LINK
Feature
Bringing the Scandinavian experience to the UK Well-known for most Swedes, but perhaps more unrenowned in the UK, snus is a moist smokeless tobacco product, widely used in Sweden and in Norway. Originating from a variant of dry snuff in early 18th century Sweden, snus is today, in its many forms and brands, used by approximately 1 million Swedes daily. Now, by introducing tobacco free nicotine pouches as a smokeless alternative to other nicotine products, SCC patrons Swedish Match and Haypp Group are bringing the Scandinavian experience to the UK. BY: JONAS EKLUND
With a history dating back over a century, there are few similarities between the once Swedish state-owned tobacco monopoly and the company Swedish Match has evolved into today. “The company has gone from a monopoly offering cigarettes as the main product, to become stock listed, manufacturing and offering tobacco consumers reduced risk alternative products,” Cecilia Kindstrand Isaksson, Director Public Affairs at Swedish Match, explains. A world without cigarettes The transition from a monopoly focusing on cigarettes, to being one of many players on a competitive market did take time, and according to Cecilia, the change was mainly driven from within the company at the time. “The crucial change happened once the company made a strategic choice to divest our cigarette arm in 1999. The company at the time was convinced that with snus, we could conquer the market with a product that is significantly less harmful than cigarettes, for which it is only natural that our company vision today is ‘A World Without Cigarettes’.” Society demanding change Haypp Group has in a short period of time grown into a leading supplier of smoke free nicotine products. With eight e-commerce brands, Haypp Group is present in over 30 countries, serving more than 500,000 consumers. “We are spearheading the global transformation from smoking to less harmful product alternatives,” says Markus Lindblad, Head of External Affairs at Haypp Group. “With origins in Scandinavia, our extensive experience from pioneering markets in smoke free alternatives, as well as being a leader in the e-commerce sector, we now fully take our vision to a global scale.”
21
Much like Swedish Match, Haypp Group is driven by a vision promoting less harmful alternatives to cigarettes: “Society is demanding a change in the tobacco and nicotine industry. We believe our vision, ‘Inspiring healthier enjoyment for millions’, is pivotal to drive the global change. As a result of our success in Scandinavia and our recent achievements when entering new markets, we are in a unique position to help drive that change to society.” Less harmful than cigarettes Scientific evidence estimates that Swedish snus is between 95 and 99 percent less harmful than cigarettes. In Sweden, the tradition of using snus has resulted in that fewer people smoke, which has significantly lowered tobacco-related morbidity and mortality compared to other European countries. “The obvious reason is that there is no combustion involved in using snus. Additionally, the manufacturing process improvements that Swedish Match has done, has guaranteed lower levels of unwanted constituents which has been crucial, in combination with the fact that snus is regulated by the Swedish Food Act. Our snus standard Gothiatek, is the strictest product standard there is for any tobacco product in the world,” says Cecilia. EU-wide snus ban Swedish Match and Haypp Group have for a long time been confined to just a few markets due to the EU-wide ban on snus – a ban that in fact originated from the UK. In the 1980s the UK banned a product called moist snuff, and snus, due to the definition in the legislation, became part of that ban. After a legal review in the UK, the original ban was removed. However, at that point Ireland had introduced a ban and Belgium was considering one, which prompted the European Communities
at that time to introduce an EC-wide ban in 1992, which still remains intact. “As we are an innovating company, we are now offering our consumers a new way to enjoy nicotine without tobacco as we are now entering new markets with ZYN, our tobacco-free nicotine pouches. We launched in UK less than a year ago, so it is still a fairly new product on the market,“ says Cecilia.
”The crucial change happened once the company made a strategic choice to divest our cigarette arm in 1999. ” Since establishing in the UK in 2018, Haypp Group has seen a fast growth in sales through its online store. According to Markus, tobaccofree nicotine pouches are now one of the fastest growing smokeless products on the UK market. “As more Brits switch to a healthier tobacco free lifestyle, Haypp.com is quickly becoming the go-to site for UK consumers to purchase smokeless nicotine products. In response to this high demand, we’re creating new jobs at our distribution centres and commercial offices while continuing to focus on providing a convenient, secure, and highquality experience to our surging UK customer base,” Markus says. Bringing the Scandinavian experience to the UK When discussing tobacco consumption habits in Scandinavia, both Markus and Cecilia refer to “the Scandinavian experience” that de-
