products to make procurement plans and manage our inventory. Our forecast for demand, however, may not accurately reflect the actual market demands, which depends on a number of factors including, without limitation, launches of new products, changes in product life cycles and pricing, product defects, changes in user spending patterns, supplier back orders and other supplier-related issues, distributors’ and retailers’ procurement plans, as well as the volatile economic environment in the markets where we sell our products. We do not have long-term contracts with some of our distributors, which makes the demands for our products from distributors unstable and unpredictable. In addition, when we launch a new product with new components or raw material, it may be difficult to establish relationships, determine appropriate raw material and product selection, and accurately forecast market demand for such product. We cannot assure you that we will be able to maintain proper inventory levels for our business at all times, and any such failure may have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Inventory levels in excess of distributor demand with respect to tobacco products and customer demand with respect to cannabis products may result in inventory write-downs, expiration of products or an increase in inventory holding costs and a potential negative effect on our liquidity. As we plan to continue expanding our product offerings, we expect to include more products in our inventory, which will make it more challenging for us to manage our inventory effectively and will put more pressure on our warehousing system. If we fail to manage our inventory effectively, we may be subject to a heightened risk of inventory obsolescence, a decline in inventory values, and significant inventory write-downs or write-offs. In addition, we may be required to lower sale prices in order to reduce inventory level, which may lead to lower gross margins. High inventory levels may also require us to commit substantial capital resources, preventing us from using that capital for other important purposes. Any of the above may materially and adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

Conversely, if we underestimate distributor demand, or if our supplier fails to provide products to us in a timely manner, we may experience inventory shortages, which may, in turn, require us to purchase our products at higher costs, result in unfulfilled user orders, leading to a negative impact on our financial condition and our relationships with distributors.

Additionally, the distributors largely determine the inventory levels of the retail outlets they operate or to whom they sell, based on their estimation, and such inventory levels might not correspond to actual market demands and could lead to under-stocking or over-stocking in the retail outlets. We cannot assure you that there will not be under-stocking or over-stocking in these stores which would materially impact the results of our operations and our working capital.

Under-stocking can lead to missed sales opportunities, while over-stocking could result in inventory depreciation and decreased shelf space for stocks that are in higher demands. These results could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

One customer accounts for a significant portion of our sales.

Although we have more than 150 distributors, our largest distributor, who is a non-exclusive distributor for the United Kingdom and France, accounted for approximately 51.2%, 38.6%, 39.2% and 35.9% of our revenue for the years ended June 30, 2021 and 2022 and nine months ended March 31, 2022 and 2023, respectively. On January 1, 2021, we signed a distributorship agreement with this distributor in our standard form, which does not provide any special terms or prices.  No other customer accounted for 10% or more of our revenue during either year or nine-month period. The loss of this distributor could have a material adverse effect upon our business. See “Business – Sales and Distribution.” 

Our business may be affected by inflation.

Although inflation has not materially affected our business or the results of our operations through the years ended June 30, 2021 and 2022 or the nine months ended March 31, 2023, in view of the global inflationary trends, we may incur increased costs of manufacture and delivery which we may not be able to pass on to our customers as a result of competitive pressure which would impact the results of our operations.

We face competition from companies in the vaping industry as well as other sources of nicotine and cannabis, and we may fail to compete effectively.

Vaping products for both tobacco and cannabis compete with tobacco and marijuana cigarettes and a wide range of other tobacco and legal and illegal cannabis products. The vaping industry worldwide is intensely competitive.

Some of our current and potential competitors have greater financial, marketing, ordering quantities, portfolios of products and intellectual properties and other resources and some, such as JUUL Labs, Inc., which is the major seller of vaping nicotine products, and British American Tobacco Plc, another major producer of vaping nicotine products, are better known and have greater resources than we do. Certain competitors may be able to secure raw materials and products from suppliers and manufacturers on more favorable terms, devote greater resources to marketing and promotional campaigns, adopt more aggressive pricing or inventory policies, and devote substantially more resources to product development and technology. Increased competition may adversely affect our results of operations, market share and brand recognition, or force us to incur losses. There can be no assurance that we will be able to successfully compete against current and future competitors, and competitive pressures may have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations.

The cannabis vaping market is in the early stages and at present is mainly limited to the United States, although there is a developing market in Canada and a potential market in Europe. Our ability to be successful in this market is dependent upon our ability to develop vaping systems that attracts and retains consumer interest and the regulatory environment in the United States. Our cannabis vaping products compete with other forms of legal and illegal cannabis, marijuana cigarettes, CBD oil and other CBD products, food products and other vaping products. Since most of our revenue from cannabis is derived from sales to other brands rather than sales to distributors and consumers, we compete based on our technology and ability to work with the customers to develop a product that they can successfully market.

Misconduct, including illegal, fraudulent or collusive activities, by our employees, distributors, retailers, suppliers and manufacturers, may harm our brand and reputation and adversely affect our business and results of operations.

Misconduct, including illegal, fraudulent or collusive activities, unauthorized business conduct and behavior, or misuse of corporate authorization by our employees, contractors, distributors, retailers, suppliers and manufacturers and other business relationships could subject us to liability and negative publicity. Our employees, distributors, retailers, suppliers and manufacturers may conduct fraudulent activities or violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, such as accepting payments from or making payments to other distribution channel participants or other third parties in order to bypass our internal system and to complete shadow transactions and/or transactions outside our official or authorized distribution channels, disclosing users’ information to competitors or other third parties for personal gains, or applying for fake reimbursement. They may conduct activities in violation of unfair competition law, which may expose us to unfair competition allegations and risks. We cannot assure you that such incidents will not occur in the future. It is not always possible to identify and deter such misconduct, and the precautions we take to detect and prevent these activities may not be effective. Such misconduct could damage our brand and reputation, which could adversely affect our business and results of operations.

We may become subject to governmental regulations and other legal obligations related to privacy, information security, and data protection, and any security breaches, and our actual or perceived failure to comply with our legal obligations could harm our brand and business.

Most of our revenue is derived from sales to distributors for our tobacco products and other cannabis brands for our cannabis products, and we do not sell online. As a result, in the normal course of business we do not collect, store and process personal, transactional, statistical and behavioral data, including certain personal and other sensitive data from our users. To the extent that we market to the public and collect personal data, such as credit card information, we would face risks inherent in handling large volumes of data and in securing and protecting such data. In particular, we would face a number of data-related challenges related to our business operations, including: (i) protecting the data in and hosted on our system and cloud servers, including against attacks on our system and cloud servers by external parties or fraudulent behavior by our employees; (ii) addressing concerns related to privacy and sharing, safety, security and other factors; and (iii) complying with applicable laws, rules and regulations relating to the collection, use, disclosure or security of personal information, including any requests from regulatory and government authorities relating to such data.

We may be subject to liability if private information that we receive is not secure or if we violate privacy laws and regulations.

We are or may become subject to a variety of laws and regulations in the United States and abroad regarding privacy, data security, cybersecurity and data protection. These laws and regulations are continuously evolving and developing. The scope and interpretation of the laws that are or may be applicable to us are often uncertain and may be conflicting, particularly with respect to foreign laws. In particular, there are numerous United States federal, state, and local laws and regulations and foreign laws and regulations regarding privacy and the collection, sharing, use, processing, disclosure, and protection of personal information and other user data. Such laws and regulations often vary in scope, may be subject to differing interpretations, and may be inconsistent among different jurisdictions. To the extent that we deal with the public and obtain private information on our computer system including information on our system as a result of internet sales of our products, we would be subject to these laws.

In June 2018, California adopted the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”), which became effective in 2020. Under the law, any California consumer has a right to demand to see all the information a company has saved on the consumer, as well as a full list of all the third parties that data is shared with. The consumer also has the right to request that we delete the information it has on the consumer. The CCPA broadly defines “protected data.” The CCPA also has specific requirements for companies subject to the law. The CCPA provides for a private right of action for unauthorized access, theft or disclosure of personal information in certain situations, with possible damage awards of $100 to $750 per consumer per incident, or actual damages, whichever is greater. The CCPA also permits class action lawsuits. To the extent that we sell products to consumers through our website or otherwise through the Internet, we may become subject to the CCPA and any other similar consumer protection laws.

The European Union Parliament approved a new data protection regulation, known as the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), which came into effect in May 2018. The GDPR includes operational requirements for companies that receive or process personal data of residents of the European Economic Area. The GDPR imposes significant penalties for non-compliance. Although we do not conduct any business in the European Economic Area, in the event that residents of the European Economic Area access our website and input protected information, including information provided in ordering products through our website, we may become subject to provisions of the GDPR.

We are also subject to laws restricting disclosure of information relating to our employees. We strive to comply with all applicable laws, policies, legal obligations, and industry codes of conduct relating to privacy, data security, cybersecurity and data protection. However, given that the scope, interpretation, and application of these laws and regulations are often uncertain and may be conflicting, it is possible that these obligations may be interpreted and applied in a manner that is inconsistent from one jurisdiction to another and may conflict with other rules or our practices. Any failure or perceived failure by us or our third-party service-providers to comply with our privacy or security policies or privacy-related legal obligations, or any compromise of security that results in the unauthorized release or transfer of personally identifiable information or other user data, may result in governmental enforcement actions, litigation, or negative publicity, and could have an adverse effect on our business and operating results. Although we maintain cybersecurity insurance, we cannot assure you that this insurance will cover or satisfy any claim made against us or adequately cover any defense costs we may incur.

Any significant cybersecurity incident or disruption of our information technology systems or those of third-party partners could materially damage user relationships and subject us to significant reputational, financial, legal and operation consequences.

