A new class of products is emerging to satisfy the needs of social tobacco users. So many thoughts that capture my mind are worthy of being written about. Some incite our emotions (like the recent attack on Terry Gallagher of Smoker Friendly who accepted the position as coach of the Boulder High School girls varsity…
Seizing Smokeless Opportunities
Just when you think you know everything about the mercurial business of tobacco, a bit of trivia comes along that gets your attention. Distributors and retailers have had reams of information to study in the past two years as major changes in legislation, taxation and consumer habits have forced domino-effect adjustments. Manufacturers, chain executives, category…
Dipping Into New Profits
In a market plagued by high taxes, declining gross margin profits on cigarettes and the likely possibility of FDA restrictions on tobacco, retailers more than ever need to manage the tobacco category more closely. It’s no secret that the smokeless category has been growing, with big year-on-year gains in new product sales, flavors and line…
Smokeless Tobacco Market Includes New Flavor Innovations And Increased Consumer Demand
A perfect storm of societal, legislative, retail and economic factors in 2009 appears poised to push sales of smokeless products—the fastest-growing tobacco category—higher than ever. Convenience store retailers and marketers of such leading brands as Copenhagen, Skoal, Redman, Timberwolf, Kodiak, Red Seal, Rooster, Grizzly, Husky and Longhorn have already seen a flurry of activity on…
Pilot Testing Electronic Smokeless Products
In an effort to boost sales in the smokeless category, Pilot convenience stores in the Knoxville, Tenn., market are testing the Vegas E-cigar, a product manufactured by Minneapolis-based Ruyan America Inc. that looks and feels like a premium cigar, but uses a microchip and nicotine-infused liquid to produce a vapor that provides its user with…