DISPOSABLE HEROES

incomingsDisposable

With the popularity of disposable vaping devices continuing to soar, Booker offers a strong range of products to help Budgens retailers profit from the segment’s success with confidence.

UK VAPER PROFILE

The peak ages for e-cigarette use in 2021 are among 35-44 year olds (10.1%) followed by 45-54 year olds (8.6%), and then 25-34 year olds (8.1%).

The lowest vaping rates by age are 5% for young adults aged 18-24, followed by those over 55 at 5.4%.

A slightly higher proportion of those identifying as male (8.1% ) say that they currently use e-cigarettes than those identifying as female (6.2%).

Of the 3.6 million vapers in the UK in 2021, just under 2.4 million are ex-smokers; 1.1 million are current smokers; and just under 200,000 are never smokers.

Nine out of ten ex-smokers who currently use e-cigarettes vape every day, with 97% vaping at least weekly.

Satisfaction levels are growing, with 68% of vapers who no longer smoke now saying that they find vaping “more or equally” satisfying as smoking - compared to 65% in 2020.

Source: YouGov The UK’s vape category enjoyed a buoyant 2021 with the proportion of UK adults using vaping devices having increased to 7.1%, according to a recent YouGov survey.

And as the UK begins a new year with healthy resolutions riding high and the all-important vaping awareness month of April on the horizon, the vape category’s star looks set to keep on rising, as shoppers increasingly turn to it as a way to quit tobacco and save money.

The positive role that vape devices can play in quit attempts forms a key message in the NHS’s January 2022 Stop Smoking campaign, with the NHS Quit Smoking site having been updated for 2022 to include a raft of information on vaping devices which it says are “far less harmful than cigarettes” and can help shoppers to “quit smoking for good.”

And with many shoppers still feeling the pinch following the excesses of the festive season, the price incentive offered by vaping devices when compared to tobacco, is also clear to see.

While the UK’s vaping market now features a plethora of different devices to suit a wide range of shopper needs, convenience retailers up and down the country are currently reporting growth in the vibrant disposable category.

Budgens retailers are reporting an uptick in demand for disposable devices, which offer new and existing vapers an ultra-convenient vaping option and access to a myriad of exciting and on-trend flavour combinations for pocket-friendly prices.

Fortunately for those retailers, Booker has recently expanded its range of disposable devices with the addition of GeekBar, which is now available through Booker in a selection of fruity flavours.

Established in 2015, the disposable vaping brand has been designed to appeal to adult vapers “who desire to vape smarter” the brand says.

The Booker range includes five popular flavours, including GeekBar Classics such as Sweet Strawberry, along with new flavours such as Blueberry and Sour Raspberry.

Each disposable “bar” comes fully charged and pre-filled with 20mg of nicotine salt e-liquid, for an RSP of £6.49. For retailers the range also offers 41.8% profit on return, and another way to add a unique point of difference and interest to their overall offer.

DISPOSABLE GROWTH

Budgens retailer Dipan Patel, of Budgens Camberwell in London, is one store owner seeing smashing growth from his disposable vape range.

The smart new 4,500 sq ft store, which opened in August 2021, features an eye-catching vape offer behind its counter which majors on disposable products.

“Wind the clock back five years and sales were dominated by the big-name tobacco brands and their pod mod devices and associated pod refills, however the landscape has changed really drastically,” Dipan says.

“While those devices are still popular among certain vapers, disposable products are where we are seeing the most significant growth.

KEY FACTS ABOUT BOOKER’S NEW GEEK BAR RANGE

Available through Booker now, the Geek Bar disposable range is available in five winning flavours: Sweet Strawberry, Blueberry and Sour Raspberry, Watermelon Ice, Peach Ice and Passion Fruit. Each disposable “bar” comes fully-charged and pre-filled with 20mg of nicotine salt e-liquid. Devices have an rrp of £6.49 offering retailers a POR of 41.8%.

BOOKER’S GEEKBAR RANGE

Description Blackberry & Sour Raspberry 20mg Passion Fruit 20mg Peach Ice 20mg Watermelon Ice Sweet Strawberry Case size WSP

RSP 10 x 10 £31.49 £6.49 10x 10 £31.49 £6.49

10x 10 £31.49 £6.49

10x 10 £31.49 £6.49

10x10 £31.49 £6.49 POR 41.8% 41.8% 41.8% 41.8% 41.8%

UNDERSTANDING NIC SALTS

l Each Geek Bar Disposable Vape pen contains 2ml of 20mg nicotine salt e-liquid. l Nic salts are an additive, derived from tobacco leaves, which help to improve nicotine absorption and deliver nicotine into the bloodstream much faster than standard nicotine-containing e-liquids. l That quicker nicotine hit helps to create a vaping experience that is more akin to traditional tobacco cigarettes and so appeals to ex-smokers and dualists alike.

“GeekBar is one of our best-sellers and the range appeals to a really broad spectrum of adult vapers from those in their 20s right up to the early 40s.

“There are a number of factors fueling the success of disposables. First is ease of use, there’s no tricky set up, vapers can literally buy a bar and start vaping it straight away.

“The second is flexibility, which counts for so much these days. Shoppers are definitely more reluctant to get tied into things these days, I guess it’s a sign of the times and the greater levels of uncertainty over the economy, jobs and the rising cost of living.

Unlike pod mod systems, disposable products allow vapers to be totally flexible. They don’t make vapers feel trapped into committing to buying a certain type of compatible pod each week. With a disposable devise vapers are free to chose the flavour they want. The cost plays an important role too. The rrp for a single GeekBar is £6.49 which offers them good value for money, certainly when compared to tobacco, and if it turns out that they don’t like a particular flavour it’s no great loss.

Flavour is also another major driver, there’s a wide range of really nice flavours for them to chose from beyond the standard menthol and tobacco flavours which the pod mod brands are still mainly focused on.” And with more than 40% POR i’m certainly a big fan of disposables too!”

Dipan’s point about flavour is a key one. Flavour, as he alluded, is another key draw of disposable devices for both new and existing vapers alike: Unlike many of the pre-filled pod devices currently on the market, which tend to major on menthol, tobacco and dark fruit flavours, disposable products offer a wider choice of innovative and unusual flavours that truly appeal to modern vapers’ tastes.

In fact, the same YouGov survey clearly highlights just how much vapers’ tastes have changed in a comparatively short space of time.

In 2015, tobacco flavours were the most popular at 38% followed by fruit flavours at 25% and menthol 19%. However, this has changed dramatically in recent years and in 2021 fruit flavours emerged as the most popular choices at 35%, followed by menthol at 23% and tobacco at 20%.

With sweet fruity flavours such as Passionfruit and Peach Ice, Booker’s new GeekBar range is sure to appeal to adult vapers on the hunt for pocketfriendly disposable options.

The Booker-supplied range also provides retailers with 100% confidence that they are purchasing legal and crucially, EU TPD-compliant, product.

This assurance comes at a key time for the UK’s disposable vape category, which appears to be becoming a growing target for the illicit trade.

Legitimate manufacturers have stepped up their efforts to stifle the problem with GeekBar, for example, working closely with UK vaping and retail trade associations and regulators in a bid to check and seize counterfeit products in the UK.

The arrival of the new Geek Bar range through Booker will therefore undoubtably provide Budgens retailers keen to expand their disposable vape offer and profit from the growing opportunity, with welcome confidence and excitement.