We depend on our information technology systems, as well as those of third parties, to develop new products and services, host and manage our services, store data and process transactions. Any material disruption or slowdown of our systems or those of third parties upon whom we depend could cause outages or delays in our services, particularly in the form of interruption of services delivered by our website, which could harm our brand and adversely affect our operating results. Our failure to implement adequate cybersecurity protections could subject us to claims for any breach of security, particularly if it results in disclosure of information relating to our customers. If changes in technology cause our information technology systems, or those of third parties whom we depend upon, to become obsolete, or if our or their information systems are inadequate to handle our growth, we could lose users, and our business and operating results could be adversely affected.

Infringement of our intellectual property by any third party or loss of our intellectual property rights may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We, through our operating subsidiaries, either own or will own or license as an exclusive licensee patent, trademark, copyright and trade secret and other intellectual property, as well as confidentiality procedures and contractual provisions, to protect our intellectual property rights. We also enter into confidentiality agreements with our employees and any third parties who may access our proprietary information, and we control access to our proprietary technology and information.

Intellectual property protection may not be sufficient. Confidentiality agreements may be breached by counterparties, we may not be able to enforce these agreements and there may not be adequate remedies available to us for any such breach. Accordingly, we may not be able to effectively protect our intellectual property rights or to enforce our contractual rights, and, with respect to rights licensed to us, the licensor, which is a related party, may not be willing or able to enforce its intellectual property rights against alleged infringers. Policing any unauthorized use of our intellectual property, whether owned or licensed, is difficult, time-consuming and costly, and the steps we have taken may be inadequate to prevent the misappropriation of our intellectual property. In the event that we resort to litigation to enforce our intellectual property rights, such litigation could result in substantial costs and a diversion of our managerial and financial resources. We can provide no assurance that we will prevail in such litigation, and we cannot assure you that our licensor will take steps to sufficiently protect the licensed intellectual property. Furthermore, we or our licensor may be subject to the risks of losing our intellectual property rights or the intellectual property rights licensed from other third-parties due to several reasons. Certain intellectual property rights, such as patents, are subject to a limited period of time. Upon the expiry of such period of time, others may freely use such intellectual properties without any license or charges, which may impose competitive harm to us and in turn adversely affect our business and prospects. The intellectual property rights that we currently have may also be revoked, invalidated or deprived by regulatory authorities as a result of intellectual property claims or challenges successfully raised by third parties. We may also rely on certain intellectual property rights licensed from other third parties. There can be no guarantee that we will be able to maintain such licenses at all times or renew such licenses upon expiry. Moreover, our trade secrets may be leaked or otherwise become available to, or be independently discovered by, our competitors. Any failure in maintaining, protecting or enforcing our intellectual property rights could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We may be subject to intellectual property infringement claims from third parties, which may be expensive to defend with no assurance of success and may disrupt our business and operations.

We cannot be certain that our operations or any aspects of our business do not or will not infringe upon or otherwise violate patents, copyrights or other intellectual property rights held by third parties. Through our operating subsidiaries, we are acquiring patent, trademark and other intellectual rights from Tuanfang Liu, Aspire Global and Shenzhen Yi Jia all of their intellectual property relating to the cannabis vaping products, and we are licensing patent, trademarks and other intellectual property rights relating to the tobacco vaping products from Mr. Liu, Aspire Global and Shenzhen Yi Jia. We may, and from time to time in the future be, subject to legal proceedings and claims relating to the intellectual property rights of others. There could also be existing patents or other intellectual property of which we are not aware that we may infringe. While we do not know of any intellectual property rights on which our products or our business infringe, we cannot assure you that holders of patents or other intellectual property rights purportedly relating to some aspect of our technology or business, would not seek to enforce such patents against us or the licensor of intellectual property licensed by us, including intellectual property licensed by Shenzhen Yi Jia, or that they will not be successful in any such enforcement action. If we fail to maintain our patents or if our licensor is not able to maintain its rights, we may be subject to intellectual property infringement claims from third parties. We and Shenzhen Yi Jia have patents and patent applications in a number of jurisdictions, including the United States and the European Union. If we are found to have violated the intellectual property rights of others, we may be subject to liability for our infringement activities or may be prohibited from using such intellectual property, and we may incur licensing fees or damages or be forced to develop alternatives of our own. In addition, we may incur significant expenses, and may be forced to divert management’s time and other resources from our business and operations to defend against these third-party infringement claims, regardless of their merits. Although the intellectual property transfer agreement (the “Intellectual Property Transfer Agreement”) dated September 30, 2022, among Mr. Liu, Aspire Global, Shenzhen Yi Jia, us and Aspire North America, and the exclusive license agreement (the “Intellectual Property License Agreement”) dated September 30, 2022, among Mr. Liu, Aspire Global, Shenzhen Yi Jia, us and Aspire Science, provide that Mr. Liu, Aspire Global and Shenzhen Yi Jia will indemnify us against any liability in the event that the transferred or licensed intellectual property infringes the intellectual property rights of a third party, we cannot assure you that we will be able to enforce such indemnification. Further, since Shenzhen Yi Jia and Mr. Liu are located in the PRC, we cannot assure you that we will be able to enforce any action or any judgment we may receive from a U.S. court in a Chinese court.

As the patents we own or are licensed may expire and may not be extended, our patent applications may not be granted and our patent rights may be contested, circumvented, invalidated or limited in scope, our patent rights and license may not protect us.

As of the date of this prospectus, our operating subsidiaries own or license more than 200 patents relating to various aspects of our operations. The rights granted under any issued patents, however, may not provide us with proprietary protection or competitive advantages. The claims under any patents that issue may not be broad enough to prevent others from developing technologies that are similar or that achieve results similar to ours. It is also possible that the intellectual property rights of others will bar us from licensing. Numerous patents owned by others exist in the fields in which we have developed and are developing our technology. These patents and patent applications might have priority over our patent applications filed by our transferor or licensor and we or our licensor may not be able to enforce these rights. Finally, in addition to those who may claim priority, any of our existing patents may also be challenged by others on the basis that they are otherwise invalid or unenforceable. Any failure in extending our existing patents, or if our patent rights were to be contested, circumvented, invalidated or limited in scope could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

If we are unable to manage our growth or execute our strategies effectively, our business and prospects may be materially and adversely affected.

To accommodate our growth, we anticipate that we will need to implement a variety of new and upgraded operational and financial systems, procedures and controls, including the improvement of our accounting and other internal management systems. We will also need to continue to expand, train, manage and motivate our workforce and manage our relationships with customers and third-party suppliers. All of these endeavors involve risks and will require substantial management effort and significant additional expenditures. We may not be able to manage our growth or execute our strategies effectively, and any failure to do so may have a material adverse effect on our business and prospects.

Our success depends on our ability to retain our core management team and other key personnel.

Our performance depends on the continued service and performance of our directors and senior management as they play an important role in guiding the implementation of our business strategies and future plans. Our co-chief executive officer, Tuanfang Liu, is responsible primarily for our product development, since all of the patents we own or license are based on his inventions, and we anticipate that he will continue to be responsible for product development. Because of his knowledge of the market and the underlying technology for our products, the loss of Mr. Liu could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and prospects. If any of our other members of senior management were to terminate his or her employment, there can be no assurance that we would be able to find suitable replacements in a timely manner, at acceptable cost or at all. The loss of services of key personnel or the inability to identify, hire, train and retain other qualified and managerial personnel in the future may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. Additionally, in addition to our co-chief executive officer, we rely on our research and development personnel for product development and technology innovation. If any of our key research and development personnel were to leave us, we cannot assure you that we can secure equally competent research and development personnel in a timely manner, or at all. If we are able to identify a location in Southeast Asia where we can establish manufacturing facilities, we would need to hire key personnel who have experience and operating manufacturing operations in Southeast Asia, and become familiar with all legal requirements affecting our business since each country in the region has its own legal requirements and business customs and our failure to comply with any such legal requirements and to operate in accordance with local practice could materially impair our business and the results of our operations.

Competition for highly skilled employees is intense, and we may not be able to attract and retain the highly skilled employees needed to support our business.

As we continue to experience growth, we believe our success depends on the efforts and talents of our employees, including management team and financial personnel. Our future success depends on our continued ability to attract, develop, motivate and retain highly qualified and skilled employees. Competition for highly skilled personnel is extremely intense. We may not be able to hire and retain these personnel at compensation levels consistent with our existing compensation and salary structure. Many of the companies with which we compete for experienced employees have greater resources than we do and may be able to offer more attractive terms of employment.

In addition, we invest significant time and expense in training our employees, which increases their value to competitors who may seek to recruit them. If we fail to retain our employees, we could incur significant expenses in hiring and training their replacements, and the quality of our services and our ability to serve customers could diminish, resulting in a material adverse effect on our business.

Our business, financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected by an economic downturn.

In recent years, the United States and other markets have experienced cyclical or episodic downturns, and worldwide economic conditions remain uncertain, including, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain disruptions, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, instability in the U.S. and global banking systems, rising fuel prices, increasing interest rates or foreign exchange rates and increased inflation and the possibility of a recession. A significant downturn in economic conditions may affect the market for our products and our supplier’s ability to provide products to us on acceptable terms.

