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Hertz & Selck’s “Vaping Bar” at InterTabac 2022 presented a range of new e-flavors developed in-house. Photo credit: Hertz & Selck
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NGP Trends managing director Aron Byrne-Carter. Photo credit: NGP Trends
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Bimar Project co-founder Andrey Zavaley. Photo credit: LLC Bimar Project
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Hertz & Selck’s “Vaping Bar” at InterTabac 2022 presented a range of new e-flavors developed in-house. Photo credit: Thomas Schmid
Many e-flavors enjoy temporary popularity before making way for others. It’s an ongoing come-and-go further compounded by new regulations and even bans.
When vaping became all the rage not too many years ago, the sector experienced the emergence of an almost never-ending stream of some of the most outrageously absurd flavor profiles imaginable. Chocolate popcorn, cinnamon sundae, piña colada, vanilla-rum, daffodil ice cream, chicken curry, bubble milk tea, even salty licorice. The only varieties that were perhaps missing in this mindboggling array (and for good reason, too) were flavors such as smoked sausage and, only remotely conceivable, used tennis socks. But, their novelty effect often wore off faster than you could say “mushroom strawberry cheese, please”. Modern e-flavors have become generally tamer – sometimes less by choice than due to legal restrictions. Yet others simply ran their course, making their companies tons of money before falling out of favor with consumers. You know… the epiphany that grips you after overindulging in Black Forest cake to the point of suffering constipation, resolving never to touch the stuff again.
Fruit flavors dominate most markets worldwide
A few of the “exotics” manage to hang around still, of course, but the more classical notes like fruit flavors seem to dominate most markets at the moment. “Fruity flavors have been consistently popular,” confirmed Aron Byrne-Carter, managing director of UK-based NGP Trends (www.ngptrends.com), an internet portal reporting on all matters vape, HTP, and NGP. “However, over the last few years, we have seen a shift from singular [mono] fruit notes, such as cherry or grape, to fruit blends that offer a more unique vaping experience,” he said. The same holds true for mint and menthol flavors, which have evolved to be more elaborate and often combined with fruity notes. Examples include spearmint ice and strawberry mint.
Tobacco flavors declining in EU – at least for now
Particularly in Western Europe, classical tobacco flavors appear to be experiencing declining demand, though. Byrne-Carter attributed this to “consumers who have moved away from cigarettes and do not want to be reminded of tobacco.” Another reason could be the lack of authentic tobacco taste that practically all e-liquids fail to faithfully reproduce as they do not combust actual tobacco but merely heat-evaporate a tobacco aroma-infused liquid. Byrne-Carter nevertheless pointed out that tobacco-based flavors have not vanished altogether. For instance, UK-based nicotine salt brand Pod Salt only recently launched “Origins”, a premium range of 6 tobacco flavors including Virginia Gold, Cuban Crème, and True Tobacco.
The consumer decides what’s “in”
Yet it also is obvious that e-flavor trends are inextricably interwoven with regional consumer preferences. A flavor that currently may be super popular in, say, North America, may indeed be a store shelf-hugger in the Middle East. Then, of course, there always are regulations, regulations, regulations, which in one constellation or another dictate which flavor notes are permitted and which are not. For example, a ban on certain aromas already enforced in some European countries might sooner or later be expanded across the EU and “restrict vape products containing sugar or sweeteners and, thus, impact fruity and sweet flavor trends,” noted Byrne-Carter. It also may well bring back tobacco flavors that are presently in decline across Western Europe.
Tobacco flavor resurgence in the US courtesy of FDA
That’s already happening in the US, where FDA regulations now oblige vape companies to focus on tobacco flavors. “We, therefore, expect to see more complex tobacco flavors there that explore a variety of tobacco blends, aromas, notes, and so on,” Byrne-Carter said. Luckily, there is neighboring Canada, where things are not quite as stringent and which regularly serves as the perfect test market for flavor rollouts that would be impossible in the US. “Major [US] companies have used Canada recently for certain test launches,” Byrne-Carter confirmed. “We also are anticipating the launch of PMI’s upgraded VEEV vape device [in Canada], the VEEV ONE, which will come in a range of icy fruit flavors, including mango, blueberry, strawberry, apple, and watermelon.” To delve even deeper into the subject of e-flavor trends, it’s also a good idea to pick the brains of two major flavor houses and see what may lay ahead in the next 12 months or so.
Disposable vape phenomenon drives fruit flavor dominance
German flavor company Hertz & Selck has been around since 1931 and is well known to pretty much everybody in the tobacco sector. Although the firm still regards Europe and the US as its principal markets, it also has established a footprint in Southeast Asia, especially in Indonesia. However, Hertz & Selck’s sales manager for vape flavors, Vivien Wenzel, pointed out that China-made disposable vape pens are now dominating the global market with their mono-fruit flavors. “That definitely put a damper on liquids with more complex aromas,” she said, but added that “the trend of disposable now seems to be slowly waning and move towards refillables.” And that development could well lead to a resurgence of complex flavor creations. “Every market region is different, and it will pay out to be familiar with local sweets, fruits, beverages, and desserts in order to create aromas that strike a chord with consumers in these markets,” Wenzel told Tobacco Asia.
