Modern oral nicotine pouch Zyn had a good first quarter of the year under new owner Philip Morris International. PMI in November took 83% share of Swedish Match, which sells products including Zyn, General snus, Longhorn moist snuff, Game and White Owl cigars and more.
"We continue to successfully integrate Swedish Match, which delivered impressive—and accretive—results, accelerating our transition to a majority smoke-free company. The outstanding performance of Zyn in the U.S. complemented the positive momentum of Iqos, including the excellent traction of Iluma across launch markets, and reinforces our position as a truly global smoke-free champion,” said Jacek Olczak, PMI CEO, in the company’s first-quarter 2023 earnings report.
Zyn nicotine pouch shipment volume in the first quarter reached 73.2 million cans, a growth of 46.7% over first-quarter 2022 Swedish Match shipments of 49.9 million cans, New York-based PMI said.
More than half of convenience-store retailers and wholesales who responded to Goldman Sachs’ first-quarter 2023 Nicotine Nuggets survey except Zyn sales to accelerate under PMI’s ownership of Swedish Match, Richmond, Virginia.
Those who expressed optimism about Zyn’s potential under PMI expect, according to Goldman Sachs, New York:
- Improved distribution and in-stock levels.
- A strong marketing push by PMI to drive awareness and trial.
- Shelf space gains as part of PMI’s contracted facing requirements.
- Increased promotional support and bundling of Zyn into PMI’s sophisticated merchandising program.
Some retailers expressed concerns, however. Those who took a more guarded view think PMI’s ownership of Zyn has negatively affected contract requirements and others are worried PMI will try to apply a traditional tobacco discounting model to Zyn that will reduce retailers’ flexibility on promotional funding, Goldmans Sachs said.
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