NJOY Aims to Bring Vaping National
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- After finding success with the NJOY King, locally based NJOY is taking the next step in its product offering to include rechargeable and vaping products.
The electronic cigarette manufacturer is preparing to debut a rechargeable line of e-cigarette products and a "high vapor product" or a vapor-tank-mod (VTM), according to Bonnie Herzog, managing director of tobacco, beverage and consumer research at Wells Fargo Securities LLC. The company also plans to introduce an improved disposable NJOY King.
"The e-cig market is rapidly shifting and NJOY's strong brand, unique innovation capability and trade relationships position us best to meet emerging e-cig market needs," a company spokesman told CSNews Online.
NJOY expects to roll out its new product lineup nationally to between 35,000 and 40,000 retail locations this summer. Craig Weiss, NJOY president and CEO, and Geoff Vuleta, global chief marketing officer, revealed the company’s plans to Herzog during a meeting on Monday.
"NJOY's announcement about its new VTM gives us further conviction behind our view that VTMs will become more mainstream given its superior performance to 'cig-alike' e-cigs," Herzog said. "NJOY aims to be the first manufacturer to 'bring vape national,' leveraging its strong brand name to partner with the largest retailers (such as 7-Eleven Inc.) and bringing a new level of professionalism and marketing innovation to the vapor category."
Wells Fargo Securities continues to believe VTMs are the future of vapor, she added, and NJOY's entrance should propel overall vapor growth and could help the e-cigarette maker stem its recent share losses.
"If the robust growth of VTMs continues and is not ultimately hindered by FDA regulation, we expect Big Tobacco has no choice but to enter either organically or via acquisition," Herzog noted. "Given [that] we view VTMs as a global opportunity, we believe NJOY may opt to strategically partner with another company in order to achieve international expansion and scale."
According to Herzog, NJOY breaks out the vapor market into six segments: disposables, rechargeables and vaping, and retail and online for each. NJOY's first-generation products focused on the disposable retail segment, but after seeing a slip in share in that arena, the company is now expanding its reach to all six segments.
Additionally, she noted that, according to Weiss, trade acceptance of NJOY's new products will be "universal." Herzog called that encouraging given that nearly 70 percent of retailers already see a negative traffic impact from vape shops or expect a negative impact soon. VTMs could help reverse the negative traffic impact.