We cannot predict the timing, strength, or duration of any future economic slowdown or any subsequent recovery generally, or in any industry. If the conditions in the general economy and the markets in which we operate worsen from present levels, our business, financial condition, operating results could be adversely affected. For example, in January 2023, the outstanding national debt of the U.S. government reached its statutory limit. The U.S. Department of the Treasury has announced that, since then, it has been using extraordinary measures to prevent the U.S. government’s default on its payment obligations, and to extend the time that the U.S. government has to raise its statutory debt limit or otherwise resolve its funding situation. The failure by Congress to raise the federal debt ceiling could have severe repercussions within the U.S. and to global credit and financial markets. If Congress does not raise the debt ceiling and if the U.S. government defaults on its payment obligations or experiences delays in making payments when due, such payment default or delay by the U.S. government, as well as continued uncertainty surrounding the U.S. debt ceiling or the U.S. Government’s ability to pay debts, could result in a variety of adverse effects for financial markets, market participants and U.S. and global economic conditions. In addition, U.S. debt ceiling and budget deficit concerns have increased the possibility a downgrade in the credit rating of the U.S. government and could result in economic slowdowns or a recession in the United States. Although U.S. lawmakers have passed legislation to raise the federal debt ceiling on multiple occasions, ratings agencies have lowered or threatened to lower the long-term sovereign credit rating on the United States as a result of disputes over the debt ceiling. The impact of a potential downgrade to the U.S. government’s sovereign credit rating or its perceived creditworthiness could adversely affect economic conditions, as well as our business, financial condition and operating results. 

Our internal controls over financial reporting may not be effective and our independent registered public accounting firm may not be able to certify as to their effectiveness, which could have a significant and adverse effect on our business and reputation.

We are subject to the reporting requirements of the Securities Act, the Exchange Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the rules and regulations of Nasdaq. We expect that the requirements of these rules and regulations will continue to increase our legal, accounting and financial compliance costs, make some activities more difficult, time-consuming and costly, and place significant strain on our personnel, systems and resources.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting. Our management carried out an evaluation, under the supervision and with the participation of our -chief executive officers and our chief financial officer, who are currently our co-chief executive officers, of the effectiveness of the design of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined by Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) or 15d-15(e)) as of March 31, 2023, pursuant to Exchange Act Rule 13a-15(b). Based upon that evaluation, our Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of March 31, 2023.

Our current controls and any new controls that we develop may become inadequate because of changes in conditions in our business. Further, weaknesses in our internal controls may be discovered in the future. Any failure to develop or maintain effective controls, or any difficulties encountered in their implementation or improvement, could adversely affect our operating results or cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations and may result in a restatement of our financial statements for prior periods. Any failure to implement and maintain effective internal controls also could adversely affect the results of periodic management evaluations and annual independent registered public accounting firm attestation reports regarding the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting that we are required to include in our periodic reports that we will file with the SEC under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Ineffective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting could also cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial and other information.

In order to maintain and improve the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting, we have expended and anticipate that we will continue to expend significant resources, including accounting-related costs, and provide significant management oversight. Any failure to maintain the adequacy of our internal controls, or our consequent inability to produce accurate financial statements on a timely basis, could increase our operating costs and could materially and adversely affect our ability to operate our business. In the event that our internal controls are perceived as inadequate or that we are unable to produce timely or accurate financial statements, investors may lose confidence in our operating results and the price of our common stock could decline. In addition, if we are unable to continue to meet these requirements, we may not be able to maintain our listing on Nasdaq.

Our independent registered public accounting firm is not required to attest to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting until after we are no longer an emerging growth company or a non-accelerated filer. At such time, our independent registered public accounting firm may issue a report that is adverse in the event it is not satisfied with the level at which our controls are documented, designed or operating. Any failure to maintain effective disclosure controls and internal control over financial reporting could have a material and adverse effect on our company’s business and operating results.

Although we believe that our business is not subject to PRC Laws, our business could be materially impaired if it is determined that our business is subject to PRC Laws.

Based upon the nature of our existing business operations we do not believe, based on advice from PRC counsel, that we are subject to PRC Laws. There is no assurance that certain PRC Laws, including existing laws and regulations and those enacted or promulgated in the future, will not be applicable to our Hong Kong subsidiary due to change in the current political arrangements between mainland China and Hong Kong or other unforeseeable reasons. The application of such PRC Laws may have a material adverse impact on us, as relevant PRC authorities may impose fines and penalties upon our Hong Kong subsidiary, delay or restrict the repatriation of the proceeds from this offering into Hong Kong, and any failure of us to fully comply with such new regulatory requirements may significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer our common stock, cause significant disruption to our business operations, and severely damage our reputation, which would materially and adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations and cause our Common Stock to significantly decline in value or in extreme cases, become worthless.

We have limited insurance coverage, which could expose us to significant costs and business disruption.

We are exposed to various risks associated with our business and operations, and we have limited liability insurance coverage and product liability insurance coverage, and Aspire Science does not have product liability insurance. A successful liability claim against us due to injuries or damages suffered by users of our product could materially and adversely affect our reputation, results of operations and financial conditions. Even if unsuccessful, such a claim could cause us adverse publicity, require substantial costs to defend, and divert the time and attention of our management. In addition, we do not have any business disruption insurance. Any business disruption event could result in substantial costs to us and a diversion of our resources.

The occurrence of natural disasters may adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The occurrence of natural disasters, including hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, tornadoes, fires and other disasters disease may adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations. The potential impact of a natural disaster on our results of operations and financial position is speculative and would depend on numerous factors. The extent and severity of these natural disasters determines their effect on a given economy. We cannot assure you that natural disasters will not occur in the future or that our business, financial condition and results of operations will not be adversely affected.

Because we are a “controlled company” as defined in the Nasdaq Stock Market Rules, you may not have protection of certain corporate governance requirements which otherwise are required by Nasdaq’s rules.

Under Nasdaq’s rules, a controlled company is a company of which more than 50% of the voting power for the election of directors is held by an individual, group or another company. We are a controlled company because Mr. Tuanfang Liu, our co-chief executive officer, holds more than 50% of our voting power. For so long as we remain a controlled company, we are not required to comply with the following, permitted to elect to rely, and may rely, on certain exemptions from the obligation to comply with certain corporate governance requirements, including:

We have not taken advantage of these exemptions except that our co-chief executive officer and principal stockholder, Tuanfang Liu, is chairman of the nominating and corporate governance committee. As a result, to the extent that we take advantage of these exemptions, you will not have the same protections afforded to stockholders of companies that are subject to all of the Nasdaq corporate governance requirements. Although we do not currently intend to take advantage of the controlled company exemptions, except as set forth above, we cannot assure you that, in the future, we will not seek to take advantage of these exemptions. If we cease to be a “controlled company” in the future, we will be required to comply with the Nasdaq listing standards, which may require replacing a number of our directors and will require development of certain other governance-related policies and practices. These and any other actions necessary to achieve compliance with such rules may increase our legal and administrative costs, will make some activities more difficult, time-consuming and costly and may also place additional strain on our personnel, systems and resources.

You may experience difficulties in effecting service of legal process, enforcing foreign judgments or bringing actions in China against two of our directors, o who are Tuanfang Liu, our co-chief executive officer and his wife Jiangyan Zhu, who are based in China based on foreign laws.

Although we are a Delaware corporation, two of our directors, -- who are Tuanfang Liu, our co-chief executive officer, director and controlling stockholder and his wife, Jiangyan Zhu, who is also a director – live in mainland China. The PRC does not have treaties providing for the reciprocal recognition and enforcement of judgments of courts with the United States. As a result, it may not be possible for investors to serve process upon our co-chief executive officer, or to enforce any judgments obtained from non-PRC jurisdictions against any of them in China. As a result, it may be difficult for you to effect service of process upon those persons inside mainland China. It may also be difficult for you to enforce judgments obtained in U.S. courts based on the civil liability provisions of the U.S. federal securities laws against us and our officers and directors who do not reside in the United States or have substantial assets located in the United States. In addition, there is uncertainty as to whether the courts of the PRC would recognize or enforce judgments of U.S. courts against such persons predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the securities laws of the United States or any state.

The recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments are provided for under the PRC Civil Procedures Law. PRC courts may recognize and enforce foreign judgments in accordance with the requirements of the PRC Civil Procedures Law based either on treaties between China and the country where the judgment is made or on principles of reciprocity between jurisdictions. China does not have any treaties or other forms of written arrangement with the United States that provide for the reciprocal recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments. In addition, according to the PRC Civil Procedures Law, the PRC courts will not enforce a foreign judgment against our directors and officers who are residents of China if they decide that the judgment violates the basic principles of PRC laws or national sovereignty, security or public interest. As a result, it is uncertain whether and on what basis a PRC court would enforce a judgment rendered by a court in the United States.

Risks Related to Our Common Stock

Our failure to meet the continued listing requirements of Nasdaq could result in a delisting of our common stock.

If we fail to satisfy the continued listing requirements of Nasdaq, such as the corporate governance requirements or the minimum closing bid price requirement, Nasdaq may take steps to delist our common stock. Such a delisting would likely have a negative effect on the price of our common stock and would impair your ability to sell or purchase our common stock when you wish to do so. In the event of a delisting, we would take actions to restore our compliance with Nasdaq’s listing requirements, but we can provide no assurance that any such action taken by us would allow our common stock to become listed again, stabilize the market price or improve the liquidity of our common stock, prevent our common stock from dropping below the Nasdaq minimum bid price requirement or prevent future non-compliance with Nasdaq’s listing requirements.

If our shares are delisted from Nasdaq and become subject to the penny stock rules, it would become more difficult to trade our shares.

