Our insights:

8 Apr 2024

The Global Vaping Snapshot - 2024

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Shaping the future of vaping

Since launching in March 2022, Plxsur has successfully partnered with 12 of the world’s leading vaping companies to become the largest group of independent vaping companies on the globe. Our unified voice and vision allows us to drive meaningful change in the sector, aligned with our six core values, to promote responsibility and accountability within the vaping industry.

We are pleased that our Global Vaping Market Snapshot vindicates our belief that not only will this sector continue to grow at pace, but that vaping is quickly becoming the most popular form of Reduced Risk Products (‘RRP’) in the market.

With favourable market trends supporting our growth, and with responsibility at the core of everything we do, Plxsur is well positioned to continue on its growth trajectory and shape the future of vaping.

 

How big can the market get?

Plxsur currently has a 10% market share of the $19.34 billion1 retail sales value of the global vaping market and we have an ambitious target of reaching 20% share over the next five years.

Driven by evolving market dynamics, consumer preferences, and emerging trends in the category, the RRP opportunity within our markets is estimated to grow to a value of $59 billion by 2033. In the UK alone, the number of RRP users is now equal to that of smokers, with the former expected to become the first choice in 2024. Plxsur’s other markets are following a similar trend and RRP is expected to overtake conventional cigarette users over the next 10 years.

Across our primary markets, the UK and Italy are the largest RRP markets, with combined sales of $10 billion. While these are notable stand outs, all of our markets are growing strongly with an average growth rate of 34%.

Within Plxsur itself, we have already seen exceptional growth over a short period of time with combined group revenues in 2023 increasing 40.3% on the previous year to $1 billion and adjusted EBITDA also growing to $200 million.

1Euromonitor 2023 estimate

 

How popular is vaping versus other RRPs?

Vaping has emerged as the leading form of RRP in the sector, outperforming all other categories in our primary markets since 2021. This trend is particularly evident in our seven key markets, where vape has now become the preferred nicotine consumption method.

There is now a notable preference for vaping over heated tobacco, a form of RRP which historically outperformed others in the sector between 2018-2021. For instance, in the UK, where targeted investment has been substantial, there are now approximately four times more vape than HnB users. This increase in vape users is primarily attributed to factors such as convenience, unique characteristics, and preferred tastes not found in other formats like HnB.

Progressive markets are where we see vape usage most clearly surpass HnB, despite minimal investment efforts in building vape demand. Within these markets, the growth rate of vape users outpaces that of HnB, with two – seven new vapers for every one new HnB user. A notable driver of this growth is the uptake in usage amongst young adults entering the market2, suggesting that vape demand will continue to increase among this demographic over the medium to long term.

In other primary markets like Italy and Greece, vape incidence is comparable to HnB, benefiting from early mover advantage and substantial investment.

2 Based on analysis of the Italian / Heat-Not-Burn led market

 

Why is Plxsur well positioned to capitalise on the growing market?

Plxsur’s unique ability to retain our unique entrepreneurial spirit while growing at pace has been pivotal to our success over the past two years and we remain committed to achieving growth with responsibility at the core of everything we do.

Our industry leading position allows us to shape the industry’s future trajectory, capitalising not only on current momentum but also on opportunities to influence its ongoing evolution.

Plxsur offers the only global consolidation platform in the burgeoning RRP market. Through scaling excellence, we offer a streamlined path to global leadership, through our build, grow and drive philosophy.

Our proven strategy has allowed us to achieve notable success to date and as we continue to grow, we will consolidate our position as the leading voice in the market.

 

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