The UK tobacco and smokers’ accessories category is being shaped by a clear split in consumer behaviour. On one side, cost-of-living pressures are continuing to drive demand for value and economy tobacco products. On the other, a smaller but resilient group of consumers remains loyal to premium brands. Retailers should avoid focusing on one segment at the expense of the other, instead stocking a balanced range that reflects local demand and protects margins. Andrew Malm, UK Market Manager for Imperial Brands, comments: “The key is to cater to both of these distinct customer groups with trusted, highquality offerings that meet their specific demands.”
Imperial Brands points to strong performance across its portfolio, with Players identified as its best-selling cigarette brand. The range includes Real Red, Bright and Green variants, alongside Players Max, which is positioned as offering a longer smoke at an attractive price point.
Other established brands, including L&B Original and Richmond, continue to perform well, while Paramount has shown rapid growth since launch. An IMB report notes that Paramount became the fastest-growing cigarette brand in the UK in its first six months, helping Imperial address rising demand in the value segment.
For retailers, the central advice is to use data and customer insight to shape the category store by store. Malm says there remains “a strong margin to be made from tobacco products,” but that retailers need to understand which lines are driving sales, which are underperforming, and where customers are trading down or staying loyal to premium products. This means maintaining best-selling cigarette and roll-your-own lines, while ensuring both value and premium options are available. Imperial also encourages retailers to engage directly with customers, check stock levels regularly, and make sure the most popular products are consistently available.
There is a growing opportunity in smokers’ accessories, particularly as impulse purchases rise. Broader accessories ranges can create incremental sales opportunities, especially when positioned alongside core tobacco products. At the same time, retailers are advised not to remove premium products entirely, because they often carry stronger margins and retain a loyal consumer base, even while value products are growing quickly.
Another major issue raised is illicit tobacco and nicotine trade. Imperial says illegal products are increasingly appearing in convenience stores, vape shops and other high street outlets, undermining legitimate retailers, suppliers, customers and government revenues. The company works with Trading Standards, law enforcement and retailers to support compliance and help identify illegal activity. Malm stresses that “sustained enforcement and meaningful penalties will be critical as illicit trade becomes more organised and sophisticated.” Retailers are encouraged to report suspected illicit trade through their Imperial Brands sales representative, the company’s trade platform, email or hotline.
Imperial Brands says it supports retailers through category advice, insights and training via its Ignite app, as well as through a nationwide field sales team. Overall, the message is that tobacco remains a commercially important category for retailers, but success depends on careful range management, attention to local shopper needs, availability of bestsellers, and vigilance against illicit trade.
The UK tobacco market continues to be shaped by value-seeking behaviour, with adult nicotine users increasingly focused on price, pack size and accessible formats. According to Prianka Jhingan, Head of Marketing at Scandinavian Tobacco Group UK, “The cost-of-living crisis has helped shape the category over the last few years with value brands and smaller pack sizes often increasingly demand.” She says price remains a key purchase driver, which is why Scandinavian Tobacco Group UK expanded its Signature Action cigarillo range with a new 17-pack. The pack is designed to offer both value and choice, carrying the same menthol flavour associated with the brand since 2020, and launching with an RRP of £9.89, including a price-marked option.
Cigarillos remain the standout segment within cigars. IRI MarketPlace data for value and volume sales, for the period w/e 10-05-2026, puts the total cigar category at £350.8m in annual sales. Within that, cigarillos account for just over £178m, while miniature, small and medium/large cigars together account for £170.3m; handmade cigars make up the remaining £2.2m. As Jhingan explains, cigarillos are now “easily the largest of the four segments in terms of volume and not far off the other three combined in terms of value.” Their appeal is linked to their smaller size, flavoured profile and shorter smoking time, which can suit the needs of adult smokers.
For retailers, the strongest opportunities sit in stocking proven, fast-moving brands rather than carrying an overly broad range. STG UK identifies Signature as its most important cigar brand, available in miniature and cigarillo formats. Signature Action has seen particularly strong momentum, with sales up 31% year on year, helped by improved distribution, flavour appeal and a more affordable price point compared with some alternatives. Other key brands highlighted include Signature Blue, described as the fourth best-selling cigar overall, Moments Blue in the value-for-money segment, and Henri Wintermans Half Corona, positioned as the UK’s best-selling medium/large cigar.
