TRWD Partner Exceeds $30M Revenue Forecast; Up to Five New Locations Planned

NEW YORK, April 09, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tradewinds Universal (OTCID: TRWD), a fully reporting holding company, today announced that its strategic partner Peppermint Hippo and its affiliated brands—including the rapidly growing Las Tóxicas concept—have surpassed the previously communicated $30 million revenue forecast for the 2025 fiscal year. The milestone represents year-over-year revenue growth of more than 20%, driven by sustained consumer demand across multiple markets, the expansion of the brand’s experiential hospitality model, and deepening engagement with the Latin entertainment market. Based on this accelerating trajectory, Peppermint Hippo management has set ambitious goals for 2026, including plans to open up to five additional locations across the United States.

How the Brand Crossed the $30 Million Threshold

The revenue acceleration was not the product of a single initiative but the culmination of a multi-pronged strategy executed across Peppermint Hippo’s growing national footprint. The two main reasons TRWD believes the 2025 numbers came in better were as follows.

First: Experiential Hospitality using The “Mini-Vegas” Model

From its founding in Toledo, Ohio in 2018 by industry veteran Alan Chang, Peppermint Hippo was built on a deceptively simple premise: that every night club in America could deliver the caliber of experience previously reserved for the Las Vegas Strip. That vision crystallized in April 2022, when the brand opened its flagship Las Vegas location—the only men’s nightlife club on the Strip—and permanently redefined what the industry could look like.

Today, the “Mini-Vegas” model is the engine behind every Peppermint Hippo location. Lavish interior design, world-class entertainment, craft cocktail programs, professional-grade lighting and sound—each venue is an immersive destination, not merely a nightclub. It is this commitment to experiential hospitality that has driven repeat visitation, premium ticket averages, and the kind of organic social media presence that money cannot buy.

The approach has resonated powerfully with a new generation of consumers who evaluate nightlife the same way they evaluate restaurants, hotels, and travel: by the quality and memorability of the experience.

Second: The Latin Market

A significant driver behind the more than 20% year-over-year revenue increase has been Peppermint Hippo’s strategic expansion into the Latin entertainment market through its affiliated brand, Las Tóxicas.

Las Tóxicas was designed from the ground up to deliver an experiential entertainment concept tailored to Latin audiences—incorporating music, cultural aesthetics, and hospitality elements that resonate authentically with one of the fastest-growing consumer demographics in the United States. The concept has proven enormously successful, unlocking market segments that legacy operators in the adult hospitality industry had either underserved or ignored entirely.

By providing an experience that speaks directly to this audience—from curated Latin music programming to bilingual hospitality staff and culturally informed venue design—Peppermint Hippo and Las Tóxicas have captured significant market share in cities across the country. The result has been higher foot traffic, stronger per-guest spending, and an expansion of the brand’s total addressable market that has meaningfully contributed to the 2025 revenue milestone.

Management expects the Latin entertainment strategy to remain a core growth lever in 2026 and beyond, particularly as new locations are identified in markets with large and growing Hispanic and Latino populations. As TRWD executes its acquisition strategy, the Las Tóxicas concept gives TRWD a powerful dual-brand approach—allowing the Company to deploy either Peppermint Hippo or Las Tóxicas depending on which brand best fits the demographics of a given market.

Watch: Learn more about the TRWD growth story — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vc61DNMgso

TRWD’s Acquisition Strategy: From Framework to Execution

For Tradewinds Universal, the Peppermint Hippo revenue milestone is more than a partner update—it is the financial validation of the Company’s core acquisition thesis.

The Roll-Up in Motion

TRWD has spent the better part of 2025 building the infrastructure required to execute a disciplined, repeatable acquisition strategy in the adult hospitality sector. That infrastructure—spanning legal and regulatory frameworks, PCAOB-compliant accounting systems, state licensing coordination, standardized operational playbooks, and a $10 million equity line of credit dedicated to funding acquisitions—is now in place and ready to deploy.

As previously communicated to investors, the Company expects the first of several Peppermint Hippo location acquisitions to go definitive this quarter. This transaction will mark TRWD’s transition from a holding company with strategic partnerships to a direct owner-operator of revenue-generating hospitality assets. It is the inflection point the Company has been building toward, and it sets the stage for TRWD’s revenue to increase dramatically as additional locations are folded into its reporting structure.

Management has been clear that this is not a one-transaction story. The definitive agreement expected this quarter is the first in a series of planned acquisitions designed to systematically bring Peppermint Hippo locations—and eventually third-party clubs—under the TRWD umbrella. Each acquisition adds not only top-line revenue but also operational scale, brand equity, and geographic diversification to the Company’s portfolio.

Acquiring New and Existing Clubs

TRWD’s acquisition strategy operates on three parallel tracks, each designed to accelerate the Company’s path to becoming the dominant consolidated platform in adult hospitality:

Track One: Acquiring existing Peppermint Hippo locations. The near-term priority is to bring the current portfolio of Peppermint Hippo and Las Tóxicas venues into the TRWD public company structure. These are already proven, revenue-generating assets with established customer bases, trained staff, operational systems, and brand recognition. By acquiring them into TRWD, the Company gains immediate revenue contribution while demonstrating to the market that it can close, integrate, and report on hospitality assets at a professional standard. For investors watching TRWD, these transactions represent the clearest near-term catalyst for revenue growth on the Company’s consolidated balance sheet.

