JTI May Enter South Korea's Vaping Market; Relevant Trademarks Already Registered

JTI may enter the e-cigarette market in South Korea, potentially challenging market leaders KT&G and PMI, and may choose to launch the e-cigarette product Ploom X. According to a report by South Korean media Naver on December 13, Japan Tobacco International (JTI Korea) is considering entering the cigarette-type e-cigarette (heated tobacco) market. In the South Korean market, Korea Tobacco (KT&G) and Philip Morris International (PMI) are in the lead, while British American Tobacco (BAT) is in pursuit, and JTI's entry is expected to intensify competition.

According to the tobacco industry, JTI will replace the e-cigarette-specific cigarette boxes in convenience store displays by the first half of next year, which is interpreted as a prelude to launching new e-cigarette products. Since last year, JTI has registered over 100 designs and trademarks related to e-cigarettes, leading to speculation that the company is considering entering this market.

A JTI representative said: "We are considering whether to enter the South Korean market based on our global e-cigarette product portfolio." However, he added: "We are not yet at the stage of disclosing products or a launch timeline."

JTI primarily sells cigarettes like Mevius in South Korea, and its global e-cigarette offerings include the cigarette-type "Ploom," the vapor-type "Logic," and nicotine pouch "Nrodic spirit." Among them, the cigarette-type e-cigarette "Ploom" is further divided into the standard type "Ploom X" and the hybrid type "Ploom with."

It has been observed that the market-ready Ploom X is likely to be the product entering the South Korean market. Ploom X was launched in Japan in August 2021, which has the highest market share for e-cigarettes. As of the third quarter, its market share in Japan has exceeded 10%. The company is also expanding globally.

Since July, it has been launched in Switzerland, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Greece, and Kazakhstan. The company plans to expand its sales range to 28 countries by the end of next year, but it is currently unclear whether South Korea will be included.

JTI Korea is cautious about entering the e-cigarette market, as it has previously made a failed attempt. In 2019, the company launched a hybrid e-cigarette called "Ploomtech" in South Korea, which used e-cigarette cartridges, but ceased sales in 2021.

However, due to a lack of new growth engines, the company is considering re-entering the e-cigarette market. Over the past five years, the company’s sales have hovered around 200 billion won, peaking at 500 billion won in 2021.

On the other hand, the tobacco e-cigarette market has been growing year by year. According to data from Euromonitor, the South Korean tobacco e-cigarette market grew from 359.7 billion won in 2017 to 1.815 trillion won in 2021, a fivefold increase.

A tobacco industry insider said: "Unlike competitors who are formulating e-cigarette business strategies, JTI, which was still focused on expanding cigarette scale at the beginning of the year, has been late to revise its strategy."