When brothers Nicco and Marco Magnotto began experimenting with nicotine, the two self-described “food and ingredient nerds” were not seasoned entrepreneurs, much less experts on the tobacco industry.

The last time the Journal caught up with Nicco Magnotto in early 2023, the brothers' nicotine lozenge company Nic Nac Naturals LLC had recently hit shelves in 20 Spokane stores. Three-and-a-half years later, the product is sold in 2,500 convenience stores across the country and in international markets in the United Kingdom, Guatemala, and Canada. Their products are expected to enter the Swedish and Spanish markets soon.

“The market is growing really fast,” says Nicco, 34. “But also, we’ve done everything we can to get out there.”

Nicco estimates the company averaged 8% month-over-month revenue growth in fiscal year 2024, and over 100% growth in 2025. Current projections for 2026 revenue are shifting as new regulations in California have temporarily closed off that market for Nic Nac. Despite this, the brothers say the company continues to grow.

Nic Nac Naturals operates out of a 10,000-square-foot, two-story space at 3703 E. Central, in Spokane's Hillyard neighborhood. The company employs about 40 staff, 35 of whom work full-time, he says. Earlier this year, Nic Nac expanded with a second facility down the road from its headquarters, which is being used for storage and to manufacture acrylic point-of-purchase displays for retailers.

Nicotine is an addictive chemical stimulant commonly found in tobacco products and has been used in dissolvable lozenges in the U.S. since the 1980s and marketed as a smoking-cessation aid. Nic Nac Naturals is not a smoking-cessation aid; rather, the company positions itself as a product for adults who already want to consume nicotine.

“Our goal was just to make the most seamless product that mitigates as much (harm) as we can and give people the ability to unapologetically enjoy nicotine,” Nicco says. “We’re being honest about it. We enjoy nicotine, we want to give people a seamless way to enjoy nicotine.”

Nicco says the company uses synthetic nicotine to create its products, which allows them to avoid contaminants associated with tobacco-derived nicotine, including heavy metals, pesticides, and other contaminants and carcinogens. The lozenges are also made with ingredients that the Magnotto brothers say they are comfortable using themselves, including xylitol, gum arabic, food-grade essential oils, magnesium stearate, and stearic acid.

Marco, 31, designed the company’s logo, which features an ankle with a snake wrapped around it that's being crushed beneath a bare foot. The image is a reference to the Nic Nac tagline: "Crush your vice."

“We wanted something super weird and something that kind of stood out on the shelves,” Marco says. “Something that catches your eye and makes you remember it off the wall.”

At the same time, the brothers wanted something deliberately mature and cryptic, as the product is intended for adults 21 years and older, Nicco says.

Nic Nac Naturals operates within the modern oral nicotine market, which offers tobacco-free, spit-free products such as lozenges and pouches, explains Nicco. Nic Nac Naturals lozenges are small, brick-shaped doses reminiscent of a breath mint. The lozenge is placed on the inside of the lip where it is designed to dissolve slowly; a discreet alternative to vaping or smoking, Nicco explains.

The lozenges are flavored with essential oils. The company currently carries classic citrus and mint flavors including blood orange, grapefruit, lemon, tangerine, spearmint, peppermint, and menthol.

The brothers entered the market at a time when preferences were shifting toward alternatives that don’t involve smoking or vaping.

Nicco says neither him nor his brother were regular nicotine users before starting Nic Nac. Their interest in the stimulant grew out of a longtime familiarity in the food and ingredient industry.

“I think we’re just kind of food and ingredient nerds,” Marco says.

Their father worked in the natural food ingredient industry, supplying sweeteners, supplements, and other ingredients. Nicco previously worked in business development for their father, where part of his work involved keeping up with research and developments surrounding different ingredients.  

Nicotine kept popping up, Marco says.

At the time, Nicco had noticed nicotine gaining attention among the biohacking community, where some users were experimenting with the stimulant as a nootropic, which are substances designed to enhance cognition and memory. At one point, some in the community were trying nicotine-infused toothpicks.

The use of toothpicks helped the brothers identify what they believed was a gap in the industry, Marco says.

“I think that’s where we first started,” says Nicco. “We were like, ‘Oh, this is interesting. Why is this the only option? We could probably make something better than a toothpick.’”

Nicco began developing a formula using ingredients the brothers were both familiar with and comfortable consuming themselves, Marco says. They shared an early version with friends and family, and positive feedback encouraged them to turn their experiment into a business.

“It just seemed like there was a big enough hole in the market, something that we could pursue,” Marco says. “So being entrepreneurial, we just went for it.”

As Nic Nac has grown, so has the regulatory landscape of the industry. Synthetic nicotine products fall under the authority of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration since 2022, when federal law was amended to regulate tobacco products containing nicotine from any source, says Nicco.

Manufacturers of synthetic nicotine products are required to go through the agency’s premarket tobacco product application process to receive authorization to market their products. Navigating a changing patchwork of regulations has become part of doing business, Nicco says.

Looking ahead, Nic Nac plans to introduce additional flavors as well as new products, although the brothers aren’t ready to divulge what's in the pipeline.

“They’re very secret,” Nicco says. “But we have some exciting new products coming.”