TPE23 Will Bring Together the Tobacco Industry in February

LAS VEGAS — The tobacco industry will descend upon Las Vegas in late February for three days of in-person buying and networking.

TPE23 will take place Feb. 22-24 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The annual event will follow a familiar format as in past years, but with a new name: Total Product Expo. Billed as "the ultimate destination for the independent retailer," TPE23 will feature an expanded show floor and more than 450 exhibitors showcasing new and top-selling products.

For a full list of exhibitors, click here.

"TPE is a true smoke-friendly show, other events that we go to you can't vape or smoke onsite and how are you supposed to test the products? There are really great shows out there, but I think that TPE is very experiential and you don't get that at other shows," said Chad Twiggs, chief marketing officer, Jam Monster (The Monster Group).

This year's event builds on last year's gathering, adding new companies to the lineup. New companies on the show floor this year include Arturo Fuente Cigar Co., Arango Cigar Co. and Uwell & Gabriel.

In addition to the expo floor, TPE23 will feature an Industry Night Party on the first night of the show with live music, food, an open bar and off-the-floor networking opportunities.

Members of the National Association of Tobacco Outlets (NATO) can register for TPE23 for free using the promo code 1052.

The in-person buying event comes at a time when tobacco retailers are looking for new products to fill out the backbar as cigarette volumes continue to decline and adult tobacco consumers are shifting to non-combustible tobacco products.  

In the second of three tobacco-related webinars sponsored by NATO in the fall, Bonnie Herzog, senior financial analyst at Goldman Sachs, highlighted nicotine market trends, what's top of mind in individual nicotine segments and longer-term industry concerns and opportunities.

Herzog said that Goldman Sachs expects cigarette volumes to be down 4 percent for 2022 and about 3.9 percent for 2023 "due to stronger elasticities, inflationary headwinds, price increases, increased polyusage and downtrading to nicotine alternatives."

However, she pointed out that modern oral nicotine "looks promising, but is still in the early days." The segment is approximately 1.7 percent of the U.S. tobacco market and growing. It has attractive demographics of younger, more affluent, better educated, urban consumers, as Convenience Store News reported.