More consumers are looking for alternatives to tobacco, resulting in the rapid growth of the vaping category.
To help retailers tap into the flourishing vape market, Imperial has launched a raft of new products for its popular blu brand, including a new and upgraded pod-mod device and range of disposable vapes.
Tom Gully, Head of Consumer Marketing UK&I at Imperial Tobacco, tells Grocery Trader about its recent launches of blu 2.0 and blu bar and why they are the perfect products to help retailers to cater for the rising demand for vaping products.
Tell us about your recent launches for blu. What do blu 2.0 and blu bar offer that makes them unique compared to other vaping products?
We’ve seen a wide number of retailers seize the opportunity to tap into the high growth vaping category but in order to retain their customers, they need to ensure the products on offer meet their ever-evolving needs. Through the launch of blu 2.0, we’ve developed a product that looks better, tastes better and lasts longer than before to provide retailers with the next generation vape product consumers are looking for.
The new blu 2.0 device benefits from an array of feature upgrades, including a smooth and rich vaping experience thanks to its ceramic heating pod technology, a longer lasting batteryi and bigger 1.9ml volume liquidpods. Alongside the technical enhancements, blu 2.0 offers a sleek ergonomic design, a magnetic lock feature and ‘power tap’, which enables users to check the battery level with a simple tap.
While pod-mod devices like blu 2.0 remain a popular choice with many consumers, disposables are taking over the vape category, with the segment seeing incredible growth in the last year. In fact, recent figures show disposables now account for 83% of UK vape sales value in traditional retailii. We’re really excited to be joining this flourishing market with our new blu bar range, offering a great quality disposable and ready-to-use vape product from the well-known blu brand that consumers know and trust.
What flavours are available and in what strengths of nicotine?
The new and improved blu 2.0 range includes six flavours to choose from, each available in 9mg/ml and 18mg/ml nicotine strength variants. These include Golden Tobacco, Polar Menthol, Fresh Mint, Berry Mix, Blueberry Ice and Fresh Mango.
Each blu bar device contains 20mg/ml of nicotine in 2ml of e-liquidiii providing up to 600 puffsiv, and features a LED indicator that lights up when in use. The blu bar range includes six great tasting flavours, carefully chosen due to their consumer appeal, including Kiwi Passionfruit, Mango Ice, Banana Ice, Peach Ice, Watermelon Ice and Strawberry Ice. blu bar features bright and vibrant bursts of colour, both on the device and on the pack, to create great standout on the shelf and help retailers with range navigation in store.
Are both the products now available in the grocery channel?
blu 2.0 initially launched into the Grocery channel in October last year and is rolling out into the Wholesale channel now. While blu bar is currently available in Convenience and Wholesale, with the range due to be available within Grocery in April.
What are the RRPs of the products?
The blu 2.0 device is available to buy with an MRRP of £9.99v and £6.99v for a pack of two liquidpods and blu bar has an MRRP of £5.99v per device.
How are the launches being supported?
We’re supporting both launches with consumer and trade activations and media support to drive trial and sales of the new ranges. We’ve also launched a new dedicated trade microsite called the blu bar Knowledge Hub (www.blubarhub.co.uk), providing retailers with everything they need to know about the new disposables range, including useful articles, video content and quizzes.
How much is the UK vaping market worth? Is the category in growth?
The UK vaping market is growing rapidly and while it’s already worth an impressive £1.2bn, it’s forecast to grow to £1.4bn in the next three yearsvi. The vape market is continually expanding as more consumers seek out alternative nicotine solutions, with around 35% of current vaping volume sales taking place in the traditional retail channelvii. The number of vapers in the UK has grown from to 3.7m in 2021 to 4.3m in 2022, so it’s clear that there will be continued demand for vaping productsvi.
What is driving the growth?
Recent data shows that both closed pod systems and basic open pod systems remain popular choices for vapers, accounting for 17% of the UK vaping market in traditional retailii. We’re also seeing significant growth in the disposables category. Figures show disposables now account for the majority of UK vape sales value in traditional retailii after the market saw an increase from £141m in 2021 to £973m in 2022viii.
How can retailers maximise sales of the vaping category?
To tap into the growing demand for pod-mods and disposables, retailers need to ensure they are dedicating sufficient space in store for vaping products. No two stores are the same so it’s important they stock the right range for their customer base, including vape products from brands consumers know and can trust like blu bar and blu 2.0.
There is a huge variety of different vape products available on the market today, so deciding what to buy can be a daunting task for consumers. Retailers are therefore in an excellent position to provide advice to shoppers on what products are best suited to them, including insights into the latest trends shaping the category, such as the rising demand for pod-mods and disposables.
How do you work with retailers to help them grow sales?
Retail remains an incredibly important route to market and represents a significant proportion of our sales. To help retailers take advantage of the sales on offer through the diverse and profitable nicotine categories, we continuously invest in supporting them through our advice, promotions, store visits from our reps and in-store furniture.
As well as supporting retailers through our team of sales representatives, our Ignite app is another great resource and allows retailers to keep up to date with the latest news, information and training opportunities to help them perform at maximum efficiency. It includes a wide range of tools and advice, including incentive articles, downloadable POS, product information and top tips on how to increase sales in store.
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