Former Chief Scientist of U.S. vaping giant Juul launches Xiwu brand to deepen presence in the China

It is well known that electronic cigarettes were initially invented in China, but the real rise of electronic cigarettes occurred in the United States, particularly with the rise and development of Juul. However, shortly after news broke that the American vape giant Juul was planning to enter the Chinese market, it was announced that Juul's former chief scientist had founded the vape brand "Xiwu" and is focusing on deepening its presence in China.

Juul is currently the highest-valued emerging startup in the electronic cigarette industry and is the most well-known representative of the vapor electronic cigarette category, with its market share skyrocketing from 13.6% in early 2017 to 75%. The founder of Xiwu, Xing Chenyu, has experienced Juul's success firsthand.

As a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of California and a Chinese-American scientist, Xing Chenyu entered Genentech, the oldest biotechnology company in the U.S., as a researcher after graduating with her PhD in 2009. In the following years, she worked as a scientist at North American pharmaceutical companies like MAP, focusing on respiratory drug research. In 2013, she joined the startup Juul as their first scientist, marking the beginning of her exploration in the electronic cigarette field. There, she invented nicotine salts and innovatively applied them to the development of electronic cigarette products.

Nicotine salt e-liquids closely mimic the presence and delivery form of nicotine in traditional cigarettes, significantly improving the efficiency of nicotine transmission through the respiratory system to the blood-brain barrier, thus providing smokers with a true "alternative to traditional cigarettes." The invention of nicotine salts can be said to have truly ushered in a new era of electronic vapor products for mainstream smokers, representing a revolutionary innovation in the history of electronic cigarettes.

However, looking at the relevant data, it is not difficult to find that as a major tobacco country, China has about 312 million smokers, accounting for 32% of the global total. China's tobacco consumption accounts for about 45% of the global total; however, the proportion of electronic cigarette consumers among domestic smokers is only 0.6%. Compared to the most developed electronic cigarette markets in the U.S. and the U.K., China's electronic cigarette industry is still in its infancy.

"I believe that if we can reduce the source of harm from the upstream, that is, let smokers smoke less or not at all, similar to disease prevention, we can reduce the harm caused by smoking and greatly alleviate the pressure on public health." Xing Chenyu firmly believes that China, with the largest number of smokers, should enjoy the safety and peace of mind brought by the invention of nicotine salts. Driven by this scientific spirit, Xing Chenyu chose to return to China with her research achievements and team, and thus founded the Xiwu electronic cigarette brand, dedicated to providing low-risk alternatives to combustible cigarettes for the one billion smokers worldwide and those around them, and Xiwu has been persistent in this mission!