With the disposable vape ban on the horizon, the spotlight will be firmly on smoking alternatives and retailers with an engaging nicotine pouch offer have everything to gain.
While vapes currently account for the lion’s share of the smoking alternatives market, the looming disposables ban will mean retailers must ready themselves to guide consumers through other options, and pouches could be a fitting solution for many.
Within the Convenience and Independents category, JTI UK states that the nicotine pouch category is worth approx. £65.3m a year [Circana Market Place, Value Sales, Nicotine Pouch Category, Convenience Channel, Annualised Figure Based on Jun 2024].
“Currently, 50.1% of nicotine pouch [value] sales in the UK come through the Convenience and Independents channel [Circana Market Place, Value Sales, Nicotine Pouch Category, Convenience Channel, Jun 2024],” says Bruce Terry, Portfolio Brand Manager at JTI UK. Nordic Spirit currently has a 48.3% volume market share in the Convenience and Independents Channel [Circana Market Place, Volume Share, Nicotine Pouch Category, Convenience Channel, Q2 24].
STG’s XQS pouches hit the market last April and sales have been promising so far. “It’s still early days, but just four months after launching XQS it has already become the sixth-biggest-selling pouch brand with a market share of 1.1%,” says Prianka Jhingan, Head of Marketing at Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) UK.
XQS comes in Tropical, Blueberry Mint, Cool Ice and Arctic Freeze flavours with nicotine strengths ranging from 4mg to 11.2mg. “Aside from flavour, there is also a move towards stronger variants,” she states.
JTI agrees that high strength is in growth. “With a total of 66.6% of nicotine pouch sales in traditional retail in the UK from the Extra-Strong or Strong strengths [Circana Market Place, Volume Share, Nicotine Pouch Category, Total UK, Dec 2023], we have continued to expand our portfolio to help retailers tap into these trends,” says Terry. The Nordic range offers strengths from 3mg up to 11mg.
BAT’s Velo has also picked up on demand for a stronger nicotine hit. The range previously peaked at 11mg, but more recently added a selection of “intense” variants going up to 17mg. The firm claims that “the Velo burn gives way to a blast of flavour,” providing consumers with long-lasting enjoyment. Flavours include Orange Spark and Cinnamon Flame.
Wholesaler Vape Supplier stocks a wide range of vape products and pouches, including Velo and Nordic Spirit, as well as lesser-known brands, some of which are available in significantly higher strengths.
“There are a lot of new entrants to the [pouch] category with different strengths and flavours to what’s been readily available from the tobacco boys,” says Vape Supplier’s Gary Routledge. “Whereas you tend to get more minty and menthol flavours from those brands, there are a lot of fruit-based flavours from some of the brands that we distribute, such as Pablo.”
Pablo pouches come in at a hefty 50mg, boasting a wide variety of flavours, including Kiwi, Mocca, Strawberry Lychee and the enigmatic Red.
The firm also supplies Lost Mary Airplane Mode pouches with strengths between 9mg and 30mg, available in mint and menthol varieties, as well as Strawberry and Rose Grape flavours.
Their days might be numbered, but disposable vapes aren’t ready to bow out just yet.
“Given that the disposables category accounts for 88% of all vape sales [Source: ITUK estimates November 2023], we recommend retailers continue to stock a wide range of leading disposables ahead of the ban to meet heightened demand,” says Andrew Malm, UK Market Manager at Imperial Brands.
“Our blu bar 1000 is an ideal option here. It offers up to 1,000 puffs per device and is available in popular flavours including Blueberry Ice, Strawberry Ice, Watermelon Ice, Banana Ice, Mint, Grape, Tropical Mix, and Blueberry Cherry.”
