E-Cigarettes: BAT's Vype and Vuse
From 2014 British American Tobacco (BAT) developed and launched a number of e-cigarettes under the Vype and Vuse brand names. The table below gives details of these products.
- For information on BAT’s e-cigarette strategy, acquisitions, market share and lobbying, see E-Cigarettes: British American Tobacco.
Vype E-Cigarettes
Vype was developed by following the acquisition of an independent company called CN Creative in 2012. BAT began selling Vype in Europe in 2013 and has since expanded sales globally.
- For more background information on Vype see E-Cigarettes: British American Tobacco
Year | Product | Details |
---|---|---|
2014 | Vype eStick | The first of BAT’s redesigned Vype product variations, launched in the UK in April, then rolled out in Europe.[1] By 2019 it was no longer available on Vype’s websites, apart from in Canada.[2] |
2015 | Vype eTank | First of the international tobacco companies to sell an ‘open-system’, refillable e-cigarette.[3][4] The company issued a limited product recall for the eTank Pro in August 2018 due to reports of devices overheating and the risk of them catching fire.[5][6] |
2016 | Vype Pebble | Launched in Milan, Italy, in a Vype ‘concept store’.[7][8] Subsequently marketed across Europe. By 2019, it was no longer available on either Vype’s UK or Italian websites.[9][10] |
2018 | Vype ePen 3 | Launched in August in the UK, with e-liquid ‘pods’ in three nicotine strengths and a range of flavours, including “blended tobacco”, “fresh apple” and “wild berries”.[11][12] A best seller for BAT in Europe and rolled out to other markets in 2018 and 2019.[13][14][15][16][17][18] |
2018 | Vype iSwitch | On sale in December, initially in BAT’s VIP branded stores in London. A variation, the i-Switch Maxx, enabled connection via Bluetooth to the myVype app which can monitor and track personal use of the device.[19][20]
For more information see E-Cigarettes: British American Tobacco. |
2019 | Vype ePod | A nicotine salt product, launched in July, using “vPro” capsules, containing 18 mg/ml of nicotine in the UK.[21][22] Nicotine salts are created when ‘freebase’ nicotine is dissolved in acid, which can make a higher dose of nicotine more palatable.[23]
BAT’s Head of Next Generation Products, Nigel Hardy, said at the time that: “People are looking for devices that are less harmful, less costly and with minimum complexity. As a result, there has been a rapid growth in closed systems – and it’s these that are driving growth in the market.”[24][25] |
In August 2019, BAT submitted a global trademark application for “Le Spot, by Vype” under the categories of e-cigarettes and tobacco products, and connected retail services. It was not clear if this was for a new e-cigarette product.[26]
Vuse E-Cigarettes
Vuse was inherited from Reynolds when BAT acquired the company in 2017, after having a licensing agreement in place since 2014. Vuse products are mainly available on the US market.
- For more background information on Vuse see E-Cigarettes: British American Tobacco.
Year | Product | Details |
---|---|---|
2013 | Vuse Solo | A 'cigalike' inherited from Reynolds.[27] |
2016 | Vuse Digital Vapor | Inherited from Reynolds. In 2019 this product was no longer available.[28] |
2016 | Vuse Vibe | Inherited from Reynolds, a closed tank device marketed by Reynolds/BAT.[29] In April 2018, BAT/Reynolds issued a voluntary product recall for Vuse Vibe power units due to reports of the batteries overheating and catching fire.[30] In June 2018, BAT blamed a “few isolated issues”[13] and said that the recall was “progressing well with the majority of displaced volume moving to SOLO and CIRO”.[17] Although Vibe was restocked and sales picked up later in the year, BAT estimated that this recall had cost the company US$19million.[13][15] |
2018 | Vuse Ciro | Launched in May, promoted with the slogan “a perfect puff every time”.[31] (Ten Motives produced an e-cigarette in the UK called Cirro. For more information on Ten Motives see E-Cigarettes: British American Tobacco). |