The SEC has adopted rules that regulate broker-dealer practices in connection with transactions in penny stocks. Penny stocks are generally equity securities with a price of less than $5.00, other than securities registered on certain national securities exchanges or authorized for quotation on certain automated quotation systems, provided that current price and volume information with respect to transactions in such securities is provided by the exchange or system. If we do not obtain or retain a listing on Nasdaq and if the price of our common stock is less than $5.00, our common stock will be deemed a penny stock. The penny stock rules require a broker-dealer, before a transaction in a penny stock not otherwise exempt from those rules, to deliver a standardized risk disclosure document containing specified information. In addition, the penny stock rules require that before effecting any transaction in a penny stock not otherwise exempt from those rules, a broker-dealer must make a special written determination that the penny stock is a suitable investment for the purchaser and receive (i) the purchaser’s written acknowledgment of the receipt of a risk disclosure statement; (ii) a written agreement to transactions involving penny stocks; and (iii) a signed and dated copy of a written suitability statement. These disclosure requirements may have the effect of reducing the trading activity in the secondary market for our common stock, and therefore stockholders may have difficulty selling their shares.

The trading price of our common stock may be volatile, which could result in substantial losses to investors.

The trading price of our common stock may be volatile and could fluctuate widely due to factors beyond our control. This may happen because of broad market and industry factors. The securities of some newly public companies have experienced significant volatility since their initial public offerings, including, in some cases, substantial increase followed by a substantial decline in their trading prices. The trading performances of other vaping companies’ securities after their offerings may affect the attitudes of investors toward vaping companies listed in the United States, which consequently may impact the trading performance of our common stock, regardless of our actual operating performance. In addition, any negative news or perceptions about inadequate corporate governance practices or fraudulent accounting, corporate structure or other matters of other vaping companies may also negatively affect the attitudes of investors towards us. In addition to the above factors, the price and trading volume of our common stock may be highly volatile due to multiple factors, including the following:

As an “emerging growth company” under the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, or JOBS Act, we are permitted to, and intend to, rely on exemptions from certain disclosure requirements.

As an “emerging growth company” under the JOBS Act, we are permitted to rely and rely on exemptions from certain disclosure requirements. We are an emerging growth company until the earliest of:

For so long as we remain an emerging growth company, we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act for up to five fiscal years after the date of this offering. We cannot predict if investors will find our common stock less attractive because we may rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our common stock less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our common stock and the trading price of our common stock may be more volatile. In addition, our costs of operating as a public company may increase when we cease to be an emerging growth company.

If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, the market price for our common stock and trading volume could decline.

The trading market for our common stock depends in part on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us or our business. If research analysts do not establish and maintain adequate research coverage or if one or more of the analysts who cover us downgrade our common stock or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, the market price for our common stock would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts cease coverage of our company or fail to publish reports on us regularly, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which, in turn, could cause the market price or trading volume for our common stock to decline.

Our by-laws include forum selection provisions which may limit your ability to commence an action against us.

Our by-laws provide that unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware (or, if the Court of Chancery does not have jurisdiction, the federal district court for the District of Delaware) shall be the sole and exclusive forum for (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf; (ii) any action asserting a claim for breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any of our directors, officers, employees, or agents to us or our stockholders; (iii) any action asserting a claim arising pursuant to any provision of the Delaware General Corporation Law, our certificate of incorporation, or our by-laws; or (iv) any action asserting a claim governed by the internal affairs doctrine; in each case, subject to said court having personal jurisdiction over the indispensable parties named as defendants therein.

Our by-laws also provide that unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the federal district courts of the United States of America shall be the exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint for the resolution of any complaint for which such courts have exclusive jurisdiction, including, but not limited to, any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Exchange Act. Our by-laws also provide that the exclusive forum provisions do not apply to actions arising under the Securities Act.

There is uncertainty as to whether a court would enforce these provisions, and investors cannot waive compliance with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder.

SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This prospectus contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical facts are forward-looking statements. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements.

You can identify these forward-looking statements by words or phrases such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “aim,” “estimate,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “likely to” or other similar expressions. We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that we believe may affect our financial condition, results of operations, business strategy and financial needs. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about:

You should read thoroughly this prospectus and the documents that we refer to in this prospectus with the understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from and worse than what we expect. Other sections of this prospectus include additional factors which could adversely impact our business and financial performance. Moreover, we operate in an evolving environment. New risk factors and uncertainties emerge from time to time and it is not possible for our management to predict all risk factors and uncertainties, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. We qualify all of our forward-looking statements by these cautionary statements.

This prospectus contains certain data and information that we obtained from various government and private publications. Statistical data in these publications also include projections based on a number of assumptions. The e-vapor industry may not grow at the rate projected by market data, or at all. Failure of this market to grow at the projected rate may have a material and adverse effect on our business and the market price of the shares of common stock. In addition, the rapidly evolving nature of this industry results in significant uncertainties for any projections or estimates relating to the growth prospects or future condition of our market. Furthermore, if any one or more of the assumptions underlying the market data are later found to be incorrect, actual results may differ from the projections based on these assumptions. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.

You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. The forward-looking statements made in this prospectus relate only to events or information as of the date on which the statements are made in this prospectus. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date on which the statements are made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. You should read this prospectus and the documents that we refer to in this prospectus and have filed as exhibits to the registration statement, of which this prospectus is a part, completely and with the understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from what we expect.

USE OF PROCEEDS

We will not receive any proceeds from the sale of the common stock by the selling stockholders.

MARKET INFORMATION FOR SECURITIES

Our common stock is currently listed on Nasdaq under the symbols “ISPR.” The last reported sale price of our common stock Nasdaq on August 10, 2023 was $9.62 per share of common stock 

Holders of Record

As of July 7, 2023, we had approximately 13 holders of record of our common stock. Because most of our shares of common stock held by persons other than our original stockholders are held by brokers and other institutions on behalf of stockholders, this number is not indicative of the total number of stockholders who beneficially own our stock.

Securities Authorized for Issuance under Equity Compensation Agreements

Our directors and stockholders approved the 2022 Equity Incentive Plan, pursuant to which up to 15,000,000 shares of common stock may be issued pursuant to options or restricted stock grants. As of June 30, 2023, we had not granted any options or issued any shares pursuant to such plan.

ENFORCEMENT OF CIVIL LIABILITIES

Our executive officers and directors are located in the United States except that two directors, one of whom is our chairman and chief executive officer, and one director-designee are located in mainland China. As a result, it may be difficult for a stockholder to effect service of process within the United States upon the directors and officers who are located outside of the United States.

We have been advised by Han Kun Law Offices that there is uncertainty as to whether the courts of the PRC would enforce judgments of United States courts obtained against these persons predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the United States federal and state securities laws. Han Kun Law Offices has further advised us that the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments are provided for under PRC Civil Procedures Law. PRC courts may recognize and enforce foreign judgments in accordance with the requirements of PRC Civil Procedures Law based either on treaties between China and the country where the judgment is made or on reciprocity between jurisdictions. China does not have any treaties or other form of reciprocity with the United States that provide for the reciprocal recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments. In addition, according to the PRC Civil Procedures Law, courts in the PRC will not enforce a foreign judgment against our directors and officers if they decide that the judgment violates the basic principles of PRC law or national sovereignty, security or public interest. As a result, it is uncertain whether and on what basis a PRC court would enforce a judgment rendered by a court in the United States.  Under the PRC Civil Procedures Law, foreign stockholders may originate actions based on PRC law against a company in China for disputes if they can establish sufficient nexus to the PRC for a PRC court to have jurisdiction, and meet other procedural requirements, including, among others, the plaintiff must have a direct interest in the case, and there must be a concrete claim, a factual basis and a cause for the suit. It will be, however, difficult for U.S. stockholders to originate actions in the PRC against our directors who are located in the PRC in accordance with PRC laws because we are incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware and it will be difficult for U.S. stockholders, by virtue only of holding our common stock, to establish a connection to the PRC for a PRC court to have jurisdiction as required under the PRC Civil Procedures Law. As a result of the foregoing, it would be very expensive and time-consuming for a stockholder to either seek to enforce a U.S. judgment in China or to commence an action in a Chinese court, with a strong likelihood that the stockholder will not be successful.

SELLING STOCKHOLDERS

The following table sets forth the names of the selling stockholders, the number of shares of common stock owned beneficially by the selling stockholders as of August 10, 2023 and the number of our shares of common stock that may be offered by the selling stockholders pursuant to this prospectus. The table and the other information contained under the captions “Selling Stockholders” and “Plan of Distribution” has been prepared based upon information furnished to us by or on behalf of the selling stockholders. The following table sets forth, as to the selling stockholders, the number of shares of common stock beneficially owned, the number of shares being sold, the number of shares beneficially owned upon completion of the offering and the percentage beneficial ownership upon completion of the offering.

None of the selling stockholders has, and within the past three years has not had, any position, office or material relationship with us or with any of our predecessors or affiliates except as described below.

The three selling stockholders purchased the shares of common stock listed in the table above from us on June 26, 2023 in a private placement of shares.

PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION

The selling stockholders and any of its pledgees, donees, assignees and successors-in-interest may, from time to time, sell any or all of its shares of common stock on any stock exchange, market or trading facility on which the shares are traded or in private transactions or by gift. The shares offered by this prospectus may be sold by the selling stockholders at market prices prevailing at the time of sale or at negotiated prices. The selling stockholders may use any one or more of the following methods when selling or otherwise transferring shares:

To the extent permitted under Rule 144, the selling stockholders may also sell shares of common stock owned by it pursuant to Rule 144 rather than pursuant to this prospectus.

Broker-dealers engaged by the selling stockholders may arrange for other broker-dealers to participate in sales. Broker-dealers may receive commissions or discounts from the selling stockholders (or, if any broker-dealer acts as agent for the purchaser of shares, from the purchaser) in amounts to be negotiated. The selling stockholders do not expect these commissions and discounts to exceed what is customary in the types of transactions involved. None of the selling stockholders is an affiliate of any broker-dealer.

