China vaping news: Blu eCigs, a leading American vaping brand, has hired Lady Gaga for a product placement campaign in hopes of capturing the UK market by the end of next year.
According to Chinese e-cigarette news: The US-leading e-cigarette brand Blu eCigs has hired Lady Gaga for a product placement advertising campaign, aiming to capture the UK market by the end of next year. Jacob Fuller, the head of Blu eCigs UK, revealed this news in an interview with The Sunday Telegraph, predicting that e-cigarettes will surpass global tobacco sales by 2034. He said: “In the US, Blu is collaborating with Lady Gaga in a video that features Blu products.”
“It's a global video that allows us to use this brand communication method in the UK as well.”
“Kevin Spacey used Blu eCigs in House of Cards, and David Letterman also featured the e-cigarette on his show. Because of these scenes, we can promote well in the UK.”
“Blu has also hired actor Stephen Dorff as its brand ambassador in the US, and he has come to the UK to promote for us.” E-cigarettes were invented in China in 2006 and have become increasingly popular, with Blu eCigs' annual sales rising from $18 million to $200 million in the past 18 months.
In April of this year, Blu eCigs was launched in the UK under the brand name Skycig. Mr. Fuller co-founded the Skycig e-cigarette company in 2009 after seeing e-cigarettes at a trade show in Las Vegas.
In 2013, Skycig was acquired by Lorillard, an American company that manufactures Newport cigarettes.
In 2011, Lorillard acquired Blu, which at that time held a 45% share of the US e-cigarette market. Mr. Fuller from Canada expects Blu eCigs' sales in the UK to reach £20 million by the end of this year and £100 million by the end of 2015.
Blu expects to achieve a 50% market share in the UK by the end of 2015.
“People think this is simply fanciful, but Blu eCigs has done it in the US market,” Mr. Fuller said.
“The tobacco industry is a $700 billion industry, and I believe e-cigarettes have the potential to surpass tobacco.”
“The tobacco industry is one of the largest industries in the world, but I am talking about the next 20 years.”
“Just as mobile phones and digital cameras have revolutionized telecommunications and film, e-cigarettes will also bring revolutionary changes to the tobacco industry. E-cigarettes will develop at a very fast pace. Five years ago, people laughed at me for being in the e-cigarette business, but look at now. E-cigarettes are everywhere.”
Currently, the global e-cigarette sales in the UK market are estimated to be around $2 billion. According to market research group Nielsen, the current leaders in the UK e-cigarette retail market are Nicolites and 10 Motives.
Blu eCigs UK is based in Edinburgh, with 120 employees and 14,000 retail stores, including Co-op, Asda, WH Smith, and Morrison's supermarkets.
As there is currently no regulation or taxation on e-cigarettes in the UK, e-cigarettes have sparked controversy. However, regulation of the e-cigarette industry is expected to begin in 2016. “We believe that science speaks louder than words,” Mr. Fuller said, “e-cigarettes should not be classified as tobacco because they are nicotine delivery devices.”
