The rising demand for disposables in 2023
We are currently witnessing the biggest consumer shift in our history, with millions of smokers around the world choosing to switch to less harmful Next Generation Products (NGP), Tom Gully, Head of Consumer Marketing UK&I at Imperial Tobacco tells NR.
As a result, we are increasingly focusing our attention on developing and expanding our NGP portfolio, the predominant focus of which is vaping products.
The vape market is continually expanding as more consumers seek out alternative nicotine solutions. In the UK alone, the category is now worth around £1.2bn and is expected to reach £1.47bn in the next three years, with around 35% of current vaping volume sales taking place in the convenience channel.
‘Retailers need to ensure they are dedicating sufficient space in store for vaping products and stocking the right range for their customer base’
One particular area that is experiencing a huge amount of growth is the disposables category, which is currently worth around £132m, with the market share having doubled in size to 10% over the last year, up from 5% in 2021. To tap into this rising trend, retailers need to ensure they are dedicating sufficient space in store for vaping products and stocking the right range for their customer base.
MEETING DEMAND
With demand for disposables rising significantly, we recently announced our entrance into the market with the new blu bar vape range to help retailers cater for this trend in store. The new range offers a quality collection of disposable and ready-to-use vape products and each device features bright and vibrant bursts of colour, both on the device and on pack, to create great standout on the shelf and to help retailers with range navigation in store.
Each blu bar device has an MRRP of £5.99* and contains 20mg/ml of nicotine with 2ml of e-liquid providing up to 600 puffs. The range is available in six great tasting flavours, including Kiwi Passionfruit Mango Ice, Banana Ice, Peach Ice Watermelon Ice and Strawberry Ice, giving retailers the chance to provide their customers with a unique flavour experience every time.
We’re supporting the blu bar launch with a new dedicated website, blu bar Knowledge Hub, to provide retailers with everything they need to know about the range, including useful articles, video content, quizzes and more.
*Based on ITUK RRP as at January 2023. For the avoidance of doubt, customers are free at all times to determine the selling price of their products.
TO READ TOM’S INDUSTRY COMMENT IN THE 2023 NEIGHBOURHOOD RETAILER YEARBOOK, CLICK HERE