The selling stockholders may from time to time pledge or grant a security interest in some or all of the shares owned by them and, if the selling stockholders defaults in the performance of the secured obligations, the pledgees or secured parties may offer and sell the shares of common stock from time to time under this prospectus, or under an amendment to this prospectus under Rule 424(b)(3) or other applicable provision of the Securities Act amending the list of selling stockholders to include the pledgee, transferee or other successors in interest as selling stockholders under this prospectus.

In connection with the sale of our shares of common stock or interests therein, the selling stockholders may enter into hedging transactions with broker-dealers or other financial institutions which may in turn engage in short sales of our shares of common stock in the course of hedging the positions they assume. The selling stockholders may, after the date of this prospectus, also sell our shares of common stock short and deliver these securities to close out its short positions, or lend or pledge its shares of common stock to broker-dealers that in turn may sell these securities. The selling stockholders may also enter into option or other transactions with broker-dealers or other financial institutions or the creation of one or more derivative securities which require the delivery to such broker-dealer or other financial institution of shares of common stock offered by this prospectus, which shares such broker-dealer or other financial institution may resell pursuant to this prospectus (as supplemented or amended to reflect such transaction).

The selling stockholders also may transfer the shares of common stock in other circumstances, in which case the transferees, pledgees or other successors in interest will be the selling beneficial owners for purposes of this prospectus.

The selling stockholders and any broker-dealers or agents that are involved in selling the shares may be deemed to be “underwriters” within the meaning of the Securities Act in connection with such sales. In such event, they will be subject to the prospectus delivery requirements of the Securities Act, any commissions received by such broker-dealers or agents and any profit on the resale of the shares purchased by them may be deemed to be underwriting commissions or discounts under the Securities Act, and federal securities laws, including Regulation M, may restrict the timing of purchases and sales of our shares of common stock by the selling stockholders and any other persons who are involved in the distribution of the shares of common stock pursuant to this prospectus. The selling stockholders has informed us that it does not have any agreement or understanding, directly or indirectly, with any person to distribute the shares of common stock.

We may be required to amend or supplement this prospectus in the event that (a) a selling stockholders transfers securities under conditions which require the purchaser or transferee to be named in the prospectus as a selling stockholders, in which case we will be required to amend or supplement this prospectus to name the selling stockholders, or (b) the selling stockholders sells shares to an underwriter, in which case we will be required to amend or supplement this prospectus to name the underwriter and the method of sale.

We are paying all fees and expenses incident to the registration of the shares. We have agreed to indemnify the selling stockholders against certain losses, claims, damages and liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act.

SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA

The following statements of operations data for the years ended June 30, 2021 and 2022, balance sheet data as of June 30, 2021 and 2022 and statements of cash flows data for the years ended June 30, 2021 and 2022 have been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. The following consolidated statements of operations data for the nine months ended March 31, 2022 and 2023, selected consolidated balance sheet data as of March 31, 2023, and consolidated statements of cash flows data for the nine months ended March 31, 2022 and 2023 have been derived from our unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus and have been prepared on the same basis as our audited consolidated financial statements. You should read the Selected Financial Data together with our financial statements and the related notes and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” included elsewhere in this prospectus.

(dollars in thousands, except per share amounts)

Consolidated Statement of Operations Data:

Consolidated Balance Sheet Data

Consolidated Cash Flows Data:

MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF
FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read together with “Selected Consolidated Financial Data” and our financial statements and the related notes appearing elsewhere in this prospectus. In addition to historical information, this discussion contains forward-looking statements reflecting our current expectations that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. See “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.” Actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from those discussed below. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, those identified below, and those discussed in “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this prospectus.

Overview

We are engaged in the research and development, design, commercialization, sales, marketing and distribution of branded e-cigarettes and cannabis vaping products. We sell our tobacco products worldwide except for the PRC and Russia. Our tobacco products are marketed under the Aspire brand name and are sold primarily through our distribution network. We currently sell our cannabis vaping hardware only in the United States, and we have recently commenced marketing activities in Canada and Europe, primarily in the European Union. All of our products are vaping hardware. Vaping refers to the practice of inhaling and exhaling the vapor produced by an electronic vaping device, and includes dabbing, which is the recreational inhalation of extremely concentrated tetrahydrocannabinol, the main psychotropic cannabinoid derived from the marijuana plant. Our cannabis products are marketed under the Ispire brand name, primarily on an ODM basis to other cannabis vapor companies. ODM generally involves the design and customization of the core products to meet each brand’s unique image and needs, and our products are sold by our customers under their own brand names although they may also include our brand name on the products.

In April 2023, we completed our initial public offering, from which we raised net proceeds, after underwriting expenses and other offering expenses, of approximately $18.5 million. In July 2023, we raised net proceeds of approximately $7.5 million, after placement agent fees and offering expenses, from the private placement of our common stock to the three selling stockholders. We plan to use the proceeds from both of these financings for working capital and general corporate purposes, which may include, but not be limited to, the development of manufacturing operations in Southeast Asia, completion of establishing manufacturing operations in California by the end of 2023, research and development activities and continued marketing and promotion.

Regulatory Risks

The sale of tobacco and cannabis products is subject to regulations worldwide. Many countries prohibit the sale of any cannabis products, and many countries have regulations relating to tobacco products, with a particular emphasis on underage sales. As a result of regulations in the United States, we are able to sell only one tobacco vaping product line, the Nautilus Prime, in the United States. Our tobacco vaping sales in the United States were approximately $0.9 million for the year ended June 30, 2022, and we had no sales of tobacco vaping products in the United States. Because the volume of sales did not justify the marketing and regulatory costs, we have ceased marketing tobacco vaping products in the United States. If any similar regulations are adopted with respect to cannabis products, our business will be severely impacted since all of our cannabis revenue for the year ended June 30, 2022 was generated from sales in the United States. See “Regulations.”

Effects of COVID-19 Pandemic

In December 2019, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was first reported to have surfaced in Wuhan, China. During 2020, the disease spread to many parts of the world. The epidemic has resulted in quarantines, travel restrictions, and the temporary closure of stores and facilities in much of the world, most of which are no longer in effect. The World Health Organization ended the global emergency status for COVID-19 on May 5, 2023, and the United States Department of Health and Human Services declared that the public health emergency from COVID-19 expired at the end of the day on May 11, 2023.

The extent to which COVID-19 impacts our operations on an ongoing basis is highly uncertain. Since our products are presently manufactured in China by a related party, any changes in the outbreak in China and any changes in the Chinese government’s policy may affect our supplier’s operations which could affect its ability to manufacture and deliver product in a timely manner.

Supply Chain Risks

One of effects of the COVID-19 has been delays resulting from supply chain issues, which relate to the difficulty that companies have in having their products manufactured, shipped to the country of destination, and delivered from the port of entry to the customer’s location. As the port delays have significantly decreased, we do not believe that the supply chain issues that affected our operations are currently affecting us. We cannot assure you that delays will not affect our business in the future.

In 2021, Shenzhen Yi Jia suffered a chip shortage resulting in a slowdown in delivery of its products to the Company from April to August 2021. To secure the supply of chips, Shenzhen Yi Jia changed the payment terms to chip suppliers from 30 days after delivery in the past to prepayment, and it engaged two new chip suppliers. Since September 2021, Shenzhen Yi Jia has obtained a supply of chips to meet its production needs and the chip shortage no longer affects its production. In 2022, a slowdown in the delivery of components to Shenzhen Yi Jia resulting from supply chain slowdowns as a result of the effects of mainland China’s COVID policy resulted in an increase in cost of revenue during the period. We cannot assure you that we will not suffer from a chip shortage or that the effects of China’s COVID policy will not affect Shenzhen Yi Jia’s ability or the ability of its suppliers to delivery products in a timely manner.

Key Factors that Affect Our Results of Operations

We believe the following key factors may affect our financial condition and results of operations:

Results of Operations 

The following table sets forth a summary of our consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income for the years ended June 30, 2021 and 2022, and for the nine months ended March 31, 2022 and 2023 (dollars in thousands except per share amounts). 

Nine Months Ended March 31, 2022 and 2023

Revenue

The following tables set out the breakdown of our revenue percentage by region based on information provided to us by our distributors.

Our revenue increased by $16,729,239, or 25.3%, from $66,247,507 for the nine months ended March 31, 2022, to $82,976,746 for the nine months ended March 31, 2023. The increase in revenue is the combined effect of (i) increases in sales of tobacco vaping products in Europe of $7.1 million from $38.9 million for the nine months ended March 31, 2022 to approximately $46.0 million for the nine months ended March 31, 2023 and (ii) increases in sales of cannabis vaping products in the United States of $7.5 million from $15.9 million for the nine months ended March 31, 2022 to $23.4 million for the nine months ended March 31, 2023.

Cost of Revenue

Cost of revenue increased by $12,565,907, or 22.5%, from $55,959,959 for the nine months ended March 31, 2022 to $68,525,866 for the nine months ended March 31, 2023. The increase in cost of revenue reflects both the increase in period-to-period unit sales and the effects of a slowdown in the delivery of components to Shenzhen Yi Jia resulting from supply chain slowdowns as a result of the effects of mainland China’s COVID policy which impacted both nine-month periods.

Gross Profit

The following tables show the revenue, cost of revenue and gross profit of our tobacco and cannabis products (dollars in thousands).

Gross profit increased by $4,163,332, or 40.5%, from $10,287,548 for the nine months ended March 31, 2022 to $14,450,880 for the nine months ended March 31, 2023, while our gross margin increased from 15.5% to 17.4%. The gross margin for tobacco vaping products remains constant. The increase in gross margin for cannabis vaping products was primarily due to (i) a lower margin on cannabis vaping products in the nine months ended March 31, 2022 as a result of greater discounts in price offered as we commenced the cannabis business in late 2021 and our primary focus was on capturing market of cannabis vaping products; (ii) a change in product mix with more higher margin products being sold during the nine months ended March 31, 2023, and (iii) an increase in sales volume that led to economies of scale.

