Tag: Vuse

  • Vuse Market Share Over Juul Grows to 12 Percent

    Vuse Market Share Over Juul Grows to 12 Percent

    Credit: Jet City Image

    The Vuse brand e-cigarette has expanded its market-share lead over Juul to 12 percent in the latest Nielsen analysis of convenience-store data.

    The analysis, released Tuesday, covers the four-week period ending Oct. 8. Vuse’s market share rose from 39.7 percent in the previous report to 40 percent, compared with Juul declining from 28.1 percent to 28 percent.

    Vuse also increased its year-over year advantage from 32.9 percent to 32.7 percent in the previous report to 33.6 percent to 32 percent.

    According to Barclays, Nielsen largely covers the big chains. For the smaller chains, the group extrapolates trends, which is why trend changes don’t appear immediately in Nielsen, according to the Winston-Salem Journal.

    In recent months, the shadow of a potential banning of Juul Labs Inc.’s e-cigarettes from U.S. retail shelves has accelerated the market-share gains of Vuse.

    Meanwhile, No. 3 NJoy was unchanged at 2.8 percent, while Fontem Ventures’ blu eCigs was unchanged at 1.4 percent.

    Juul’s four-week dollar sales in the latest report have dropped from a 50.2 percent increase in the Aug. 10, 2019, report to an 18 percent decline in the latest report.

    By comparison, Reynolds’ Vuse was up 42 percent in the latest report, while NJoy was up 5.9 percent and blu eCigs down 30.9 percent.

  • Vuse’s U.S. Market Share Hits Double Digits Over Juul

    Vuse’s U.S. Market Share Hits Double Digits Over Juul

    It just keeps growing. In the latest Nielsen analysis of convenience-store data, the market-share gap between Vuse and Juul vaping products has stretched to a double-digit lead for Vuse.

    The analysis, released Tuesday, covers the four-week period ending Sept. 10.

    Vuse’s market share rose from 39 percent in the previous report to 39.7 percent, compared with Juul declining from 29.4 percent to 28.1 percent.

    Vuse also has also now edged ahead of Juul in the year-over-year comparison at 32.9 percent to 32.7 percent, respectively. It’s the first time Vuse has led the year-over-year comparison.

    According to Barclays, Nielsen largely covers the big chains. For the smaller chains, the group extrapolates trends, which is why trend changes don’t appear immediately in Nielsen, according to the Winston-Salem Journal.

    The looming potential for an outright ban of Juul Labs’ e-cigarettes from U.S. retail shelves has accelerated the market-share gains of R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co.’s Vuse brand, according to reports.

    Meanwhile, No. 3 NJoy dropped from 2.9 percent to 2.8 percent, while Fontem Ventures’ blu eCigs slipped from 1.6 percent to 1.4 percent.

    Juul’s four-week dollar sales in the latest report have dropped from a 50.2 percent increase in the Aug. 10, 2019, report to a 17.7 percent decline in the latest report.

    By comparison, Reynolds’ Vuse was up 41.4 percent in the latest report, while NJoy was down 5.6 percent and blu eCigs fell to 30.2 percent.

  • Reynolds Hit with $95 Million Verdict in Vapor Patent Dispute

    Reynolds Hit with $95 Million Verdict in Vapor Patent Dispute

    Photo: New Africa

    A jury in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina awarded Altria Client Services more than $95 million after finding that Reynolds Vapor Co.’s Vuse Alto e-vapor product infringed three Altria patents.

    The jury awarded $95.23 million in past damages through June 30, 2022. Post-trial proceedings will address ongoing damages through the expiration of Altria’s patents in 2035. At trial, Altria urged the jury to find a royalty rate of 5.25 percent, which the jury accepted in returning its award of past damages.

    “Patents are at the core of innovation, and we take very seriously protecting our intellectual property,” said Murray Garnick, executive vice president and general counsel of Altria, in a statement. “We are pleased that the jury recognized the importance of Altria’s innovation and the value of its patent rights.”

