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Philip Morris Limited Invests Significantly In The Vape Channel To Support Multi-Category Growth In The UK

By Staff Editor 25th April 2022 4 Mins

IQOS manufacturer extends the heated tobacco opportunity to help vape retailers get more adult customers to move away from cigarettes for good.

  • PML will employ 31 new managerial and field force personnel dedicated to the vape channel, as more vape retailers embrace the multicategory approach
  • One-on-one support, training, and an introductory offer will be available to UK vape retailers listing the IQOS heated tobacco device and HEETS tobacco sticks
  • The new investment comes as data reveals the heated tobacco category represented 18.6 percent of the total Reduced-Risk Product market in the UK in 2021[i], growing 86 percent versus 2020[ii]

Philip Morris Limited (PML) is employing over 30 vape managers and executives to support vape retailers expand their multicategory offering with IQOS, the UK’s number one heated tobacco product[iii], as the vape channel continues to embrace a multicategory approach in helping adult customers abandon cigarettes for good.

IQOS is an electronic device that heats real tobacco. The device heats tobacco sticks, known as HEETS (designed for exclusive use with the IQOS device), to deliver a real tobacco taste and cigarette-like satisfaction[iv]. While using IQOS is not risk free, switching completely to IQOS presents less risk to your health than continuing to smoke[v].

young women holding a heated tobacco product known as IQOS

The dedicated vape team will offer vape retailers one-on-one support, training, and guidance on the heated tobacco category which in the UK, represented 18.6 percent of the total Reduced-Risk Product (RRP) market in 2021[vi] having grown 86 percent versus 2020[vii].

Retailers will also receive an attractive introductory offer and gain access to a trade engagement platform which provides additional support services, informative materials and next day delivery on IQOS devices and all ten HEETS variants, ranging from classic tobacco through to a choice of menthol blends.

The new investment from PML into the vape channel comes as increasing numbers of vape retailers meet changing customer needs by listing a wider range of smoke-free categories such as, heated tobacco and nicotine pouches – complementing e-cigarettes and vape products in offering customers a better choice than cigarettes.

Michael Burnell is a Business Specialist at The Vapourist, a vape retailer which has partnered with PML to increase access to IQOS, so adult smokers have a real tobacco alternative to choose from in-store and online. He said:

“To fulfil the changing needs of the customer, the UK is having to mature rapidly into a market of smoking alternative stores rather than specialists focused on one category. Offering customers the IQOS heated tobacco device adds depth to our range, with a product that produces no ash and no smoke as well as an extensive variant range and a real tobacco experience for the user.”

Kate O’Dowd, Head of Commercial Planning of PML in the UK and Ireland, said:

“Hundreds of independent and multi-site vape stores in the UK now list heated tobacco products, adding an additional revenue stream to their businesses. With IQOS, the UK’s number one heated tobacco product, vape retailers have an alternative that complements their existing portfolio – by offering customers a real tobacco choice that’s heated, not burnt, and is less harmful than cigarettes.

“There are over 21 million IQOS users worldwide, with 7 in ten having switched to IQOS and stopped smoking. We believe strongly that a multicategory approach could accelerate an end to the sale of cigarettes in the UK within the next 10-15 years.”

Any UK vape retailer interested in stocking IQOS can either call the PML B2B team on +44 (0) 333 320 0777 or send an email via heetwave@iqos.co.uk.

Philip Morris Limited will also be exhibiting at the Vaper Expo at the NEC in Birmingham, between May 27-29. Vape retailers can visit us at stand B105.


 

Important information: IQOS is not risk free. IQOS provides nicotine which is addictive. For adult use only.

Sources

  • i (Heated Tobacco + E-Cigs)” Source: Nielsen Scantrack, Total Coverage (UK), MAT to December 2021
  • ii Ibid
  • iii As of January 2022, IQOS – Philip Morris International’s heated tobacco system – had a value share of the Heat not Burn segment of 99.726%, meaning IQOS was the UK’s number one product in that category, encompassing all devices and consumables. (Nielsen data)
  • iv 3-month clinical studies conducted in US and Japan with 160 adult smokers each under conditions (ambulatory).
  • v Based on the totality of evidence available for IQOS in comparison with continuing to smoke.
  • vi (Heated Tobacco + E-Cigs)” Source: Nielsen Scantrack, Total Coverage (UK), MAT to December 2021
  • vii Ibid
  • viii PMI 2021 Fourth-Quarter and Full-Year Results (10 February, 2022)
  • ix Ibid
  • x PML financials & estimates
  • xi ‘Can innovative products like IQOS accelerate the decline of smoking?’ A case study from PMI’s Integrated Report 2020. Link: https://www.pmi.com/sustainability/case-studies/can-innovative-products-like-iqos-accelerate-the-decline-of-smoking

   

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