Zig-Zag (company)

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Zig-Zag

Industry	Rolling papers Food, Beverage, Tobacco Manufacturing
Founded	1855; 169 years ago (1855)
Founder	Maurice Braunstein Jacques Braunstein
Headquarters	France
Website	zigzag.com

Zig-Zag is a brand of rolling papers that originated in France. The Zig-Zag brand produces primarily hand-rolled tobacco-related products such as cigarette rolling papers, cigarette tubes and rolling accessories.

The company was founded in 1855 by Maurice and Jacques Braunstein. Based in Paris, in 1882 the company built the Papeterie de Gassicourt, a cigarette paper production plant near the town of Mantes-la-Jolie. In 1894, they invented the process of "interleaving" rolling papers. They called their papers Zig-Zag after the zigzag alternating packaging process.^[1] In 1900, Zig-Zag was awarded a gold medal at the Universal Exposition in Paris.^{[citation needed]}

Success led to expansion in 1919 to a new mill in Thonon-les-Bains. During World War II, the company's original facility in Mantes-la-Jolie was destroyed and at war's end, all production was shifted to the Thonon factory.^{[citation needed]}

With the death of Jacques Braunstein, in the 1950s Zig-Zag was sold to a partnership of the Group Bolloré and competitor JOB. In 2000, Zig-Zag became part of Republic Technologies of which Group Bolloré owns 19 percent.^{[citation needed]}

American company Turning Point Brands, Inc. acquired North American distribution rights for Zig Zag products in 1997. In 2021, Zig Zag and Turning Point announced they would be collaborating and launching a studio, Zig Zag Studios.^[2] Their focus is on a media platform featuring a wide range of artists, culture, art, and lifestyle content.^[2]

The zouave soldier portrayed on the front of Zig-Zag products is colloquially known as the "Zig-Zag man". The choice of a member of this French North African regiment as a Zig-Zag icon originates from a folk story about an incident in the battle of Sevastopol. When the soldier's clay pipe was destroyed by a bullet, he attempted to roll his tobacco using a piece of paper torn from a musket cartridge.^[3]

• Zig-Zag rolling papers went on to inspire the album cover for The Chronic by Dr. Dre.^[4]

• List of rolling papers

• Official Website
• Official UK Website