First Look at the Belarus Market: No Demand for Pod Systems, Poor Disposable Quality, and Almost No

Since entering 2023, Russia has drawn significant attention from industry players in recent months due to tighter related regulations. However, neighboring Belarus has never really generated much discussion among e-cigarette industry participants. Recently, GeWu spoke with a former e-cigarette industry practitioner currently in Belarus and is sharing the latest information gathered from that conversation.

Let’s first take a look at some basic facts about Belarus.

At present, 23.7% of adults in Belarus, or about 1.8 million people, are smokers. Its smoking rate has been declining over the years, with the overall smoking rate falling from 36% in 2000 to 27% in 2015, and it is expected to decline further to 22% by 2025.

As for relevant regulations, both heated tobacco and vaping products are clearly legal in Belarus. On the vaping side, Belarus amended relevant regulations in 2019 to explicitly classify e-cigarettes as tobacco products subject to corresponding regulation. It also made clear that only “economic entities” may engage in related business activities, while advertising and sales to minors are prohibited.

(Local media reports on penalties in Belarus for online sales of e-cigarettes)

Although the regulatory framework has already laid the foundation for a compliant market, the e-cigarette market in Belarus is still very early-stage. “There is still a very obvious gap between Belarus and Russia. There are many more brands in Russia. I previously visited a multi-brand store in Russia, and the variety of brands, styles, and product categories was overwhelming,” he told us while comparing the Belarusian and Russian markets.

According to his observations, the Belarusian e-cigarette market mainly consists of two categories: disposables and open-system devices. As for pod systems, they are hardly seen. “If I were doing business here myself, I’d split it evenly between disposables and open systems. I wouldn’t do pod systems at all.”

More specifically, the disposable segment in Belarus is highly similar to neighboring Russia’s market, where counterfeit and low-quality products are widespread. “There are disposables here ranging from 500 puffs to 5,000 puffs, but the quality varies greatly. About 80% of the disposables are very poor quality,” he said.

This inconsistency is also reflected in the fact that Belarus still has no standout disposable brand comparable to ELFBAR in the UK. “You could say disposable brands here are all over the place. At a glance, they don’t look like established brands at all, more like products made by small factories.”

Matching this inconsistent product landscape is a typical seller’s market in terms of service. Many services common in mature markets simply do not exist in Belarus. “Buying a disposable here is like opening a blind box. If there’s a problem with the product, store owners generally won’t accept returns,” he concluded.

“The key issue is that you can’t try it before buying overseas. The inability to sample it is the biggest pain point,” he said. “In other words, if trial mouthpieces from China could be shipped over so customers could try products first, they would definitely sell better. Right now, whether it tastes good or not is purely a matter of luck.”

This makes products heavily reliant on word of mouth. Consumers are more inclined to buy based on recommendations from friends. “The XX Cup product I bought here from China tastes really good, and many locals have asked me where I got it,” he said, giving one example. He also showed us the product he was referring to, and after checking, GeWu found that it is almost completely unknown in the Chinese market.

As for the current state of the market, he believes part of the reason is that the local market is still relatively underdeveloped, and most consumers are highly price-driven—the cheaper, the better. To a certain extent, this also makes it difficult for disposables to build user loyalty in Belarus.

For example, the relative disorder in the disposable market has led to clear user segmentation in Belarus. “Users with moderate to heavy vaping habits generally choose open-system devices. For example, VAPORESSO, under SMOORE, is quite popular here.”

In his view, the market potential in Belarus lies in its relatively high acceptance of e-cigarettes: “People in Europe are not rejecting e-cigarettes. In my view, at least over the next three years, flavored e-cigarettes will still have a very large market here.”

In his opinion, the key to breaking into the Belarusian market is localization. “At present, many brands still don’t dare invest in localization and are mainly focused on shipments and OEM production. For those wanting to break into overseas markets like Belarus, I would recommend at least three things.”

“First, incubate your own foreign-language version of the brand. Second, if conditions allow, send people over to take a look and conduct market research. Third, create a plan and roll out distribution comprehensively in stages and batches over time. Products that have already performed well in other markets should have no problem here.”