2018 | Vuse Alto | Launched in August, it was seen as a direct competitor to e-cigarette JUUL from JUUL Labs, which by 2017 had overtaken sales of Vuse.[32][33] |
TobaccoTactics Resources
Notes
- ↑ New Vype eStick is launched by BAT's Nicoventures, Conveniencestore.co.uk, 31 July 2014, accessed August 2019
- ↑ British American Tobacco, eStick Starter Kit, GoVype Canadian Website, undated, accessed October 2019
- ↑ British American Tobacco , Delivering Today, Investing in Tomorrow, BAT Annual Report 2015
- ↑ S. Rossel, Fun in harm out, Tobacco Reporter, 1 February 2016, accessed September 2019
- ↑ Z. Rodionova, Urgent Recall: Vype e-cigarettes sold at Argos and Sainsbury’s recalled over fears they could catch fire, The Sun, 6 August 2018, accessed August 2019
- ↑ Go Vype, Important eTank Pro Consumer Safety Information, Vype website, undated, accessed August 2019
- ↑ British American Tobacco, Delivering Today, Investing in Tomorrow, BAT Annual Report 2016
- ↑ CBA Design, Envisioning a new brand experience, CBA website, undated, accessed August 2019
- ↑ Vype E-Cigarettes, Vype website, accessed August 2019
- ↑ Sigarette Elettroniche, Vype Italy website, accessed August 2019
- ↑ British American Tobacco unveils latest vaping product, Better Retailing, 2 August 2018, accessed August 2019
- ↑ F. Briggs, Vype launches its most satisfying closed-system vaping device yet: The Vype ePen 3, Retail Times, 1 August 2018, accessed August 2019
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 British American Tobacco, Transforming Tobacco, BAT Annual Report 2018
- ↑ British American Tobacco, Half-year Report for the six months to June 2019, 1 August 2019, accessed August 2019
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 British American Tobacco, Half-year Report for the six months to June 2019: Presentation Transcript, 1 August 2019, accessed August 2019
- ↑ P. Lageweg “Step-Changing New Categories: A very significant growth opportunity”, British American Tobacco Investor Day Presentation, 14 March 2019
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 British American Tobacco, Deutsche Bank Global Consumer Conference Presentation, 12 June 2019, accessed August 2019
- ↑ Euromonitor International, What’s Happening in Tobacco? Q2 2019, Briefing, 25 July 2019
- ↑ British American Tobacco, British American Tobacco unveils new-to-world vaping technology, BAT Press Release, 11 December 2018, accessed August 2019
- ↑ My Vype, Google Play Store, undated, accessed August 2019
- ↑ British American Tobacco, eLiquid flavours, Vype UK website, undated, accessed October 2019
- ↑ British American Tobacco, What are nicotine salts, Vype UK website, 15 July 2019, accessed October 2019
- ↑ Centre for Media and Democracy,Freebase Nicotine, Sourcewatch, 27 September 2017, accessed July 2019
- ↑ British American Tobacco Launches Vype e-Pod, Better Retailing, 12 June 2019, accessed August 2019
- ↑ Vype launches new closed pod system using nicotine salt e-liquid, Vapour Voice Magazine, 17 July 2019, accessed August 2019
- ↑ World Intellectual Property Organization, Le Spot, by Vype, WIPO application, 12 August 2019
- ↑ Breaking News: R. J. Reynolds Vapor Launches ‘Vuse’ Digital Vapor Cigarette, CStoreDecisions.com, 6 June 2013, accessed August 2019
- ↑ Vuse Digital Vapor Review, Vaping360.com, 10 November 2016, accessed August 2019
- ↑ K. Arcieri, R.J. Reynolds expands distribution of next generation Vuse product to 25K stores, Triad Business Journal, 11 November 2016, accessed August 2019
- ↑ R. J. Reynolds, Urgent: Voluntary Product Recall of Vuse Vibe Power Units, Company Statement on FDA website, April 2018, accessed July 2019
- ↑ E-Cig Expectations Surge, CStoreDecisions.com, 26 March 2019, accessed August 2019
- ↑ R. Duprey, This E-Cig Recall Comes at a Bad Time for British American Tobacco, The Motley Fool, 25 April 2018, accessed August 2019
- ↑ A. LaVito, Juul’s momentum slips as NJOY woos customers with dollar e-cigarettes, CNBC News, 20 August 2019, accessed September 2019