Seasonal and gifting occasions are also important. Jhingan says that “many adult smokers do often like to take the opportunity to ‘trade-up’ to more premium or larger format cigars at certain times of the year or to celebrate certain occasions.” Retailers are therefore encouraged to maintain a credible range that can serve birthdays, Father’s Day and Christmas, when premium and larger-format cigars such as Henri Wintermans Half Corona may benefit from increased demand.
Range discipline, visibility and pricing are the main practical priorities for retailers. Jhingan advises retailers to stock the top two or three brands in each of the four key cigar segments, noting that the top ten sellers account for well over 90% of total sales. Because cigars are exempt from plain packaging legislation, STG UK recommends displaying them on the middle shelf of the gantry so they are visible to adult smokers. Retailers should also offer a spread of price points and follow manufacturer pricing guidance, which Jhingan says can provide value to consumers while delivering “exceptional margins” for retailers, typically three times higher than those from cigarettes.
The UK’s tobacco accessories market continues to deliver robust growth, presenting significant profit opportunities for retailers.
Now worth more than £552m (IRI), the category is benefiting from strong consumer engagement driven by ongoing innovation, including new product development, refreshed pack designs and formats, and smarter, more tailored merchandising solutions.
As shoppers look for value, convenience and quality, Republic Technologies is responding with products that elevate the fixture and enhance the overall customer experience, ensuring the category remains a reliable performer on shelf.
Demand in the £150m (IRI) papers sector remains particularly strong, with value sales up 6.5% (IRI) on last year, fuelled by high levels of demand among traditional roll-your-own smokers.
Roll-your-own specialist Republic Technologies (UK) Ltd is playing a major part in the category’s continued success, driving strong levels of consumer demand for all its best-performing filters, papers and matches. This has been achieved by fine-tuning its NPD programme, working closely with its retail partners and backing both its established and new products with strong levels of trade support.
“Against the backdrop of an increasingly challenging retail climate, the high margin tobacco accessories category continues to deliver for retailers,” says Gavin Anderson, Sales Director at Republic Technologies. “The combination of introducing more choice to long-established products, including those brands of choice which roll-your-own enthusiasts know and trust, complemented by the launch of category-boosting new products which reflect changing consumer needs and aspirations, is proving to be a winning formula.”
Traditionally known for its strength in the filters category, Republic Technologies is making headlines in the papers sector with its environmentally friendly OCB range, the UK’s fastest-growing papers brand (IRI). The company has accelerated demand for the OCB range with the recent introduction of OCB Authentic REAL Rice Papers which appeal to the growing number of roll your own consumers who are now looking more closely at products with natural ingredients.
Organic and chlorine free, OCB Rice Papers are made from a blend of rice and organic hemp. The unbleached, ultra-thin papers deliver a premium rolling and slow-burning experience in a natural, brown paper. OCB’s on-shelf appeal has also been strengthened by a full range pack refresh. The full OCB range has benefited from a modernised design which has enabled both brand recognition and clearer product differentiation, enabling roll-your-own shoppers to choose the OCB products which suits them best.
“The new designs are really distinctive and accentuate the core element of each product but maintain a clear focus on OCB which has become a real talking point in the papers sector thanks to its clear point of difference which caters for a variety of shoppers’ needs,” adds Anderson.
Consumers can choose from OCB Premium, Virgin, Organic Hem, Ultimate and Rice Papers, available in both Slim and Slim & Tips variants.
Environmental considerations also feature strongly in recently launched Just Paper plastic free Swan filter tips.
Just Paper Swan Filters provide a similar experience to traditional cellulose acetate filters but have a much lower environmental impact. Featuring a ‘flip-a-tip’ design which dispenses loose, extra slim filters without the use of plastic rods, each box contains 120 filters, with 10 boxes per outer, with an RRP of £1.45 per consumer unit.
“The Just Paper Swan Filters is something of a breakthrough in the filters sector. Not only does the product perform really well, it has strong environmental credentials which ticks an important box for a growing number of roll-your-own enthusiasts,” adds Anderson.
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