Smokeless tobacco sales, buoyed by the spitless segment, are growing at c-stores as customers look for discreet smoking alternatives. The convenience store channel saw the overall smokeless tobacco category record sales of $8.95 billion, up a respectable 4.9% for the 52 weeks ending Jan. 29, 2023, according to Chicago-based research firm IRI. Within that category,…
Tobacco-Free Clove Smokes
Kretek International introduced nicotine-free Djarum Bliss as the next wave of clove enjoyment. The tobacco-free 20-packs offer clove smokers the taste they love without nicotine or hemp. Djarum Bliss distribution to date has been focused on California as c-stores and tobacco shops cope with the removal of flavored tobacco. Initial sales of Djarum’s Bliss clove […]
Juul Reaches Settlement with 47 States and Territories
Juul has released a statement explaining that it has reached a settlement with seven different state attorneys general regarding claims that it marketed e-cigarette products to adolescents. The company stated that the terms of the agreement are to provide financial resources that combat underage use of Juul products. The $462 million settlement is with states…
Expert Panel Report Causes FDA to Undertake Actions
On July 19, 2022, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Robert Califf issued a public statement directing the Reagan-Udall Foundation to engage an independent expert panel to evaluate the operational aspects of the FDA’s tobacco regulatory program. In the statement, Commissioner Califf stated that “the agency has confronted a series of challenges that have tested…
Accessories Adjust to Market Trends
The average American tobacco/nicotine user no longer presents a one-dimensional profile, sticking to a single type of product. Now there are dual- and poly-usage customers who combine cigarettes with modern oral nicotine products. Plus, there are tobacco/nicotine users who have entered the cannabis market. These changes have significantly altered, and broadened, the demographic for accessories.…
Vape Defies Odds
While the vape segment still faces a vexing regulatory environment, sales are delivering for c-stores. By September 2021, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) claimed to have received 8.9 million pre-market tobacco applications (PMTAs), mostly for e-cigarettes, vape products and e-liquids. Although the agency has decided on 96% of the submissions, an estimated 329,000 remain…
Non-Tobacco Cigarettes
Wild Brands LLC launched STEP cigarettes — a novel non-tobacco cigarette incorporating a layered tobacco-style flavor system, available in Full Flavor and Green (Menthol) variants. These cigarettes are an alternative to traditional cigarettes in the U.S. market. STEP offers trade partners a low-price, high-margin cigarette, free of Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) payments and excise taxes. […]
FDA Issues MDOs, MGOs and More
According to the National Association of Tobacco Outlets (NATO), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has finalized determinations on more than 99% of the nearly 26 million new tobacco products for which pre-market tobacco applications (PMTAs) were filed by manufacturers with the FDA. The vast majority of these FDA determinations are in the form…
Is a Resurgence Ahead for RYO Tobacco?
Legalized cannabis, herbal options and increasing cigarette costs could work in favor of the roll-your-own (RYO) tobacco category in 2023. The RYO segment has always been a small player in the overall tobacco category. The $35.8 million generated by RYO tobacco sales in 2022 is a pittance of the nearly $55 billion attributed to cigarette…
How Does Snus Work?
There are a lot more people who know what snus is than how snus works. But for convenience stores, knowing both can prove essential to maximizing sales. Doing everything possible to move merchandise in any category is imperative. The global market for snus is expected to rise from $1 billion in 2022 to $2.4 billion…