    At issue in this case were three patents awarded to Altria Client Services by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office based on filings dating back to April 2015. The jury found that Reynolds Vapor violated Altria’s patents covering the pod assembly used in Vuse Alto.

    The case is Altria Client Services vs. Reynolds Vapor Company et al.

  • Reynolds, BAT Continue E-Cigarette Price Increases

    Reynolds, BAT Continue E-Cigarette Price Increases

    BAT is accelerating the pace of price hikes for its e-cigarette brands and traditional tobacco products even as inflation continues to clamp down on consumers’ discretionary spending.

    Goldman Sachs analyst Bonnie Herzog released Monday a detailed analysis to investors of the R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co.’s top-selling U.S. e-cigarette Vuse.

    Another round of price increases also is set for R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. products; list-price hikes went into effect Monday.

    Herzog’s reports are based on “industry trade contacts” and are rarely wrong.

    The list price is what wholesalers pay manufacturers for their traditional cigarette products. The increase typically is passed on to customers at retail, according to the Winston-Salem Journal.

    “While there is some increased risk of potential downtrading and concerns that manufacturers have less pricing power today, we believe brands … with a very loyal customer base and strong/effective promotions should be able to keep those consumers within the franchise,” Herzog said.

    Reynolds also is raising by 17 cents per pack the price of its heat-not-burn traditional cigarette Eclipse, which is sold in limited stock.

  • Market Share Between Vuse and Juul Continues to Widen

    Market Share Between Vuse and Juul Continues to Widen

    vuse alto

    The market share between Vuse and Juul e-cigarettes continues to grow, according to the latest Nielsen analysis of convenience-store data.

    The analysis, released Tuesday, covers the four-week period ending Aug. 13.

    According to Barclays, Nielsen largely covers the big chains. For the smaller chains, the group extrapolates trends, which is why trend changes don’t appear immediately in Nielsen.

    In recent months, the shadow of a potential banning of Juul Labs Inc.’s e-cigarettes from U.S. retail shelves has accelerated the market-share gains of R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co.’s Vuse brand.

    Vuse’s market share rose from 37.4 percent in the previous report to 39 percent, compared with Juul declining from 30.7 percent to 29.4 percent.

    Meanwhile, No. 3 NJoy dropped 3 percent to 2.9 percent, while Fontem Ventures’ blu eCigs slipped from 1.7 percent to 1.6 percent percent.

    Juul’s four-week dollar sales in the latest report have dropped from a 50.2 percent increase in the Aug. 10, 2019, report to a 20.1 percent decline in the latest report, according to the Winston-Salem Journal.

    By comparison, Reynolds’ Vuse was up 39.8 percent in the latest report, while NJoy was down 11.5 percent and blu eCigs down 29.9 percent.

    Goldman Sachs analyst Bonnie Herzog wrote in her Tuesday note to investors that Juul’s market share decline occurred in part “following confusion around the FDA’s marketing denial order against Juul.”

    Juul still maintains a 33.7 percent to 32.6 percent market-share lead over the previous 52 weeks.

  • Reynolds’ Vuse Continues Market Gains Over Juul

    Reynolds’ Vuse Continues Market Gains Over Juul

    The R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co. and its Vuse brand e-cigarette continues to gradually grow its U.S. market-share lead over Juul.

    Vuse’s market share rose from 35.1 percent to 35.5 percent, compared with Juul declining from 33.1 percent to 32.9 percent, according to the latest Nielsen analysis of convenience-store data that covers the four-week period ending June 18.

    It is the first Nielsen report since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Thursday that Juul Labs would be required to remove all of its e-cigarette products from U.S. shelves. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on Friday granted Juul Labs an emergency administrative stay of enforcement.

    For the latest report, NJoy dropped from 3 percent to 2.9 percent, while Fontem Ventures’ blu eCigs slipped from 1.9 percent to 1.7 percent.

