Tradewinds Universal

Tradewinds Universal (OTC: TRWD) is a Brea, California-based diversified holding company founded in 2021 by Andrew Read and focused on building a portfolio of branded businesses across sustainable consumer products and entertainment venue operations through a stated non-dilutive acquisition growth strategy. The company went public in June 2025, becoming a fully reporting entity with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and applied to join the OTCID tier of OTC Markets, with the application accepted effective July 25, 2025. Tradewinds Universal's flagship consumer brand is UP Proteins, a sustainable protein products company that participates in the growing market for plant-based, environmentally conscious protein supplements and food products that appeal to consumers seeking alternatives to conventional animal-based protein sources.<br><br>Beyond its UP Proteins protein products brand, Tradewinds Universal is pursuing an acquisition strategy focused on the gentlemen's entertainment industry through the Peppermint Hippo brand — described as one of the fastest-growing brands in the gentlemen's entertainment sector. The company aims to consolidate and modernize entertainment venues under the Peppermint Hippo brand, positioning Tradewinds Universal as a rare publicly traded conglomerate with meaningful scale in the private club entertainment industry. This acquisition strategy, which the company describes as non-dilutive, intends to consolidate existing venues rather than build from scratch, using cash from operations, debt financing, or other non-equity means to fund acquisitions rather than issuing new shares to acquisition sellers or financing sources.<br><br>Tradewinds Universal files periodic reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission and trades on the OTC market under the ticker symbol TRWD. The company's dual-track business model — combining sustainable consumer branded products through UP Proteins with adult entertainment venue acquisitions through Peppermint Hippo — represents an unconventional combination of business categories under a single public holding company structure. Andrew Read's founding vision of building a diversified holding company for the future through strategic brand acquisitions and venue consolidation positions Tradewinds Universal as a business that is using its public company platform to access capital markets infrastructure in support of its multi-vertical acquisition and brand development strategy.