JUUL NOW IN MORE NATIONAL STORES

Company News

November 29, 2019

JUUL Labs has confirmed that its products are now available in major national distribution within the multiple grocery channel. Tesco will join Sainsbury’s, ASDA and Morrisons as stockists for the brand as it continues to disrupt the tobacco category and provide a credible alternative to tobacco for adult smokers.

This landmark has been achieved in little over a year after launching into the channel in November last year with the brand already establishing a leadership position in the UK’s closed pod sector(1).​

John Patterson, Sales Director of JUUL Labs UK comments: “The multiple channel accounts for around half of all tobacco sales in the UK and gaining listings in these accounts, in addition to convenience retail, was a major objective for the company this year to ensure our products are accessible to adult smokers. At JUUL Labs, we operate a mandatory Challenge 25 policy for all retailers so it’s not just about getting product on-shelf but working together to ensure we make the category work for our partners, bring adult smokers into the vaping category and prevent youth access to vaping products. Given our strict policies, we are delighted to have secured listings across all the main grocery retailers in little over a year.”

The vaping category in the UK continues to post significant growth with over 30% increase in sales with both open and closed systems enjoying growth over the past year. Closed pod systems are however driving over 80% of this(2).

Patterson concludes: “The multiple retailers have really got behind the trends in vaping focusing on the simpler and more convenient closed pod sector and, as such, sales of closed pod systems now outperform open systems in their stores. We are working with each retailer on bespoke plans to signpost the vaping category in their stores with the ultimate aim of switching adult smokers into a category which is widely acknowledged by Public Health England​2​​ ​, NHS Scotland​​(3​) and ​the Royal College of Physicians​(4)​​ as ​less harmful than smoking and strive towards our mission of impacting the lives of adult smokers and ultimately eliminating cigarettes.” ​

Sources:

1. IRI , value sales YOY​12 weeks to 20/10/19
2. Public Health England Vaping in England: an evidence update February 2019; h​ttps://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vaping-in-england-an-evidence-update-february-2019 3.
3. ​http://www.healthscotland.scot/health-topics/smoking/e-cigarettes
4. ​https://www.rcplondon.ac.uk/guidelines-policy/e-cigarettes-inquiry