Tag: Elf Bar

Elfbar and Lost Mary Create Advisory Board

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Elfbar and Lost Mary have created a board in the U.K. to provide strategic advice for the brands.
Board members are from across relevant disciplines in the U.K. with senior-level experience, including in the national and local government, the medical profession and law enforcement.
The newly formed advisory board also serves Heaven Gifts, the company that manages Elfbar and Lost Mary.
“The creation of this advisory board marks a milestone in the global operations of Elfbar and Lost Mary. This aligns with our long-term commitment as the responsible market leader for the vaping sector worldwide, and our exploration of the smoking cessation role vaping products play,” said Heaven Gifts Global Vice-President Victor Xiao in a statement.
“This board further signals our intent to address concerns around, for example, youth vaping, the environmental impact, and illicit trade. Starting in the U.K., we are looking to bring this mechanism to more global markets, particularly those in Europe.”
Members of the advisory board include Steve Bennett, former director of investigations at the National Crime Agency; George Eustice, former member of parliament and secretary of state for the department of environment, food and rural affairs; Susie Kemp, former CEO of Swindon Borough council and deputy chief executive of Surrey county council; Lord Porter, former council leader and chair of the Local Government Association; Sairah Salim-Sartoni, a health psychologist with extensive experience in smoking cessation and tobacco harm reduction; and Lord Walney, a former member of parliament and special advisor to Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Business Secretary Lord Hutton.
October 19, 2024
Federal Court Reverses ‘Elf’ Trademark Suit

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A ban on a Chinese company selling “Elf Bar” vapes can’t stand because a district court failed to analyze whether the rightsholder’s use of “Elf” on an illegal product negated its trademark rights, the Federal Circuit court stated Wednesday.
“Elf Bar” seller Shenzhen Weiboli Technology Co. Ltd. argued the “unlawful use doctrine” precluded a preliminary injunction as plaintiff VPR Brands LP failed to clear its “new tobacco product” with the government as required under federal law, according to media reports.
The U.S. Court of Appeals stated in its opinion that the district court wrongly dismissed the defense without considering the propriety of the doctrine, a proper standard, or Weiboli’s evidence.
The Federal Circuit ruled that the district judge who ordered the injunction “misread” precedent and relied on a “deficient” legal analysis.
A U.S. federal judge on Feb. 23 ordered Shenzhen Weiboli Technology to stop marketing its Elfbar e-cigarettes in the U.S., finding that VPR Brands, which makes and sells Elf brand vapes, is likely to succeed on its claims that the Elfbar vapes infringe its trademark, reports Law360.
According to U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon, VPR has shown there is a likelihood of confusion and the company stands to suffer harm if its Chinese competitor is allowed to keep selling the Elfbar vapes.
In November, VPR asked for an injunction blocking Shenzhen Weiboli from continuing to use the Elfbar mark, arguing the alleged infringement is costing VPR about $100 million because of the effect on future sales.
VPR claims Shenzhen Weiboli is not only infringing VPR’s Elf trademark but also its patent for its e-cigarette device.
August 15, 2024
US FDA Updates ‘Red List’ for Illegal Vaping Products
Credit: Eduardo Barraza
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration updated its import alert on May 23, which includes a “red list” of manufacturers, distributors, and brands of vapor products that may be detained “without physical examination,” the agency announced.
The alert authorizes U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to detain new tobacco products that do not have the required marketing authorization under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, which gives the FDA the authority to regulate all tobacco products.
The full list of products now includes Chinese manufacturers and distributors as well as U.S. importers and distributors.
The FDA announced last week that it is taking stronger enforcement actions against unauthorized e-cigarettes. The agency is seeking civil money penalties (CMP) against nine brick-and-mortar retailers and one online retailer for selling unauthorized Elf Bar brand vaping products. The FDA is seeking a penalty of more than $20,000 from each retailer.
“In order to remove a firm’s product from the Red List, information should be provided to the agency to adequately demonstrate that the firm has resolved the conditions that gave rise to the appearance of the violation,” the FDA states. “The purpose of this is so that the Agency will have confidence that future shipments/entries will be in compliance with the Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act).”
June 3, 2024
More Penalties for Unauthorized Elf Bar Sales