    The decision to remove the No. 2-selling electronic cigarette in the country will likely to lead to a dominant market share for Vuse products. However, for the past 52 weeks, Juul remains ahead 35.1 percent to 31.2 percent, according to the Winston-Salem Journal.

    “Having received the emergency temporary stay, we are now seeking the ability to continuously offer our products to adult smokers throughout our appeal with the court and science- and evidence-based engagement with our regulator,” Joe Murillo, Juul Labs’ chief regulatory officer, said Tuesday. “We remain confident in our science and evidence and believe that we will be able to demonstrate that our products do in fact meet the statutory standard of being ‘appropriate for the protection of the public health.’ “

    Nielsen largely covers larger chain stores and doesn’t track local vape shop sales. For the smaller chains, the group extrapolates trends, which is why trend changes don’t appear immediately in Nielsen, such as the rise of disposable products.

    Nielsen determined that Vuse recaptured the top market share in the April 23 report. That was the first time Vuse held the top market share in the Nielsen report since November 2017.

    Juul’s four-week dollar sales in the latest report have dropped from a 50.2 percent increase in the Aug. 10, 2019, report to a 12.2 percent decline in the latest report.

    By comparison, Reynolds’ Vuse was up 40.5 percent in the latest report, while NJoy was down 14.1 percent and blu eCigs down 27.9 percent. Goldman Sachs analyst Bonnie Herzog has said that NJoy “refutes Nielsen’s data and methodology.”

    Another factor is that e-cigarette sales overall have slumped since February 2020, when the FDA implemented its latest round of heightened regulations on the products.

  • Motley Fool: Juul Removal Would Crown BAT King

    Motley Fool: Juul Removal Would Crown BAT King

    Photo: BAT

    The removal of Juul products would hand the U.S. market to BAT (formerly British American Tobacco), according to Motley Fool.

    Juul, which is partly owned by Altria Group, had been the undisputed e-cigarette leader, with a near-80 percent share of the market at the height of its success. The latest Nielsen data puts Vuse’s share at 35.1 percent compared to 33.1 percent for Juul. Third-place NJOY has a 3.1 percent share.

    Last year, the U.S. International Trade Commission ruled that Philip Morris International’s IQOS heated tobacco device infringed on BAT’s patents, and that device was prohibited from being imported and sold in the U.S. Altria had partnered with PMI to market and distribute IQOS in the U.S., but the ITC ruling disrupted those plans.

    Because Altria shelved its MarkTen e-cigarette brand in  favor of partnering with PMI, the ITC ruling leaves it without a vapor product. The FDA has all but wiped out the rest of its investment in Juul. In 2018, Altria paid $12.8 billion for a 35 percent in the vapor company. As of the end of the first quarter of 2022, Altria had reduced the fair value of its Juul position to just $1.6 billion.

    If the FDA is successful in eliminating Juul, BAT will essentially have no roadblocks in its way to market dominance.

    Vuse turned profitable in the U.S. for BAT in the second half of last year, and it’s been able to grow its share because it discounted the device and the consumables to attract users. Earlier this month, BAT said it was now ready to raise prices on both. With a major competitor removed from the market, this should provide the company with a big boost in profits.

    BAT’s vapor revenue grew 59 percent last year to £927 million ($1.14 billion), while its own heated tobacco products, marketed under the Glo brand, saw a 46 percent rise in sales to £853 million.

  • Jury Awards PMI $10 Million in Vuse Patent Violation Suit

    Jury Awards PMI $10 Million in Vuse Patent Violation Suit

    Credit: Aleksandar Radovanov

    Philip Morris International was awarded $10.7 million by a jury in Alexandria, Virginia on Wednesday after finding rival R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co’s Vuse e-cigarettes violate its patent rights.

    The federal court jury said RJR’s Vuse Solo and Alto devices infringe two Philip Morris patents covering parts of a vaping device for heating substances and preventing leaks. The case is part of multi-front patent dispute between Philip Morris and RJR parent company BAT.

