Tag: lil SOLID

  • Lil Hnb Supplier Inducted Into Korea Brand Hall of Fame

    Lil Hnb Supplier Inducted Into Korea Brand Hall of Fame

    Photo: KT&G

    KT&G’s Lil heat-not-burn device has been named as an excellent e-cigarette brand in the Korea Brand Hall of Fame for the fourth consecutive year.

    Supervised by South Korea’s Industrial Policy Research Institute, the Korea Brand Hall of Fame is an annual award event that selects the brands most loved by consumers.

    Launched in 2017, Lil has been well received by the consumers, who bought more than 1 million units in the first year.

    After this initial success, KT&G released line extension such as Lil Plus, Lil Mini, Lil Hybrid and Lil Solid. By 2021, the cumulative sales of Lil exceeded 4 million units in Korea alone.

    Lil performed well internationally, too. In January 2020, KT&G signed a supply contract with Philip Morris International, for overseas marketing and sales of Lil, which subsequently secured a bridgehead for expansion in the global cigarette market.

    KT&G started selling Lil in Russia, Ukraine and Japan in 2020, followed by product launches in Central Asia and Europe. In November 2021, KT&G launched Lil in Guatemala. Today, KT&G exports Lil to 23 counties.

    “We built the brand Lil on the identity of ‘practical minimalism’ together with systematic technological innovation,” said Lim, Wang-seop, head of KT&G’s next-generation product business unit, in a statement. “We’ll make the brand recognized by the world consumers through developing the products that meet their needs and tastes.”

  • KT&G’s Lil Now Available in 20 Countries

    KT&G’s Lil Now Available in 20 Countries

    Photo: KT&G

    KT&G has launched its heat-not-burn product Lil in more than 20 markets within two years after signing a supply agreement with Philip Morris International for overseas sales of Lil in early 2020, the South Korean company announced on its website

    Last year, KT&G and PMI launched Lil Solid 1.0 in Russia and Ukraine, and Lil Hybrid 2.0 in Japan. This year, the two companies expanded into other markets including Kazakhstan, Serbia and Armenia, with Lil Solid 2.0 as the flagship product. This August, an announcement was made that Lil was launched in a total 10 markets globally, Albania being the latest market at the time.

    KT&G added additional markets in the fourth quarter this year. In November, Lil debuted in Guatemala, the first market in Central America, and the company expanded into the Asian market further, launching Lil in Malaysia after Japan. Additionally in the same month, Lil Solid 2.0 and its dedicated stick Fiit were launched in Italy.

    Lil Solid 2.0 is a second-generation model of KT&G’s heat-not-burn products. It boasts improved battery performance and induction heating technology, and it comes in two colors, “stone grey” and “cosmic blue” outside Korea.

    The dedicated sticks come in a total of eight variants including Fiit Regular and Fiit Crisp, and a new variant, Fiit Alpine, has been launched in the fourth quarter this year. Two to five variants have been launched in each country‒tailored towards consumer taste preference.

    “Lil was able to quickly expand internationally thanks to Lil’s innovative technology in addition to PMI’s commercial resources and infrastructure,” said Wang Seop Lim, chief of KT&G’s next-generation products division. “We will continue to provide high quality products to consumers outside Korea through strategic collaboration with PMI going forward.”

  • KT&G to Launch Lil Solid in Eastern Europe, Central Asia

    KT&G to Launch Lil Solid in Eastern Europe, Central Asia

    KT&G launched its heated tobacco product (HTP), lil SOLID 2.0, in four countries – Armenia and Serbia in Eastern Europe and Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan in Central Asia in the second quarter of this year. KT&G is now exporting the lil SOLID series to seven countries and plans to ship them to more countries in the near future.

    Credit: KT&G

    The latest version of the lil SOLID series the tobacco firm introduced in 2017, the lil SOLID 2.0 has an upgraded design and performance. Lil SOLID is an HTP used to smoke Fiit tobacco sticks, according to the Korea Times. The new version was launched first in the Korean market in January and customers praised the products product for the battery life offered and its induction heater system.

    “Our product, lil, is gaining popularity in the export markets thanks to our collaboration with Philip Morris International,” Lim Wang-seop, head of KT&G NGP Business Division, said during a conference call held in February. “We originally set a goal of entering a single-digit number of countries this year, but we have changed it to the double digits.”

    KT&G previously entered the overseas markets in August 2020, with Russia as the first export country for its very first lil SOLID product. One month later, the tobacco firm started selling the e-cigarette in Ukraine as well.

    In the following month, KT&G also advanced into the Japanese market with lil HYBRID 2.0 and MIXX. The product was only available in Fukuoka and Miyagi first, but after the had gained popularity in just four months, KT&G decided to expand across the country.

    Japan is globally the largest consumer of e-cigarettes and is a market where various products are vying for market share. Industry sources say that KT&G’s hybrid e-cigarette successfully differentiates itself from the existing products and has received positive feedback.