BAT Targets South Korean E-Cigarette Market with Ambitious Expansion

British American Tobacco (BAT) is making its first major push into the e-cigarette market in South Korea, according to a report by South Korean media outlet eToday on January 29. The company is investing significant resources to expand its sales network and coverage, aiming to establish its presence in a market primarily dominated by small and medium-sized brands.

According to reports in the tobacco industry, BAT has decided to take strategic measures in markets that have not been entered by other major tobacco companies, aiming to dominate the market. Currently, BAT's share in the domestic market for e-cigarettes in the form of cigarettes is relatively limited, and the company plans to improve performance by increasing its liquid e-cigarette business.

According to reports, BAT will expand the sales of the liquid e-cigarette "Vuse Go 800" to the entire Korean territory starting from this month. This marks the first promotion of this product nationwide in Korea since BAT began selling e-cigarettes in certain areas of the capital region in July last year. As of now, consumers can purchase Vuse Go 800 at over 30,000 convenience stores and e-cigarette shops nationwide in Korea.

This marks the first large-scale move by BAT in the domestic liquid e-cigarette market since 2020. Prior to this, KT&G, MOPHILIPS, and Japan Tobacco International (JTI Korea) did not introduce liquid e-cigarettes, primarily due to government regulatory restrictions. In September and October 2019, the government twice advised the temporary suspension of liquid e-cigarette use following the severe lung injury incidents in the United States. As a result, the market experienced a sharp contraction, with KT&G halting sales of the e-cigarette "Lil Vapor" and US tobacco company JUUL Labs exiting the Korean market in 2020.

According to a study by the European health research institution, EUROMONITOR, the liquid e-cigarette market in South Korea was worth 110 billion Korean won in 2019, but since 2020, the market size has only maintained at 50 billion Korean won. Currently, smaller brands like "Bubble Mon" dominate the e-cigarette market, with no clear "top player" in sight.

British American Tobacco (BAT) has revealed its plans to dominate the liquid e-cigarette market. The company's confidence has been bolstered by Vuse, its brand in the Seoul market, which witnessed a growth of over double its market share within just one month. Despite BAT's relatively smaller share in the domestic tobacco-style e-cigarette market, the company is determined to swiftly establish itself as the leading brand in the domestic liquid e-cigarette market by actively expanding its sales network and product lineup.