Everything You Need to Know About IQOS and LAMI ZERO

Recently, a heated tobacco product from Wuye Shen Group called ZERO has gone viral on WeChat, with its WeChat index rising sharply to become the top keyword in the e-cigarette category.

The main reason is that ZERO fills the gap for domestic IQOS users who have trouble obtaining tobacco sticks.

Why does ZERO overlap so strongly with IQOS? This is closely related to the special nature of the product category.

As we all know, IQOS is a heated tobacco product, and its compatible tobacco sticks cannot be legally sold in mainland China. The channels that previously brought tobacco sticks into the country through various illegal means have also gradually disappeared under regulatory crackdowns.

As a result, smokers holding IQOS devices are forced to face the reality of “having the device but no tobacco sticks.”

Many users have therefore turned to low-temperature herbal sticks without tobacco as substitutes. In LAMI-related promotional materials, we can see that it emphasizes “compatible with IQOS,” which may also explain why the WeChat index trends for IQOS and ZERO show such a high degree of overlap in both absolute value and overall direction.

Users who already own IQOS devices are gradually developing awareness of low-temperature herbal products as replacements, and this is undoubtedly a good thing for LAMI ZERO+, and even for the entire domestic low-temperature herbal industry.

??If we look overseas, Philip Morris International, the company behind IQOS, has recently made it clear that it plans to gradually phase out combustible cigarettes in Japan within 10 years, and the market potential for heated tobacco products is steadily being released.

Wuye Shen Group was founded in Guangdong in 1999 and got its start with reduced-harm cigarettes and herbal transformation. During its R&D process, it found ways to avoid the limitations of tobacco applications by using Chinese botanical herbal technology as a substitute. ZERO+ is the product of this research. It uses plant granules and plant-based materials to replace tobacco raw materials, achieving a tobacco-free product that can still carry nicotine and deliver an experience comparable to IQOS, while also better matching Chinese consumer flavor preferences.

As a professional domestic heated tobacco product, LAMI ZERO+ entered the market already standing at the forefront of the industry. So what advantages and features does it have?

First is its R&D history advantage. From its accumulation in traditional tobacco since 1999 to the beginning of heated tobacco R&D in 2015, it has maintained a technological lead.

Second is its brand advantage. LAMI Vape is Wuye Shen Group’s emerging e-cigarette brand, and it has already established more than 3,000 branded retail stores nationwide. Compared with IQOS, this kind of offline terminal network is something it does not have in the domestic market.

Third is its category advantage. As a heated tobacco category product, LAMI ZERO+ can serve as a category supplement to existing e-cigarette offerings. ZERO+ is not only available in LAMI brand stores, but can also be purchased through various e-cigarette channels and specialty shops, making it a new profit driver for e-cigarette retailers.

Fourth is its price advantage. Looking at current domestic and international markets, IQOS tobacco sticks are banned from sale in China, while the device itself can be legally purchased. At present, IQOS device prices range from 500 to 1,600 RMB per unit, and tobacco sticks range from 500 to 700 RMB per carton. In comparison, ZERO+ devices are priced at 238 RMB each, and tobacco sticks are priced at 238 to 258 RMB per carton, offering extremely strong value for money in direct comparison.