Operating Expenses

Operating expenses increased $10,191,154, or 108.4%, from $9,399,443 for the nine months ended March 31, 2022 to $19,590,597 for the nine months ended March 31, 2023.

Our sales and marketing expenses mainly consist of employees’ salaries and benefits, marketing expense, travel expenses and others.

Sales and marketing expenses decreased by $425,353, or 11.2%, from $3,781,183 for the nine months ended March 31, 2022 to $3,355,830 for the nine months ended March 31, 2023. The decrease in sales and marketing expenses for the nine month period ended March 31, 2023 was primarily due to a reduction in our marketing campaign and trade shows for our cannabis vaping products.

Our general and administrative expenses mainly consist of compensation and benefits, rental expense, professional fees and other administrative expenses. General and administrative expenses increased by $10,616,507, or 189.0%, from $5,618,260 for the nine months ended March 31, 2022 to $16,234,767 for the nine months ended March 31, 2023. The increase was primarily due to (i) an increase of $3.0 million for payroll and contract worker expenses as more employees were hired and contract workers were engaged by us for expansion of our cannabis business and building our proposed manufacturing plant, (ii) bad debt expense as allowance for doubtful accounts of $1.3 million recorded by Aspire North America on accounts under dispute due to delayed shipment, and a direct written off of doubtful accounts of $0.9 million, (iii) an increase in amortization expense of $1.5 million of intellectual properties transferred to us in September 2022, (iv) an increase in rental and warehouse expenses of $1.1 million incurred by us in connection with our plan to establish a manufacturing facility in Los Angeles, and (v) an increase in professional fees of $0.9 million incurred for initial public offering purpose. The increase in our expenses in both the three-month and nine-month periods is not the result of inflation. Inflation in Hong Kong, was relatively stable. The increase in expenses for our United States business results from the growth of our business. The cannabis vapor business commenced in late calendar 2021, and the increase in expenses resulted from our growth relating to this increase in business. However, inflationary pressures may affect our operations in the future. As a result of our public offering, we anticipate that our general and administrative expenses will significantly increase as a result of our being a public corporation, including additional legal, audit and insurance expenses as well as expenses in maintaining our disclosure controls and internal control over financial reporting. Professional fees relating to our initial public offering were included in general and administrative expenses during the nine months ended March 31, 2023 since the offering had not been completed by March 31, 2023. The offering was completed in April 2023, and the financial statements for the year ending June 30, 2023 will treat these professional fees of $0.9 million as a reduction of the proceeds of the offering and, accordingly, will be charged to additional paid-in capital.

Other income(expense), net

Other income(expense) includes interest income, interest expense, exchange gain (loss), net and other income (expense).

Interest income was $2,083 for the nine months ended March 31, 2022 and $77,789 for the nine months ended March 31, 2023.

Exchange gain, net increased by $46,276, or 33.8%, from net exchange gain of $136,902 for the nine months ended March 31, 2022 to net exchange gain of $183,178 for nine months ended March 31, 2023.

As a result of these factors, other income decreased by $36,427, from other income of $188,367 for the nine months ended March 31, 2022 to other income of $151,940 for nine months ended March 31, 2023.

Income Taxes

Income taxes increased by $281,651 or 35.7%, from $788,348 for the nine months ended March 31, 2022 to $1,069,999 for the nine months ended March 31, 2023. We had a consolidated net loss for the nine months ended March 31, 2022 and 2023, which was the combined effect of a profit by Aspire Science and a loss by Aspire North America. The profit from Aspire Science resulted in a current tax expense. The increase in valuation allowance reflects our view that the taxable income in the future will not be sufficient to utilize the carryforward loss.

Net Loss

As a result of the foregoing, the results of our operations changed from net income of $288,124, or $0.01 per share (basic and diluted) for the nine months ended March 31, 2022 to a net loss of $6,057,776, or $(0.12) per share, for the nine months ended March 31, 2023.

Years Ended June 30, 2021 and 2022

Revenue

The following table sets out the breakdown of our revenue percentage by region based on information provided to us by our distributors.

Our revenue increased by $24,680,635, or 38.9%, from $63,414,783 for the year ended June 30, 2021, to $88,095,418 for the year ended June 30, 2022. The increase in revenue is the combined effect of (i) the increase in revenue from cannabis products, which were introduced in December 2020, from $2.1 million in the year ended June 30, 2021 to approximately $20.0 million in the year ended June 30, 2022, respectively, all of which was in the North American market and (ii) increases in sales of tobacco products in Europe, offset by decreases in sales of tobacco products in the Asia Pacific and North America market. Revenue from the Europe, Asia Pacific and North America markets were still affected by government actions relating to COVID-19 in the year ended June 30, 2021. As vaccine programs were implemented, COVID-19 related government restrictions were reduced in the year ended June 30, 2022.

Cost of Revenue

Cost of revenue mainly consisted of cost of purchases of vaping products, which we purchased from Shenzhen Yi Jia. Cost of revenue increased by $21,790,450, or 41.1%, from $52,998,928 for the year ended June 30, 2021 to $74,789,378 for the year ended June 30, 2022. The increase in cost of revenue reflects the increase in year-to-year unit sales, offset by the increase in the purchase price of our products and a slowdown in the delivery of components to Shenzhen Yi Jia resulting from supply chain slowdowns as a result of the PRC government’s measures on COVID-19. Inflation in PRC has not materially impacted our cost of revenue. According to the National Bureau of Statistics of China, the year-over-year percent changes in the consumer price index for 2020 and 2021 were increases of 2.5% and 0.9%, respectively. Although we have not been materially affected by inflation, we can provide no assurance that we will not be affected in the future by higher rates of inflation in PRC.

Gross Profit

The following tables show the revenue, cost of revenue and gross profit of our tobacco and cannabis products (dollars in thousands).

Gross profit increased by $2,890,185, or 27.7%, from $10,415,855 for the year ended June 30, 2021 to $13,306,040 for the year ended June 30, 2022, while our gross margin declined from 16.4% to 15.1%. This decline in gross margin was primarily due to (i) the increased proportion of revenue derived from cannabis vaping products, which have a lower gross margin, (ii) our decision to promote and develop market share by lowering price for cannabis vaping products during the year ended June 30, 2022 resulting in decline in gross margin for cannabis products, and (iii) the increase in purchase price due to a slowdown in the supply chain as a result of the PRC government’s measures on COVID-19.

Operating Expenses

Operating expenses increased $7,522,258, or 111.1%, from $6,772,453 for the year ended June 30, 2021 to $14,294,711 for the year ended June 30, 2022.

Our sales and marketing expenses mainly consist of employees’ salaries and benefits, marketing expense, travel expenses and others.

Sales and marketing expenses increased by $1,941,899, or 54.5%, from $3,561,731 for the year ended June 30, 2021 to $5,503,630 for the year ended June 30, 2022. The increase in sales and marketing expenses resulted from more marketing and promotion events from North America, which was with a goal of promoting our Ispire cannabis products to capture market share in 2022.

Our general and administrative expenses mainly consist of compensation and benefits, rental expense, professional fees and other administrative expenses. General and administrative expenses increased by $5,580,359, or 173.8%, from $3,210,722 for the year ended June 30, 2021, to $8,791,081 for the year ended June 30, 2022. The increase was primarily due to a significant increase in general and administrative staff, rental expenses and office expenses incurred by Aspire North America as it developed its cannabis business in the United States during the year ended June 30, 2022. The increase in our expenses is not the result of inflation. Inflation in Hong Kong, where Aspire Science is located, was relatively stable. The increase in expenses for Aspire North America results from the growth of our business. The cannabis vapor business commenced in late calendar 2021, and the increase in expenses resulted from our growth relating to this increase in business. However, inflationary pressures may affect our operations in the future.

Other income, net

Other income (expense) includes interest income, interest expense, exchange gain (loss), net and other income (expense).

Interest income was not significant in either year, $882 for the year ended June 30, 2021 and $5,078 for the year ended June 30, 2022.

Other income increased by $55,128, or 82.0%, from $67,266 for the year ended June 30, 2021 to $122,394 for the year ended June 30, 2022.

As a result of these factors, other income (expense) increased by $205,388, from other expense of $19,773 for the year ended June 30, 2021 to other income of $185,615 for the year ended June 30, 2022.

Income Taxes

Income taxes increased by $385,274, or 56.2%, from $685,823 for the year ended June 30, 2021 to $1,071,097 for the year ended June 30, 2022. Although we had a consolidated net loss for year ended June 30, 2022, the combined effect of a profit in Hong Kong and a loss in the United States resulted in a current tax expense. The increase in valuation allowance reflects our view that the taxable income in the future will not be sufficient to utilize the carryforward loss. See Note 13 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

Net Income

As a result of the foregoing, net income decreased by $4,811,959, from net income of $2,937,806, of $0.06 per share (basic and diluted) for the year ended June 30, 2021 to net loss of $1,874,153, or $(0.04) per share, for the year ended June 30, 2022.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

The following table summarizes our changes in working capital from June 30, 2022 to March 31, 2023 (dollars in thousands).

The following table sets forth information as to consolidated cash flow information for the nine months ended March 31, 2022 and 2023 (dollars in thousands).

Net cash flow used in operating activities for the nine months ended March 31, 2022 of $24.0 million, reflected our income of $0.3 million, adjusted primarily by a decrease in accounts payable of $13.3 million, an increase in inventories of $6.9 million and an increase in account receivable of $5.3 million.