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On Feb. 26, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced the filing of complaints for civil money penalties (CMPs) against 20 brick-and-mortar retailers for the sale of unauthorized Elf Bar e-cigarettes. The FDA previously issued each retailer a warning letter relating to their sale of unauthorized e-cigarettes. However, follow-up inspections revealed that the retailers had failed to correct the violations, and the agency is now seeking the maximum penalty amount of $20,678 for a single violation from each retailer.
Including these complaints, the FDA has filed more than 100 CMP complaints against retailers for the illegal sale of Elf Bar e-cigarettes. Data indicate these products are appealing to youth. According to the 2023 National Youth Tobacco Survey, Elf Bar was the most commonly used brand among U.S. youth e-cigarette users; among middle and high school students who reported using e-cigarettes in the past 30 days, more than half said they used Elf Bar products during that period.
“These retailers have not adequately addressed the violations noted in previous warnings from FDA regarding the sale of unauthorized e-cigarettes,” said Brian King, director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products. “Their continued failure to comply with the law is inexcusable, and as is evidenced by today’s actions, we’re committed to holding them accountable for it.”
As of Feb. 15, the FDA has issued more than 440 warning letters to and filed 100 CMP actions against retailers, including brick-and-mortar and online retailers, for selling unauthorized tobacco products. In addition to actions involving retailers, the FDA has issued more than 660 warning letters to manufacturers, importers and distributors for illegally selling and/or distributing unauthorized new tobacco products, including e-cigarettes. The agency has also filed CMP complaints against 50 e-cigarette firms for manufacturing unauthorized products and sought injunctions in coordination with the U.S. Department of Justice against seven manufacturers of unauthorized e-cigarette products.
February 27, 2024
Retailer Teams With Industry to Recycle Vapes

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UK retailer B&M will soon start a vape recycling program in partnership with the e-cigarette brand Elf Bar and vaping manufacturer Supreme plc. The group hopes to reduce the environmental impact of disposable vaping products.
The partnership will introduce more than 700 in-store vape recycling bins across B&M retail locations.
The campaign aims to enhance vape recycling by providing consumers with a means of disposing of their used vape devices, according to media sources. The products are not collected from homes. It begins before the end of January.
The hazardous waste management provider Wastecare Group will oversee the collection of the bins once full, ensuring the responsible disposal of the single-use devices.
“B&M welcomes the opportunity to work in a three-way partnership with Elf Bar and Supreme to tackle the ongoing environmental damage occurring by single-use, disposable vaping products,” a B&M spokesperson said. “We want our consumers to use the products we sell in a responsible manner, and that remains even when they are no longer of use. Like many of the other products we sell, vapes should never be binned or littered – especially now they can be so easily recycled.”
The Scottish Government has expressed intentions to consult on banning single-use vapes due to concerns about their impact on public health and the environment. The UK Government is being urged to follow suit.
Wastecare Group’s recycling process involves the recovery and recycling of raw materials under existing disposal rules. The collected vape batteries will undergo processing to recover lithium, while the filter and nicotine elements will be sent for incineration.
All recycling processes will take place within the UK.
“Continuing Elf Bar’s commitment to its GreenAwareness program, this marks another step towards helping the public dispose of used vapes sustainably and responsibly,” said Elf Bar UK’s director of government affairs, Eve Peters.
January 16, 2024
AP Reports Elf Bar Sellers Not Paying Taxes, Import Fees

