On 29 January 2024, the UK, the world’s second largest e-cigarette market, announced a ban on the sale of disposable e-cigarettes, a decision that caused a stir in the industry and plunged the UK market into pessimism.However, just two days later, across the Atlantic, the world’s number one market, the United States, hosted the TPE24 Tobacco Show in grand style.The exhibition brought together more than 200 e-cigarette companies to showcase the innovation and vitality of the US market.

New products: touch screen, large mouthfuls, pure oil-based

As the world’s largest market, the U.S. is not only the wind vane of the e-cigarette industry, but also the market with the highest level of e-cigarette innovation and activity, and has a leading role in the development of the global market. At the exhibition, the new products launched by e-cigarette companies fully demonstrated this feature of the U.S. market – rich and varied products and unlimited creativity.

A month before the show, e-cigarette brand RabBeats released the industry’s first touch-screen e-cigarette on its distributor website in advance and announced that the product would make its debut at TPE24.The product immediately drew widespread attention from the industry upon its reveal. At the TPE24 tobacco show a month later, not only RabBeats, but also many other well-known brands have launched their own touchscreen e-cigarettes, such as LOST VAPE and IJOY.

Touchscreen e-cigarettes have certainly become the first and most innovative and leading new product to be ushered in 2024. However, this innovative product has yet to be proven in the market at the retail end.In contrast, the product that set this trend – GEEKBAR’s “fire” large-screen e-cigarette – has received positive feedback in the market, attracting many manufacturers to follow suit.Therefore, at this exhibition, most manufacturers carried large-screen e-cigarettes, making them the most mainstream products.

In addition to innovations in appearance, the population of e-cigarettes in the United States is also increasing. At the beginning of 2023, the number of large mouth e-cigarettes in the U.S. market is generally between 5,000-7,000, while by mid-2023, thanks to the “dual-fire” technology, the number of large mouth e-cigarettes can easily exceed 10,000 mouths. From the observation of this exhibition, the number of e-cigarettes has made a new breakthrough – some companies have brought 25,000-30,000-port e-cigarettes to the exhibition, and Olit, a brand of Kanger, released a 30,000-port product with a high oil content of 40 ML; in addition, MOTI and GEEKBAR also launched a 20,000-port product. products.

In addition, in November 2023, Canadian brand NVZN broke through the technology of transparent oil compartment which is prone to leakage, and launched the “Pure Oil” (transparent oil compartment) product. This innovative product also aroused widespread attention in the industry, and pure oil products are gradually coming to the fore. At TPE24, SKE, a well-known disposable e-cigarette brand from the UK, exhibited with pure oil products, further highlighting this innovative trend.

Distributors: not too optimistic about the long-term development of large-screen e-cigarettes

The U.S. e-cigarette market has always been very “voluminous”, and one of the most voluminous aspects is the cooperation with distributors. U.S. distributors cooperate with a large number of brands, generally between 200-600, and the well-known e-cigarette distributor DemandVape e-cigarette products related to SKUs have nearly 30,000.

Talking about the requirements for product selection, Noel, Marketing Director of Empire Imports, said that brand, price and exposure are the main considerations when choosing partners, and usually the company does not choose brands with low awareness.

The distributor revealed that product design is also an important consideration when choosing a product. noel believes that a good product, both in terms of appearance and grip, is crucial. In addition, he emphasised the need for the product to not only ensure superior quality and taste, but also focus on marketing. He believes that even if the product is good, it will be difficult to succeed in the market without adequate marketing push. Offering free access at exhibitions was considered an effective promotional strategy.

Talking about large-screen and touch-screen e-cigarettes, some distributors said that despite the current popularity of these products, the market might gradually return to the basic model of e-cigarettes as their devices were bigger and more expensive.

Regulation: increasingly strict Already some dealers are turning to hookah and CBD

In 2023, the U.S. e-cigarette market is in the midst of tightening regulation. the FDA has issued frequent marketing refusal orders, while Customs continues to step up enforcement at airports. Unlike TPE23, the US e-cigarette practitioners who once exhibited at the show were generally poorly informed about PMTA, and most were not even aware of its existence. However, a year later, at TPE24, practitioners were significantly more aware of PMTA and felt the increased regulation.

It is worth noting that at TPE24, the FDA was actively involved in the show, educating e-cigarette companies about the regulations, publicising key FDA policies on e-cigarette regulation, and guiding e-cigarette companies to comply with sales. However, it is concerning that in early 2024, the FDA frequently issued marketing denial orders to e-cigarette companies, and has now banned a number of products from well-known brands such as blu and SMOK.

Happy Distro, a well-known distributor in the US, said that while the industry can only adapt positively to the regulatory measures that have been implemented, it can secure its own interests by working with the American Electronic Cigarette Association and supporting their lobbying on legislation for those that have yet to be finalised. FEELM, a leading Chinese atomisation technology brand, believes that regulatory measures are not a bad thing, but instead can indirectly contribute to the evolution of the industry as a whole. They point out that once regulation is implemented, new products and technology forms will quickly emerge.

During Two Supremacy’s visit to the California market, it was found that sales of e-cigarettes have been somewhat hindered due to the regulation. Some wholesalers indicated that they are currently only able to sell existing stock due to products being held by customs.

In addition, restricted by the state’s flavour ban, some shops have opted to stop selling disposable e-cigarettes and instead switch to selling open or refillable e-cigarette products, or only offer devices. Some shops have even stopped selling e-cigarettes in order to adapt to the changing market, instead focusing on other products such as hookahs and CBD.