Tobacco Business

[ 64 ] TOBACCO BUSINESS [ MAY / JUNE | 21 ] there would be little time to learn on the job—they had to do their research and understand this new category a lot sooner. He and his team began with a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis of the nicotine pouchmarket and all of the major players in it, applying both quantitative and qualitative analyses to their findings. Mulcahy and his team surveyed stores and customers, analyzed data from Nielsen and other sources, reviewed every report they could get access to, and studied SEC filings, annual reports and earnings reports to better understand nicotine pouches and the business around them. Once NIIN’s team—which consists of chief operating officer Matthew Halvorson, senior vice president of business development and strategy Jeff Vera, brand development specialist Brett Reed and national sales director Peter Karfias— had a basic understanding of the category, they began to develop the product and the brand. “I got to work with our manufacturing partner and really dialed in the formulation for the five NIIN flavors over several months, tweaking the flavors and other ingredients that gave it its taste, mouth-feel and moisture level,” Mulcahy explains. “Since this is a moist white-portion pouch and not a dry portion pouch, we had other unique opportunities and obstacles to overcome in the flavor development department, but we feel very confident the market will give way to a strong demand for this type of pouch. We chose to launch NIIN with citrus chill, cinnamon, wintergreen, cool mint and spearmint flavors. We originally thought the market demand was leaning toward more fruity flavors, but the market data we collected showed that mint [flavor] of any kind far outperforms any fruit flavor. Our unique flavor consideration came with our launch of citrus chill, a flavor the market has yet to see. We will continue to emphasize fruit with mint or menthol effects, which has not been done at all in the pouch market. This combines the best of both worlds, in our opinion.” From top to bottom: Wintergreen, Cool Mint, Citrus Chill, Cinnamon, Spearmint I got to work with our manufacturing partner and really dialed in the formulation for the five NIIN flavors over several months, tweaking the flavors and other ingredients that gave it its taste, mouth- feel and moisture level. — Patrick Mulcahy