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TOBACCO BUSINESS INTERNATIONAL
JULY/AUGUST 2015
T
he cig-alike decline continues,
as more eyes and puffs go
to open systems. As vapors,
tanks, mods and personal vaporizers
are becoming increasingly more
mainstream, they are also quickly
becoming the industry’s majority
focus. However, that’s not to say
traditional e-cigarettes will fade away,
according to several industry experts.
The available industry numbers
paint a partial picture. Using Nielsen
and non-Nielsen-tracked channels
plus online sales, Wells Fargo
Securities estimates vapor category
sales will reach $3.5 billion by the
end of 2015, of which $2 billion
will be in open systems and $1.5
billion in traditional e-cigs. Wells
Fargo notes that open systems are
underrepresented by Nielsen and are
growing even faster than the overall
vapor category, based on its Tobacco
Talk retailer surveys.
With open systems as the driving
force of the vapor category, Wells
Fargo analyst and managing director
Bonnie Herzog maintains her
somewhat industry-famous stance
that vapor consumption could surpass
that of combustible cigarettes in the
next decade (by 2025).
Giving an overview of the e-vapor
category at the recent Tobacco
Merchants
Association
(TMA)
Centennial Celebration and Annual
Conference, the CEO of Mistic/
Ballantyne Brands, John Wiesehan
Jr., said that the industry has evolved
from two years ago when disposable
cig-alikes ruled, to now where they
are “one of the smallest parts of the
product segment at retail.” Mistic
makes electronic cigarettes as well
as a “bridge” product that allows a
traditional e-cig to function more
openly using e-liquid. Wiesehan
added that despite taking a “left
turn” all the way into personal vapor
technology, “We still sell a lot of
Vapor’s Evolution:
OpenWider
A new era of
the e-vapor
industry is upon
us as open-system
vapor devices
enter the main-
stream market
more rapidly.
By Renée Covino
electric
ALLEY