Net cash flow provided by operating activities for the nine months ended March 31, 2023 of $2.2 million, reflected our net loss of $6.1 million, adjusted primarily as follows: an account receivable impairment of $2.2 million, a depreciation and amortization expense of $1.6 million, and an increase in accounts payable of $13.7 million offset by an increase in accounts receivable of $9.3 million.

Net cash flow used in investing activities for the nine months ended March 31, 2022 of $0.1 million reflected primarily the purchase of property, plant and equipment of $0.1 million.

Net cash flow used in investing activities for the nine months ended March 31, 2023 of $10.1 million reflected primarily purchase of short term investments of $9.6 million.

Net cash flow used in financing activities for the nine months ended March 31, 2022 of $0.7 million reflected primarily advances from related parties of $1.7 million, offset by payment to related parties of $1.8 million and payment made for dividends of $0.4 million.

Net cash flow used in financing activities for the nine months ended March 31, 2023 of $42.6 million reflected primarily $40.5 million of repayment to related parties, $3.4 million of payments made for dividend, offset by payment to related parties of $1.9 million.

Prior to the completion of our initial public offering in April 2023, we financed our operations primarily through cash flow from operations and working capital loans when necessary, from our major stockholders, who are Tuanfang Liu, our co-chief executive officer and his wife. We plan to support our future operations primarily from cash generated from our operations and cash on hand. We believe that our current cash and cash flows provided by operating activities, and the net proceeds from our initial public offering of approximately $18.5 million and the net proceeds of approximately $7.5 million from our private placement of common stock in July 2023 will be sufficient to meet our working capital needs in the next 12 months. If we experience an adverse operating environment or incur unanticipated capital expenditure requirements, or if we decide to accelerate our growth, then additional financing may be required. We cannot give any assurance that additional financing will not be required or, if required, would be available on favorable terms if at all. Such financing may include the use of additional debt or the sale of additional equity securities. Any financing which involves the sale of equity securities or instruments that are convertible into equity securities could result in dilution to our stockholders which may be substantial.

The cash at bank held by our Hong Kong operating subsidiary can be freely transferred within our corporate structure without restriction. If our Hong Kong operating subsidiary were to incur additional debt on its own behalf in the future, the instruments governing the debt may restrict the ability of our operating subsidiaries to transfer cash to our U.S. investors.

Contractual Obligations

As of June 30, 2022 and March 31, 2023, we had contract liabilities of $1,672,051 and $742,247, respectively. These liabilities are advance deposits received from customers after an order has been placed. We expect all of the contract liabilities to be settled in less than one year.

We have operating lease arrangements for office premises for Hong Kong and California which are treated as right-of-use assets. These leases typically have terms of two to five years. Leases with an initial term of 12 months or less are not presented as right-of-use assets and are expensed over the lease term. All other lease assets and lease liabilities are recognized based on the present value of lease payments over the lease term at commencement date.

The balances for our right-of-use assets where we are the lessee are presented as follow:

As of March 31, 2023, the maturities of our lease liabilities (excluding short-term leases) are as follows:

Trend Information

Other than as disclosed elsewhere in this registration statement, particularly with respect to government regulations relating to nicotine and cannabis, we are not aware of any trends, uncertainties, demands, commitments, or events that are reasonably likely to have a material effect on our net revenues, income from continuing operations, profitability, liquidity or capital resources, or that would cause reported financial information not necessarily to be indicative of future operating results or financial condition.

Seasonality

Seasonality does not materially affect our business or the results of our operations.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

We do not have off-balance sheet arrangements.

Critical Accounting Policies

Estimates 

The preparation of the consolidated financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting period. Significant estimates include allowance for doubtful accounts, the useful lives of property and equipment and intangible asset, impairment of long-lived assets, and deferred cost. Actual results could differ from those estimates. 

Basis of consolidation

Our consolidated financial statements include the financial statements of us and our subsidiaries. All inter-company transactions and balances have been eliminated upon consolidation.  Because we acquired 100% of the equity of Aspire North America and Aspire Science from a related party for no consideration on July 29, 2022, the acquisitions are treated as the subsidiaries were acquired on July 1, 2020, the first day of the year ended June 30, 2021, and the outstanding common stock was issued on July 1, 2020.

Revenue

We sell our products to customers around the world and recognize revenue in accordance with the guidance of Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers. Revenue is recognized when control of goods has transferred to customers. For the majority of our customer arrangements, control transfers to customers at a point-in-time when goods have been delivered to the pickup location specified by the customer or a forwarder appointed by the customer, as that is generally when legal title, physical possession and risks and rewards of goods transfer to the customer.

Revenue is recognized at the transaction price, based on the purchase order as adjusted for the anticipated rebates, discounts and other sales incentives. When determining the transaction price, management estimates variable consideration applying the portfolio approach practical expedient under ASC 606. The main sources of variable consideration for us are customer rebates, trade promotion funds and cash discounts. These sales incentives are recorded as a reduction of revenue at the time of the initial sale using the most-likely amount estimation method. The most-likely amount method is based on the single most likely outcome from a range of possible consideration outcomes. The range of possible consideration outcomes is primarily derived from the following inputs: sales terms, historical experience, trend analysis, and projected market conditions in the various markets served. Because we serve numerous markets, the sales incentive programs offered vary across businesses, but the most common incentive relates to amounts paid or credited to customers for achieving defined volume levels or growth objectives.

There are no material instances where variable consideration is constrained and not recorded at the initial time of sale. Product returns are recorded as a reduction of revenue based on anticipated sales returns that occur in the normal course of business. We have elected to present revenue net of sales taxes and other similar taxes.

Our warranties are of an assurance-type and come standard with all of our products to cover repair or replacement should a product not perform as expected. We offer a warranty for all major products, including all types of E-vapor kits, atomizers, replacement coils and mods, but no warranty for accessories such as spare parts or packaging consumables. We generally offer a 90-day warranty period from date of purchase for products sold to all regions, but from May 2019, we offer a six-month warranty period from date of purchase for products sold in the UK and France. We offer a refund or replacement of products for manufacturer defective items, dead on arrival items and items that do not appear the same as listed on our website, and exclude damaged goods caused by misuse or unauthorized repair. Provisions for estimated expenses related to product warranties are made at the time products are sold. These estimates are established using historical information about the nature, frequency and average cost of warranty claim settlements as well as product manufacturing and recovery from suppliers. Management actively studies trends of warranty claims and takes action to improve product quality and minimize warranty costs. We estimate the actual historical warranty claims coupled with an analysis of unfulfilled claims to record a liability for specific warranty purposes. As of 2022 and March 31, 2023, products returned for repair or replacement have been immaterial. Accordingly, a warranty liability has not been deemed necessary.

Disaggregated Revenue

In accordance with ASC 606-10-50-5, we have taken into consideration the nature, amount, timing, and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows, and have determined to disaggregate our net sales by whether the products are tobacco or cannabis products, as it is important information for the Company to make resource allocation decisions. The net sales disaggregated by products for the years ended June 30, 2021 and 2022, and for the nine months ended March 31, 2022 and 2023 were as follows, respectively:

Income Tax

We account for income taxes under ASC 740. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the future tax consequences attributable to differences between the consolidated financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases.

Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in income in the period including the enactment date. Valuation allowances are established, when necessary, to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be realized.

The provisions of ASC 740-10 prescribe a more-likely-than-not threshold for consolidated financial statement recognition and measurement of a tax position taken (or expected to be taken) in a tax return. This interpretation also provides guidance on the recognition of income tax assets and liabilities, classification of current and deferred income tax assets and liabilities, accounting for interest and penalties associated with tax positions, and related disclosures. For the years ended June 30, 2021 and 2022, we did not incur any interest or penalties related to an uncertain tax position. We do not believe that there were any uncertain tax positions as of June 30, 2021 and June 30, 2022.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

The discussion of the recent accounting pronouncements contained in our consolidated financial statements, “Summary of Significant Accounting Policies,” is incorporated herein by reference.

As a company with less than $1.235 billion in revenue for our last fiscal year, we qualify as an “emerging growth company” pursuant to the JOBS Act. An emerging growth company may take advantage of specified reduced reporting and other requirements that are otherwise applicable generally to public companies. These provisions include exemption from the auditor attestation requirement under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 in the assessment of the emerging growth company’s internal control over financial reporting. The JOBS Act also provides that an emerging growth company does not need to comply with any new or revised financial accounting standards until such date that a private company is otherwise required to comply with such new or revised accounting standards. We have elected to take advantage of such exemptions.

INDUSTRY

The information presented in this section and information elsewhere in this prospectus that relates to the industry has been derived from, to provide information regarding our industry and our market position. Neither we nor any other party involved in this offering has independently verified such information, and neither we nor any other party involved in this offering makes any representation as to the accuracy or completeness of such information. Investors are cautioned not to place any undue reliance on the information, including statistics and estimates, set forth in this section or similar information included elsewhere in this prospectus.

Tobacco Products

Historically, combustible tobacco products, primarily cigarettes and cigars, have been, and continue to be, the principal tobacco products used by adult smokers. Diverse customer demands are driving the innovation in the tobacco industry. Creative tobacco products, such as short cigarettes, king size cigarettes and flavor capsule cigarettes, have become increasingly popular among the smoking population. To profit from this rising market, tobacco manufacturers will expend more effort in their product diversification. Raising the price of tobacco products through tobacco tax increases is one of the most effective tobacco control strategies, because an increase in tobacco prices may encourage existing smokers to quit or cut down and may deter the youth population from beginning to smoke. Such trend will adversely affect the tobacco industry.