    A spokesperson for Winston-Salem, N.C.-based RJR said the company was disappointed by the infringement findings and said it may appeal, but was pleased that the jury cleared its Vuse Alto of infringing one of the patents, according to Reuters.

    A Philip Morris spokesperson said the company was “grateful” for the verdict, which “rejects an attempt by BAT to free-ride on our hard work and investment.”

    RJR’s Vuse line is one of the two top-selling e-cigarette brands in the United States, along with Juul. The Tuesday verdict concerned counterclaims in RJR’s ongoing patent lawsuit over Philip Morris’ IQOS heated-tobacco device, which is on hold.

  • New U.K. Study on Public Health Effects of Vuse

    New U.K. Study on Public Health Effects of Vuse

    The “real world” public-health effects of BAT’s Vuse e-cigarette is the subject of a new study.

    The study is “designed to assess and provide insights” into the growing role of the e-cigarette brand. Vuse has been market momentum in since some of its branded products received marketing approval from the U.S Food and Drug Administration.

    The study involves a cross-sectional confinement study of exclusive Vuse users in the United Kingdom over at least a six-month period, according to a press release.

    “This innovative study demonstrates our commitment to researching the reduced-risk potential of our New Category products. What makes it particularly relevant and exciting is that the results generated will be from people who have been using Vuse as they normally would for more than six months prior to testing,” Sharon Goodall, BAT’s Group Head of Regulatory Sciences, said. “The results will provide important new insights and show us the differences between Vuse users, smokers and former smokers across a range of important biomarkers thought to be predictive of disease development. We look forward to sharing the data once available.”

    Also participating were current or former smokers of traditional cigarettes and people who have never smoked. Former smokers would have had to quit for at least six months to qualify. Study participants were between 19 and 55 years old, and in good general health.

    “It is hoped that the results, which are currently being analyzed and will be published later this year, will provide further supportive evidence that using Vuse can reduce relative risk for certain diseases among adult consumers compared to smoking,” BAT said in a news release.

    Unlike longitudinal studies where participants attend multiple clinic visits over an extended period of time, participants in this study made a single clinic visit where samples of blood, urine and other measurements were collected. These samples were then tested for “biomarkers of exposure” (to selected cigarette smoke toxicants) and “biomarkers of potential harm”. Differences between the groups were assessed, rather than changes from baseline.

    In addition, to ensure compliance, the Vuse and former smoker groups were tested for the biomarker, CEVal, which indicates if they have recently smoked cigarettes.

    Results from the completed study will be published in due course.

  • Vuse Continues to Expand U.S. Market Share Over Juul

    Vuse Continues to Expand U.S. Market Share Over Juul

    Credit: Syda Productions

    The Vuse e-cigarette brand has expanded its U.S. market share to two full percentage points over Juul.

    Vuse, a product of of R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co., held 35.1 percent of the market share, compared with Juul at 33.1 percent, according to the latest Nielsen analysis of convenience store data that covers the four-week period ending May 21.

    For the latest report, NJoy dropped from 3.1 percent to 3 percent, while Fontem Ventures’ blu eCigs slipped from 2.1 percent to 1.9 percent, according to the Winston-Salem Journal.

    By comparison, Vuse was ahead 34.8 percent to Juul’s 34.4 percent for the four-week period ending April 23. That was the first time Vuse held the top market share in the Nielsen report since November 2017.

    However, for the past 52 weeks, Juul remains ahead 35.9 percent to 30.8 percent.

    According to Barclays, Nielsen largely covers the big chains. For the smaller chains, the group extrapolates trends, which is why trend changes don’t appear immediately in Nielsen.

    As recently as May 2019, Juul held a 74.6 percent U.S. e-cig market share. That’s which is when a series of regulatory actions led to product-reduction concessions by Juul Labs Inc.

    Juul’s four-week dollar sales in the latest report have dropped from a 50.2 percent increase in the Aug. 10, 2019, report to a 9.2 percent decline in the latest report.