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Last week, U.S. authorities publicly announced the first seizure of some Elf Bar products and other disposable vape brands as part of an operation confiscating 1.4 million illegal, flavored vapes from China.
Officials pegged the value of the items at $18 million.
The Associated Press, however, is also reporting the vapor maker of Elf Bar and other disposable brands, Shenzhen iMiracle and others, has imported products worth hundreds of millions of dollars while repeatedly dodging customs and avoiding taxes and import fees, according to public records and court documents.
Records show the makers of disposable vapes routinely mislabel their shipments as “battery chargers,” “flashlights” and other items, hampering efforts to block products that critics say are driving teen vaping in the U.S.
“The steps toward regulating disposables have been very weak and that has enabled this problem to get bigger and bigger,” said Eric Lindblom, a former Food and Drug Administration official.
Elf Bar is the lead product of Shenzhen iMiracle, a privately held company based in Shenzhen, the sprawling Chinese manufacturing hub that produces more than 95% of the world’s e-cigarettes.
Elf bar lost mary
Elf Bar, Lost Mary and several other iMiracle brands are expected to generate $3.5 billion to $4 billion globally this year, according to industry analyst ECigIntelligence.
In the U.S., iMiracle recently abandoned the Elf Bar name due to a trademark dispute and efforts by regulators to seize its imports. Instead, its products are sold as EB Create.
At a 2022 court hearing in the case, U.S. distributors described skyrocketing sales.
Jon Glauser, of Demand Vape in Buffalo, N.Y., told a federal judge his company had sold more than $132 million worth of Elf Bar products, accounting for a third of its yearly profits.
“We were selling it faster than we could get it in,” Glauser said, according to the court transcript.
Glauser attributed Elf Bar’s quick rise to its profit margin. Sellers make about a 30% profit, double that of other disposable e-cigarettes, he said.
IMiracle’s parent company, Heaven Gifts, previously described how it could help customers evade import fees and taxes. Heaven Gifts’ website advertised “discreet” shipping methods to buyers, including not mentioning e-cigarettes or its company name “anywhere on the package.” Instead, the company said contents would be labeled as “atomizer, coil, tube, etc.”
“We also mark a lower value to avoid tax,” the website stated, adding that customers could suggest their own value for the shipment.
In June, Heaven Gifts announced it would “go offline,” shortly after the FDA directed customs officials to begin seizing shipments from the company.
Despite the update, the company’s spokesman indicated Heaven Gifts remains in business and staffers continue using email accounts bearing its name. The spokesman did not answer numerous follow-up questions about the company’s business.
Neither Heaven Gifts nor iMiracle appear in customs data reviewed by the AP and compiled by ImportGenius, a global trade analytics company.
The seizure announced last week suggests part of the answer: The shipments arrived at Los Angeles International Airport, and air carriers are not required to disclose the same details about their cargo as ocean vessels. The e-cigarettes were mislabeled as toys, shoes and other items.
December 19, 2023
U.S. FDA, Customs Seize $18 Million in Illegal Vapes

Credit: Eduardo Barraza
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have announced that they have confiscated about 1.4 million unauthorized e-cigarette products, including controversial brands like Elf Bar.
The estimated value of these seized products is over $18 million. The impressive seizure occurred during a three-day joint operation, where 41 shipments containing banned e-cigarettes were found and taken into custody.
“The FDA is committed to continuing to stem the flow of illegal e-cigarettes into the United States,” said FDA Commissioner Robert Califf. “Unscrupulous companies try everything they can to bring unauthorized, youth-appealing tobacco products into the country. The FDA will remain vigilant, and together with our federal partners, stop these imports before they make it into the hands of our nation’s youth.”
The FDA and CBP conducted the joint operation at a cargo examination site at Los Angeles International Airport, where the team examined incoming shipments for potentially violative items.
In preparation for the three-day operation, the team worked for months to review shipping invoices, identify potentially illegal incoming shipments, and complete other investigative work that led to the operation’s success, according to an FDA release.
Once the merchandise is forfeited to the government, it will be disposed of in accordance with the law; in the case of unauthorized new tobacco products, that generally means they will be destroyed.
“This enforcement action is a prime example of CBP’s commitment to keeping our communities safe by disrupting the importation of illegal goods into our country,” said Troy A. Miller, senior official performing the duties of the commissioner for CBP. “The rise in illicit e-commerce demands that our agencies remain vigilant in intercepting shipments that could pose serious health risks to the public, including youth, while disrupting the supply chains that bring them to our borders.”
Upon examining shipments, all of which originated in China, the team found various brands of illegal flavored disposable e-cigarette products.
In addition to Elf Bar, among the seized e-cigarettes were EB Create products; earlier this year, the manufacturer of Elf Bar began marketing the product under the names “EB Design” and “EB Create.”
Other seized brands included Lost Mary, Funky Republic, RELX Pod and IPLAY Max, among others. In an attempt to evade duties and detection, many of these unauthorized e-cigarettes were intentionally mis-declared as various items such as toys or shoes and listed with incorrect values.
“Those shamelessly attempting to smuggle illegal e-cigarettes, particularly those that appeal to youth, into this country should take heed of today’s announcement,” said Brian King, director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products (CTP). “Federal agencies are on to their antics and will not hesitate to take action. The significant value of these seized products is also a sobering reminder to these bad actors that their time and money would be better spent complying with the law.”
The FDA uses a comprehensive approach to tobacco product compliance and enforcement, taking action against those in the supply chain that violate the law, including manufacturers, importers, distributors and retailers, such as the targeted operations described in today’s announcement.
The FDA also regularly addresses the importation of illegal e-cigarettes by placing certain firms on an FDA import alert red list, which allows the FDA to detain products without conducting a full inspection at the time of entry, according to the release.
For example, in May, the FDA placed certain firms associated with unauthorized youth-appealing e-cigarettes on a red list, including firms associated with the Elf Bar brands.
December 14, 2023
U.S. Lawmakers Seek Action Against Elf Bar Sales