TPD3 could turn EU’s flavor landscape on its head
Like Aron Byrne-Carter, Wenzel likewise mentioned that a ban on flavors except tobacco is already in place in some EU countries, namely Denmark and the Netherlands. “While there are calls to make this EU-wide law, it hasn’t happened yet. But if and when it does, only tobacco flavors will be permitted [in the EU], and even those will probably be restricted to a narrow band of aroma profiles,” Wenzel surmised. “We are all anxiously awaiting the EUTPD3 [the third version of the European Union’s Tobacco Products Directive regulatory framework] and what stipulations it contains regarding permissible e-liquid ingredients.“ In the end, Wenzel added, it was difficult to say if e-flavor bans aiming at protecting youths made sense. Young people, she said, were always following trends and trying out new things. “Teenagers always will find ways to consume, and if the product they desire is banned… well… that will only make it even more desirable to them.”
An exotic medley of multi-layered flavors
Hertz & Selck is of course no longer “only“ a flavor supplier to the conventional tobacco sector. The firm also has embarked on building up its own portfolio of artisan e-liquids. At InterTabac 2022, for example, the German company introduced a new range of e-flavors such as gummy ice candy, white coffee, lemon cheese cake (Vivien Wenzel’s personal favorite, by the way), coconut caramel candy, and banana swirl cookies. Client interest in these layered flavors was exceptionally good, according to Wenzel. So much so that the company is going to present yet another line-up at InterTabac 2023. Despite the prevailing mono-fruit dominance, more complex and exotic e-flavors do have a growing niche after all, it appears.
Eastern Europe goes for sweet & cool – and cakes
But let’s turn our attention to the country of Belarus and Minsk-based LLC Bimar Project. Only founded in 2012, the company is currently concentrating its marketing on Eastern Europe and the CIS countries. Bimar Project’s co-founder Andrey Zavaley told Tobacco Asia that the most popular e-flavors in the CIS region currently are bubble gum, blueberry, cola, grape, “iced” varieties like banana, guava, and lychee Ice, as well as other exotic fruits. “We see a clear trend that in all vape flavors sweetness is becoming paramount, while ‘cooling’ notes [such as mint or menthol], formerly the top sellers, have now moved down to second or even third rank,” he explained. Zavaley expected that in 2024 exotic tropical flavors as well as multi-compound flavors will further rise in popularity in Eastern Europe, a trend that already started to emerge this year. Furthermore, he also noticed increasing interest in confectionery flavors ranging from cookies to lemon-ginger cake all the way through to sponge cake, chocolate cake, apple pie, and what not.
Tobacco flavors now the exception in the CIS
While classic tobacco flavors are returning to the foreground in the US, they are declining in Eastern Europe. “In the CIS markets, we definitely see a pronounced departure from mono-tobacco flavors in favor of berry, fruit, and food flavors,” observed Zavaley. However, there is some interest in tobacco paired with chocolate or plum dominants, as well as cigar notes. “But this interest is the exception rather than the rule, because young people, who are the main consumers of vapes, are not fond of the cigarette taste and are instead constantly pursuing more innovative aromas,” he explained. Although vape products cannot be sold to minors in Russia and Belarus, they are currently not subject to excise tax, though in Zavaley’s opinion “it will just be a matter of time before that happens.” But just like in much of the rest of the world, he predicted a further increase in volume sales nevertheless – which of course also is going to benefit e-liquid suppliers like Bimar Project.
Chinese Flavor Ban Prompts Workarounds
While China is the world’s largest manufacturer of vape devices and e-liquids by far, the country in late 2022 banned all domestic sales of e-flavors except tobacco notes. The new rules are meant to protect youths from being “lured” by sweet or fruity e-flavors into taking up vaping. However, locally manufacturing and exporting these “luring” flavors to other countries remains perfectly legal. Go figure. Anyhow, the domestic flavor ban has prompted some local companies to explore new ways to deliver prohibited flavors without utilizing an actual e-liquid as the carrier. NGP Trend’s Aron Byrne-Carter cited one ingenious method as an example. According to him, a certain Chinese brand has rolled out a silicon sleeve containing a flavor capsule, which users slip over their vape mouthpiece. The capsule is crushed before vaping commences normally. “But although these capsules are both nicotine and tobacco-free, the product in question is likely to soon attract regulators’ attention,” he predicted. But then again, someone else is bound to come with yet another idea. Bans rarely work.