Scotland’s menu of nicotine choices continues to expand, and adult shoppers are hungry to take a bite.
By Gaelle Walker
From cigarettes to roll your own (RYO), cigars, vapes, pouches and heat not burn (HNB), Scottish shoppers have access to an increasingly wide range of options when it comes to securing their nicotine hits. In fact thanks to this growing portfolio of choice, adult shoppers really do have an option to suit almost every occasion, need and budget.
Tobacco
Tobacco continues to lead the charge when it comes to the total nicotine category, with the tobacco market now worth £14bn (before tax) according to Imperial Tobacco, and an almost 50/50 market share split across the factory-made cigarettes (FMC) and RYO categories.
Given the current economic situation, price looks set to remain front of mind for adult smokers throughout 2023 and beyond, as Tom Gully, Head of Consumer Marketing UK&I at Imperial Tobacco explains: “The future of the tobacco industry lies very much within the value of the product as consumers seek out ways to save money.
“With household costs and inflation soaring, shoppers are now even more aware of how much they are spending. As a result, we’re seeing a move towards low-priced propositions across the entire category as a whole, resulting in the lower-priced tiered products making up a majority of tobacco sales. In fact, the sub-economy segment now makes up 63% of FMC sales, while the economy segment accounts for 56% of RYO, with these value segments growing at an impressive 3% and 5% YOY.”
Nicotine Pouches
Away from tobacco, nicotine pouches are also proving to be an increasingly popular way for adult consumers to achieve their nicotine hits in an ultra-convenient and discreet format.
A key trend within the nicotine pouch category is the continued demand for higher nicotine strengths, Bruce Terry, Portfolio Brand Manager at JTI UK says. In fact, according to JTI, a total of 83.1% of nicotine pouch sales in traditional retail in the UK are now from Extra-Strong or Strong variants.
Demand for menthol products also continues to climb, with the market now split 81.6% mint and 17.6% fruit.
To help retailers tap into these trends JTI’s Nordic Spirit brand was recently expanded to include a new Spearmint strong nicotine strength.
BAT has also invested in its Velo brand with the launch of its “most menthol nicotine pouch yet”: Velo Cooling Storm. Available in an Extra Strong nicotine strength, Cooling Storm offers a strong menthol taste, complemented by a hint of peppermint and “intense cooling sensation”.
Vape products
The vape market is also continuing to soar as adult consumers seek out alternative nicotine solutions. In the UK alone, the category is now worth around £1.2bn and is expected to reach £1.4bn in the next three years, with around 35% of current vaping volume sales taking place in the convenience channel, according to Imperial Tobacco.
The growing popularity of disposable products led to a significant rise in the number of vapers in the UK in 2022, increasing from 3.7m in 2021 to 4.3m in 2022, while the disposables category itself grew in value from £141m in 2021 to £973m in 2022. Disposables now account for a stonking 43% of vape sales.
Catering to this growing demand, Imperial Tobacco recently announced its entrance into the disposables market with the launch of blu bar.
Each blu bar device contains 20mg/ml of nicotine in 2ml of e-liquid providing up to 600 puffs and features a LED indicator that lights up when in use.
Available to adult vapers for an RSP of £5.99 per device, the new blu bar range includes six flavours, carefully chosen due to their consumer appeal. These include Kiwi Passionfruit, Mango Ice, Banana Ice, Peach Ice, Watermelon Ice and Strawberry Ice.