Track Two: Acquiring and converting independent clubs. The longer-term growth engine is the massive pool of independently owned adult entertainment venues across the United States. Industry estimates place this market at approximately $8–10 billion annually, spread across more than 3,000 venues—the vast majority of which are single-location operations run by aging ownership groups with no institutional backing, no succession plan, and no path to modernization. TRWD and Peppermint Hippo intend to be the answer for these operators. Through Alan Chang’s proven “Rebuild, Rebrand, Relaunch” playbook, TRWD can acquire underperforming or transitioning clubs at favorable valuations, invest in modernization, apply the Peppermint Hippo brand and operational standards, and transform them into top-performing destinations. This is the same formula that took a single club in Toledo and turned it into a nationally recognized brand generating over $30 million in revenue.

Track Three: Acquiring existing multi-club groups. Beyond individual venues, TRWD has identified a significant opportunity to acquire established operators that already run multiple clubs under their own management structures. Across the country, there are privately held groups operating portfolios of three, five, or even ten or more venues—profitable businesses with experienced teams, existing customer bases, and proven cash flows, but without access to the public capital markets, institutional-grade infrastructure, or national brand recognition that TRWD can provide. For these operators, joining the TRWD platform offers immediate access to growth capital, operational scale, and the long-term liquidity that comes with being part of a publicly traded conglomerate. For TRWD, these acquisitions offer the ability to add multiple revenue-generating locations in a single transaction, dramatically accelerating the Company’s path to its 100+ venue target. Management views this track as one of the most efficient levers for building scale, and expects multi-club group acquisitions to become an increasingly important component of TRWD’s growth strategy as the platform matures.

The 100+ Club Vision

The Company has publicly stated its long-term ambition to build a conglomerate of 100 or more venues operating under the Peppermint Hippo brand and affiliated concepts. At scale, this platform would represent one of the largest consolidated portfolios of nightlife entertainment venues in the United States. For context, the industry’s only comparable public operator—RCI Hospitality Holdings—reported nearly $296 million in 2024 revenue from fewer than 60 locations and once commanded a market capitalization exceeding $700 million before company-specific issues eroded that valuation. TRWD’s management believes the opportunity in front of the Company is at least as large, and that by building a cleaner, more modern, brand-driven platform from the ground up, TRWD can capture significant value in a sector that has historically rewarded consolidation.

Based on current performance and the acquisition pipeline under development, TRWD management confirmed today that the Company expects combined portfolio revenues to approach or exceed $40 million in 2026, subject to acquisition timing and market conditions. The Company further confirmed that its previously announced $10 million equity line of credit remains in place and is designated specifically to fund venue acquisitions as they are identified and brought to closing.

A Sector Whose Time Has Come

For decades, the adult hospitality and nightlife industry has operated in the shadows of institutional investment—fragmented, under-capitalized, and overlooked despite generating billions of dollars in annual consumer spending. That is changing.

The combination of Peppermint Hippo’s proven brand, TRWD’s public company infrastructure, a $10 million equity line of credit positioned to fund acquisitions, and a market of 3,000+ independently owned venues creates a convergence of factors that management believes is unprecedented in this sector.

In a market shaken by geopolitical conflict, tariff uncertainty, and the specter of recession, Peppermint Hippo and Tradewinds Universal are leaning forward—growing revenue, opening locations, and building toward a national conglomerate that could redefine what institutional-grade nightlife entertainment looks like in the United States.

The 2025 results are in. The 2026 targets are set. And the first acquisition is expected to close this quarter. TRWD is building the future of nightlife entertainment—and doing it in plain sight.

Watch: TRWD’s vision for the future of experiential hospitality — https://youtu.be/_lRS2UwBqxQ

About Peppermint Hippo

Founded in 2018 by Alan Chang, Peppermint Hippo has grown from a single club in Toledo, Ohio, into one of the fastest-rising brands in adult nightlife entertainment. The opening of its flagship Las Vegas location in April 2022—the only gentlemen’s club on the Las Vegas Strip—cemented its reputation as an industry leader. Today, Peppermint Hippo and its affiliated entities, including Las Tóxicas, operate over 12 clubs nationwide, with ten proudly carrying the Peppermint Hippo name. Each location delivers a “Mini-Vegas” experience through upscale design, professional entertainment, and elevated hospitality. Visit ThePeppermintHippo.com for more information.

About Tradewinds Universal

Tradewinds Universal (OTCID: TRWD) is a fully reporting, publicly traded holding company focused on acquiring and scaling businesses with long-term value and growth potential. From its beginnings in lifestyle and health to its expansion into hospitality and entertainment, including strategic arrangements with operating partners, TRWD is building a diversified portfolio designed to withstand economic cycles while creating sustainable shareholder value. The Company’s acquisition strategy emphasizes transparency, operational efficiency, and the development of recession-resistant holdings across multiple sectors.

Investor Relations Contact
John Stock
Tradewinds Universal
(619) 483-1008
IR@TradewindsUniversal.com

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding TRWD’s operational plans, acquisition timing, revenue expectations, growth prospects, expansion targets, and anticipated strategic developments. These statements are based on current expectations and assumptions and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied. Factors that could cause actual results to differ include, but are not limited to, risks associated with the Company’s ability to consummate acquisitions, obtain necessary licensing and regulatory approvals, integrate acquired businesses, access capital on favorable terms, achieve projected revenue targets, and navigate general economic and market conditions, including geopolitical uncertainty. Revenue figures attributed to Peppermint Hippo and affiliated brands reflect the performance of entities that are not yet wholly owned subsidiaries of TRWD; actual revenue contribution to TRWD’s consolidated financial statements will depend on the timing and completion of definitive acquisition agreements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this release. Tradewinds Universal disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

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