Zig-Zag is the French rolling paper behind the interleaved booklet, the pull-one, next-one-pops-up design the Braunstein brothers patented in 1894. Its papers are made in France by Republic Technologies, and Turning Point Brands of Louisville, Kentucky, sells the brand in the US and Canada, where it has grown into cones, hemp wraps and cigar wraps. TPB calls it the No. 1 rolling paper in America.
The Braunstein brothers and the interleaved booklet
Zig-Zag dates itself to 1879, when Maurice and Jacques Braunstein set up a cigarette-paper business and workshop, the Papeterie de Gassicourt, west of Paris. They bought big rolls of paper and cut them down into rolling papers.
The breakthrough came in 1894: an interleaving mechanism that feeds out the next paper as soon as you pull one. Flat stacks and book-bound papers were the norm before it. The invention won the brothers a gold medal at the 1900 Universal Exposition in Paris, and in 1906 they trademarked the Zig-Zag name as a nod to that patent.
In 1919 the operation moved to Thonon-les-Bains, in the Alps on the shore of Lake Geneva, for its fresh mountain water.
The Zouave on the pack
Zig-Zag's own lore traces rolling papers back to an 1855 Crimean War soldier who tore paper from a gunpowder bag to roll his tobacco. The Braunsteins put a Zouave soldier on their packaging from the start, and the orange Kutcorners pack still carries the classic bearded logo.
Later chapters were pure pop culture. In 1969 the brand ran its "Captain Zig~Zag Wants YOU!" campaign. In 1992, Dr. Dre's The Chronic put the Zig-Zag emblem front and center, cementing the brand's place in hip-hop and pop culture.
Who owns Zig-Zag now
Ownership has changed hands several times. In 1956 the Braunstein company was acquired by Bolloré and JOB. In 1986 Bolloré took over JOB and became Bolloré Technologies, selling OCB, Zig-Zag and JOB papers, and in 2000 that business was acquired by Republic Technologies, the Perpignan-based group owned by Don Levin's family. Republic Technologies France still produces Zig-Zag alongside OCB and JOB.
North America runs on a separate track. Turning Point Brands, a New York Stock Exchange company based in Louisville, sells Zig-Zag in the US and Canada under distribution and license agreements that date to 1992 and renew in 20-year terms.
They were renewed in November 2012, and in November 2020 Bolloré assigned them to Republic Technologies, which supplies all of TPB's Zig-Zag premium papers, tubes and injectors. TPB owns the Zig-Zag trademark in the US, which it uses for its make-your-own cigar wraps.
Zig-Zag is one of TPB's two business segments, next to Stoker's, and brought in about $178.5 million in net sales in 2025.
Papers, from French Orange to Kutcorners
Zig-Zag builds its papers from plant fibers such as hemp, flax and wood pulp, sealed with gum from acacia trees, and the range is organized by fiber and finish.
- Original White and French Orange: the classics, made from dye-free, non-GMO, vegan natural fibers
- Ultra Thin: 1¼ and 1½ booklets
- Organic Hemp: 1¼ and King Slim
- Unbleached: 1¼ and 110mm King Slim
- Kutcorners: slow-burning papers in orange packaging with the bearded logo
- Vintage: French Orange, Unbleached, Organic Hemp and Ultra Thin papers with natural gum arabic
King Size 100mm papers and combo cartons that pair papers with tips round out the range. Organic Hemp papers and Ultra Thin cones joined the line starting in 2018.
Cones, hemp wraps and cigar wraps
Cones come in Organic Hemp, Unbleached and Ultra Thin, from 70mm minis through 1¼ and King Size, plus Mini Rose Cones and bulk cartons of up to 900 cones for pre-roll production.
The hemp wraps are tobacco-free and flavored: OG Purp, Sour Squeeze, Georgia Fields, Mellow Haze, Blue Dream, Summer Slice, Island Vibes and Natural. On the tobacco side, TPB introduced Zig-Zag make-your-own cigar wraps in 2009 and says they quickly became the category leader; Zig-Zag cigarillos followed in 2010, and 'Rillo-sized wraps are part of the lineup. TPB puts Zig-Zag's share of the cigar-wrap category at about 35%.
Zig-Zag x Flower Mill
Zig-Zag's gear goes past paper, with trays, rollers, tips, grinders and apparel. The standout is a co-branded grinder with Flower Mill, the brand behind the Precision Milling Grinder.
The Zig-Zag x Flower Mill grinder is CNC-machined from aircraft-grade 6061 aluminum with an anodized finish, a magnetic lid, a quarter-turn lower catch and a fine mesh screen, built around Flower Mill's progressive milling design and no protruding teeth. It sells for $74.99. The milling approach gets the full breakdown in Flower Mill Spotlight: The Grinder That Changed the Game.
The numbers behind the orange booklet
By TPB's count, Zig-Zag is the No. 1 premium and No. 1 overall rolling paper in the US, with about 33% of the market, and the No. 1 brand in Canada. More than 145 years after the Braunsteins started cutting paper outside Paris, the brand talks to smokers as @zigzagworld on Instagram, @ZZStudio on YouTube and @worldofzigzag on TikTok.