During the past few decades, a number of alternatives to combustible tobacco products have entered the market. These products can be classified in three categories – smokeless (including moist snuff and chewing tobacco), e-vapor products and heated tobacco.

Smokeless tobacco is the general term used to describe tobacco products that are utilized without combustion. Smokeless tobacco is used either in the mouth or in the nose, by chewing inhaling or sucking, and traditionally has been divided into two subcategories, snuff and chewing tobacco. Snuff was originally a nasal product but today is more commonly used in the mouth (oral snuff, moist snuff) in a manner similar to that of chewing tobacco.

Vapor devices are distinguished from traditional combustible tobacco products by their production of vapor through a process of heating rather than the burning associated with the consumption of cigarettes, cigars, cigarillos or smoking tobacco. In their current form, vapor devices usually include electronic circuitry and a power source supplying energy to the heating mechanism. Vapor products are not distinguished by the absence of tobacco. While the majority of current devices (e-cigarettes) are intended for use with a non-tobacco nicotine containing liquid, the category includes tobacco products where it is heated and not combusted, such as heat-not-burn devices. Closed vaping systems designed to look like a cigarette are referred to as cigalikes.

Heated tobacco is the consumable element of tobacco vapor products and can come in the form of tobacco pods such as PloomTech capsules or in specially designed cigarettes.

Our products are vapor devices, which are categorized as closed system vaping devices (non-cigalikes), vaping components, and open system vaping devices.

Over the past ten years, both technological advances and consumer demand resulting in large part from a desire to obtain the effects of smoking without the adverse health effects resulting from smoking cigarettes, have led to both an increase in the global popularity of vaping along with the application of anti-tobacco legislation and regulation to electronic products, including vaping. Innovation in battery and other component technologies have greatly improved product functionality and reliability. Many consumers are attracted to the discreetness that vaporizers provide in terms of size and ease of use, style/fashion, and the perception that vaping is less detrimental to health than cigarettes. As a result, the market for vaping devices has been growing rapidly over the past few years.

The following table shows the estimated retail sales for the years of 2017 through 2022 for all smokeless tobacco products, all vapor products, all e-vapor products, all closed vaping systems other than cigalikes and all open vaping systems (in millions of US dollars).

Source:  Euromonitor International Limited, Tobacco 2022, retail value RSP incl sales tax, US$, fixed 2021 exchange rates, current terms. Data extracted on 25 August, 2022.

The following table shows the estimated projected retail sales for the years of 2023 through 2026 for all smokeless tobacco products, all vapor products, all e-vapor products, all closed vaping systems other than cigalikes and all open vaping systems (in millions of US dollars).

Source:  Euromonitor International Limited, Tobacco 2022, retail value RSP incl sales tax, US$, fixed 2021 exchange rates, current terms. Data extracted on 25 August, 2022.

Certain health research institutions have published reports providing tentative indication that e-vapor products may serve to mitigate certain health risks that are commonly associated with use of combustible tobacco products, reduce harm of second-hand smoke and help reduce tobacco use. However, currently there remain uncertainties regarding whether e-vapor products are sufficiently safe for their intended use and health risks associated with the usage of e-vapor products have been under scrutiny. According to certain health research institutions, e-vapors products’ long-term health effects and risks are unclear given the early stage of development of the products. The United States Centers for Disease Control states on its website that heated tobacco products produce emissions that are not as safe as clean air, studies of secondhand emissions from heated tobacco products suggest that the products expose both users and bystanders to some of the same chemicals found in cigarette smoke, although at lower levels than cigarette smoke, and additional research is needed to understand the health effects of heated tobacco products and their emissions. The use of any tobacco product is harmful, especially for youth, young adults, and pregnant women, as well as adults who do not currently use tobacco products. Further, regardless of whether they are heated by flame or electronically, heated tobacco products contain nicotine, which is highly addictive, and nicotine exposure can also harm the developing adolescent brain, and nicotine is toxic to developing fetuses.

The general lack of industry standards has resulted in significant variations among different brands and products in terms of product features, quality assurance and control.

Cannabis Products

Cannabis has a long and entrenched history in the United States due to considerable popularity of medical and recreational use in addition to long-standing industrial production of hemp. While the 20^th century saw the growth of increasingly negative attitudes towards cannabis from policy makers and the general public, recent decades have witnessed a significant shift in the perception of cannabis. In the late 1990s, acceptance of medical cannabis grew enough to allow for changes in regulation, and the 2010s have seen rapid expansion of social acceptance for recreational use. Medical cannabis in particular has seen increasing approval as Americans seek alternatives to pharmaceutical products in the wake of a serious public health crisis related to prescription opioids. Legalization is also increasing thanks to growing movements seeking to reform the U.S. criminal justice system. Increasing numbers of American political reformers see eliminating criminal penalties for use and sale of cannabis as a way to address various social and economic inequalities.

An estimated 28.6 million Americans participated in the legal cannabis market in 2021 up from 23.7 million in 2019. This rapid growth is the result of growing legalization of medical and adult-use cannabis as well as consistent if somewhat diminished growth in CBD use. During the forecast period, growth will continue as consumers new to cannabis enter the market and also as illicit market users switch to legal products.

Adult-use cannabis has attracted mainly recreational consumers who use cannabis for relaxation and socialization. Former medical cannabis users have also been attracted to the adult-use space as it has expanded due to its lower barriers to entry (no requirement to get permission from a doctor to gain access) and significant overlap of products between medical and adult-use product line-ups. Nonetheless some medical patients do opt to continue using medical cannabis even after adult-use legalization due to preferential tax rates on medical products in some states. Reasons for CBD use vary widely as claims made regarding its effects have been extremely numerous, although common examples are medical and include relief from anxiety and pain. The inability of manufacturers to make specific claims about the benefits of their products leads consumers to gather information on CBD’s uses from secondary sources of varying credibility. This lack of clarity is compounded by a lack of broad scientific consensus regarding CBD’s uses and best practices for consumers. Further research and a more clearly defined framework from the FDA could be extremely valuable in ameliorating confusion regarding CBD among consumers.

Social acceptance of cannabis is growing in the U.S. as 2020 saw a further four states legalize adult-use cannabis, including states that previously held negative attitudes towards cannabis. Euromonitor survey data indicate that, in legal adult-use states, more than 40% of legal age consumers have consumed cannabis. CBD use is also widespread among Americans interested in pain relief and relaxation.

Cannabis vaping is the action of inhaling and exhaling vapor containing cannabis oil produced by a vaporizer technology device. We believe that vaping has become the preferred choice of many cannabis users due to its discreetness in both carrying and smell, ease of use, and perceived health benefits relative to smoking combusted cannabis. As the tables below show, cannabis vaping products for adult recreational use are largely limited to the United States with modest sales in Canada.

The following table shows the estimated projected retail sales of cannabis vapor products for adult recreational use worldwide and in the United States and Canada for the years of 2022 through 2025 (in millions of US dollars)

Source:  Euromonitor International Limited, Cannabis 2022, retail value RSP incl sales tax, US$, fixed 2021 exchange rates, current terms. Data extracted between January 12-28, 2022.

No country in Western Europe has yet legalized recreational cannabis, but the region has some of the most developed cannabis cultures in the world, such as in the Netherlands and Spain. However, great differences persist among consumers, with older generations typically being more reluctant to allow cannabis use. Clear generational and social gaps still exist that make legalization and development of the market a slow process, although the potential legalization of adult-use cannabis in Germany is likely to accelerate the cannabis debate within the EU and promote the development of the industry at a regional level.

Western Europe’s cannabis market is still in its infancy, with limited consumption due to restrictive legislation on recreational and medical cannabis across the region. Legalization of medical and recreational cannabis across countries will increase the consumer base and expand the availability of products rapidly in the region, with consumer awareness of its wellbeing properties rising among the European population. The coalition government in Germany stated clearly that it is introducing the controlled supply of recreational cannabis to adults in licensed shops. However, implementation is proving to be a monumental task since legalization involves almost every federal government ministry.

BUSINESS

Overview

We are engaged in the research and development, design, commercialization, sales, marketing and distribution of branded e-cigarettes and cannabis vaping products. We sell our tobacco products worldwide except for the PRC, the United States, and Russia. Our tobacco products are marketed under the Aspire brand name and are sold primarily through our distribution network.

We currently sell our cannabis vaping hardware only in the United States, and we have recently commenced marketing activities in Canada and Europe. All of our products are vaping hardware. Vaping refers to the practice of inhaling and exhaling the vapor produced by an electronic vaping device, and includes dabbing, which is the recreational inhalation of extremely concentrated tetrahydrocannabinol, the main psychotropic cannabinoid derived from the marijuana plant. Our cannabis products are marketed under the Ispire brand name, primarily on an ODM basis to other cannabis vapor companies. ODM generally involves the design and customization of core products to meet each brand’s unique image and needs, and our products are sold by our customers under their own brand names although they may also include our brand name on the products.

Our products use our BDC (bottom dual coil) coil technology which uses bottom dual coils to provide much higher temperature and an expanded heating that achieves much greater flavor and vapor production. We believe that the use of our dual-coil technology enhances the flavor performance of e-liquid, and the hidden wick cotton with special designed wick holes can both extend the tank e-liquid capacity and improve the speed of wicking to increase the coil life.

Our BVC (bottom vertical coil) coil represents a big technological breakthrough for us in coil technology with a vertical heating wire surrounded by cotton. This design can enable the coil heating to provide uniform temperature from the tank, together with more efficient wicking. This new technology, which Aspire Global introduced in 2014, enables the coil to last longer while still giving users what we believe is the purest and cleanest taste from e-liquids. The BVC coils are still very popular for MTL (mouth to lung) vapors today.