As Special As It Gets

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With consumers growing increasingly demanding, cigarettes equipped with specialty filters are becoming the norm rather than being a premium add-on. Tobacco Asia explores what’s currently trending.

By Thomas Schmid

When the first cellulose acetate tow (CAT) filters emerged on the scene in the mid-1950s, they revolutionized cigarette smoking. A little later on, activated charcoal filters promised to provide a smoother smoke than ever.

Those days are long gone, of course. Although the bulk of modern cigarette brands still relies on comparatively simple CAT filters, consumers have in recent years come to expect increasingly sophisticated filter options. But then again, for brands that utilize often surprisingly complex filters, it is not only a matter of heeding consumer demands.

Technologically advanced filters also serve as an important marketing tool that can indeed have the power to lend an edge over the competition.

ALSO: Swiss Company Adopts 'Genia' Filter

Growing trends around the globe

When it comes to state-of-the-art cigarette filters, Singapore-based Essentra Pte. Ltd. is impossible to pass by. For eight decades, the company has stood at the forefront in a relentless innovation drive, pushing the boundaries of what constitutes a cigarette filter further and further.

“Cigarette manufacturers are using more sophisticated filters in their premium ranges to provide differentiation and unique smoking experiences for consumers,” confirms Essentra’s marketing analyst, Pei Ying Loh. “However, flavor [capsule] filters are being introduced in value propositions [that are] more commonly accessible in the market. The retail prices of these propositions are lower than premium brands offering the same flavor.” And while mono filters still hold on to an estimated 74% of the overall global share according to Euromonitor data, this figure is declining steadily. Pei Ying says that “this [decline] is mainly due to the growing presence of innovative specialty filters.”

Most trends are not regional but global, she asserts, adding that “in Asia, there has been a growing trend regarding specialty filters such as super slims, shaped filters, and flavor-capsule filters, for example in India and South Korea.”

Visual differentiation is important

Thanks to dedicated development and design teams and a pronounced “thinking-outside-the-box” approach to innovation, Essentra has consistently been able to address these fluctuating market trends with new filter products. Some of the company’s latest offerings such as Groove Sensation, Corinthian Sensation, the ground-breaking Fine Wall Filter, and the recently unveiled Hemp Paper Filter spring to mind. But while dual filters like Corinthian Sensation -- in which one half of the plug surface is shaped like a Doric (mind you, not Corinthian!) column drum -- have taken filter design to never-before-seen complexity, it is embedded flavor capsules that are the true current stars on the cigarette filter firmament.

And when capsules are encased in a sophisticated plug, then even better.

“We believe [that] filters with flavored capsules and visual differentiation are the two main areas that drive the specialty filter industry because they are well received by end-consumers,” remarks Hugo Azinheira, Essentra’s global innovation & marketing director. The Portuguese national is adamant that encapsulated flavors are one of the main determining factors that drive current trends.

“There is increasingly more variety, for instance, the recently launched ‘black tea’ flavor, because consumers continue to look out for new and interesting flavor experiences,” he says.

And when capsules are integrated in intricately shaped filters they create brand differentiation and more personalized interaction with the consumer.

Increasing awareness for biodegradables

But although Essentra believes that capsules and visual differentiation will continue to play a significant role in the future as far as combustibles are concerned, Azinheira also identifies a trend that is emerging in parallel: the growing interest in biodegradable filters. “This is because of increasing awareness of single-use plastics’ negative impact on the environment,” he explains.

“Biodegradability and sustainability are now on the minds of many consumers and they are expecting responsible companies to invest in new technologies and products to address these issues.”

Essentra has, of course, already heeded that call by introducing filters that use paper, hemp, and ochre as their base material, as well as a proprietary processing technology the company has termed “BiTech”.

While not exactly “100% biodegradable,” these materials nonetheless decompose more rapidly than conventional CAT. Yet, at this point, they largely remain niche.

Challenging the reign of CAT

Until fully degradable – or at least “environmentally neutral” – alternatives become commercially viable, CAT will continue to reign supreme as the plug material of choice in the vast majority of combustibles available today.

“There is a balance of functionality and cost, as currently none of the alternatives provides a like-for-like replacement for CAT,” points out Essentra’s strategy & business development director, Patrick Meredith. Yet he also predicts that research eventually will come up with a CAT successor that is going to impart rather similar properties to the time-honored material. Furthermore, he dismisses concerns that filter plug alternatives, which are still quite costly at this time, might drive up cigarette prices disproportionally.

Nevertheless, CAT’s days may be numbered. Once a cost-effective manufacturing method has been developed, those materials could be mass-produced just as cheaply as CAT.

“Filters made from alternative materials are unlikely to be too costly in the long run, particularly if economies of scale come into play,” Meredith says. One such potentially economical alternative has seen the light of day very recently (see side box), although it still remains relatively unknown among industry players.

Intriguing times lie ahead

It is also a reasonable assumption that sooner or later both filter manufacturers and tobacco companies will have no choice but to abandon CAT altogether and switch to environmentally friendlier filters. The writing is already on the wall as governments in many countries are tightening their environmental legislation, pushing for a gradual phasing-out of non-compostable pollutants like plastics. But Essentra asserts that it is ready.

“We are and will continue to monitor different legislation as it develops in various territories,” assures Meredith, “and as a responsible supplier to the industry we will work with our partners to comply accordingly.”

In this respect, Essentra’s efforts are not going to solely revolve around conventional cigarette filters for all eternity either. The company is already paying considerable attention to emerging new smoking product categories, too.

“We are following the growing interest in alternative products like CBD and hemp carefully because we wish to position ourselves as the leading filter supplier for these new categories as well,” closes Hugo Azinheira. Intriguing times lie ahead, indeed.