U.S. House lawmakers are demanding information from federal officials on what they are doing to stop the recent influx of kid-appealing electronic cigarettes from China.
Members of a new congressional committee on U.S.-China relations sent the request last week to U.S. Justice Department and Food and Drug Administration leaders, calling attention to “the extreme proliferation of illicit vaping products.”
The letter cites the Associated Press reporting on how thousands of new disposable e-cigarettes have hit the market in recent years, mostly manufactured in China and sold in flavors like watermelon and gummy bear.
In May, the agency called on customs officials to block imports of Elf Bar, a small, colorful vaping device that is the No. 1 choice among teenagers.
The media has reported that the company behind Elf Bar has been able to evade the ban by simply renaming its products, which remain widely available in convenience stores and vape shops.
“We ask you to work with the Customs and Border Protection to address this urgent problem with all due speed,” states the bipartisan letter from 12 members of the committee, including Chairman Rep. Mike Gallagher, and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi.
The special committee was established early this year to counter Chinese policies that can damage the U.S. economy. Tensions between the two countries have been rising for years, with both China and the U.S. enacting retaliatory measures on imports.
December 11, 2023
FDA Files Civil Money Action Against 25 Retailers

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced it has filed civil money penalty (CMP) complaints against 25 brick-and-mortar and online retailers for selling unauthorized Elf Bar, EB Design and other e-cigarette products.
In a press note, the FDA stated that it had previously warned each retailer in the form of a warning letter to stop selling unauthorized tobacco products. During follow-up inspections, the agency observed the retailers had not corrected the violations, resulting in civil money penalty actions. 
The complaints seek the maximum civil money penalty of $19,192 for a single violation from each retailer. The retailers can pay the penalty, enter into a settlement agreement based on mitigation factors, request an extension of time to file an answer to the complaint, or file an answer and request a hearing.
Retailers that do not take action within 30 days after receiving the complaint risk a default order imposing the full penalty amount. 
Today’s actions bring the total number of CMPs filed against retailers for the sale of unauthorized e-cigarettes up to 67.
Previously, in September, and then again in November, FDA sought CMPs for similar amounts against 42 brick-and-mortar retailers across 18 states for the sale of unauthorized Elf Bar products. Today’s actions include retailers from 14 states and, for the first time, include cases against online retailers.
December 5, 2023
Elf Bar Removing Some Flavors From UK Market
Vaping brands Elfbar and Lost Mary say they will drop dessert and soft drink flavors from the UK market.
Elfbar called for a new licensing regime similar to the ones for cigarettes and alcohol.
Elfbar and Lost Mary make up more than half of the UK’s disposable vape sales, according to data firm NielsenIQ.
The government consultation on new rules for vapes closes on 6 December, reports the BBC.
The dazzling range of flavors has helped to turn disposable vapes into a market worth billions of pounds in the UK in a few short years, with Elfbar and Lost Mary taking the lion’s share. They’re both owned by the Chinese firm Shenzhen iMiracle Technology.
Elfbar has already dropped Bubble Gum, Cotton Candy, and Rainbow Candy flavors, with more expected to follow. Gummy Bear was renamed Gummy and is now called Gami.
A spokesman said these will take some time to filter through the supply chain, so it may take a while for the changes to become apparent on the shelves.
Some flavors may reappear under different names, and a decision hasn’t been taken about Cola flavor, which Elfbar says can appeal to adults and children.
The company also called for tighter restrictions on vape sales, including a licensing regime for retailers and rules requiring them to display vapes behind the counter.
“The introduction of such a regime would mitigate children’s access to vapes and make it easier for the authorities to regulate the sale of vaping devices better. Furthermore, we believe it would help combat the growing illicit vape market and drive increased rates of vape recycling,” an Elfbar spokesman said.

Credit: Nawadoln
November 30, 2023