PMI's HNB Product IQOS ILUMA Went Viral in Europe and Asia Prior to PMTA Approval

Philip Morris International (PMI) has seen rapid expansion of its HNB product line, IQOS ILUMA, in the global market in just two years. According to PMI's Q2 2023 financial report released at the end of July, overseas business continues to thrive. PMI's RRPs business (primarily IQOS sales) generated $3.2 billion in revenue, accounting for 35.4% of total revenue. The total number of pods sold reached 31.4 billion, with a 16% increase in sales after excluding the impact of channel inventory changes, thanks to its strong performance in European and Japanese markets. Although IQOS ILUMA has not yet received PMTA authorization in the US, it is already thriving overseas.

Recently, PMI Bulgaria (Philip Morris Bulgaria) held a press conference at the Plovdiv Event Center to launch their latest product, IQOS ILUMA. Prior to this event, Bulgarian consumers had already placed approximately 10,000 pre-orders for this new product. IQOS ILUMA has previously been introduced in markets such as Japan, Switzerland, Spain, South Korea, and Italy, spanning both Europe and Asia.

In August 2021, IQOS ILUMA was launched in Japan, introducing two new models of the IQOS heat-not-burn device: "IQOS ILUMA" and "IQOS ILUMA PRIME." Additionally, it unveiled 11 flavors of dedicated pods called "TEREA." It was claimed that the IQOS ILUMA series, released in Japan, marked the first devices in the IQOS lineup without a heating blade. At the time, the price of IQOS ILUMA was 7,980 Japanese yen, equivalent to approximately 470 Chinese yuan, while IQOS ILUMA PRIME was priced at 12,980 Japanese yen, equivalent to around 764 Chinese yuan.

In November 2021, PMI launched the "IQOS ILUMA ONE" integrated device in Switzerland. At that time, the official IQOS website in Switzerland priced it at 69 Swiss francs, equivalent to approximately 470 yuan. The IQOS ILUMA ONE will be available in five different colors for users to choose from.

Following Japan and Switzerland, in March 2022, IQOS ILUMA was introduced in Spain. At that time, the dedicated podHEETS were the hottest selling item in Spain.

In October 2022, IQOS ILUMA was officially launched in South Korea. At the release event in Seoul, 2FIRSTS learned that ILUMA features a side-opening and closing design with five color options, while ILUMA PRIME has a semi-opening and closing design with four color options. The heated tobacco sticks are the same for both products, and they can be used for two sessions on a single charge. IQOS ILUMA was priced at 99,000 Korean Won, which is approximately 508 Chinese Yuan, while IQOS ILUMA PRIME was priced at 139,000 Korean Won, which is approximately 714 Chinese Yuan.

In December 2022, PMI also introduced IQOS ILUMA ONE in the Italian market, resulting in a 3.5 percentage point increase in the local HNB pod market share.

PMI announced in September 2023 that it will submit a Pre-Market Tobacco Application (PMTA) for its IQOS ILUMA product in the United States this month.

An analyst from Zheshang Securities stated that ILUMA is rapidly expanding with strong user engagement, and it is expected to enter six additional markets in Q2 of 2024 in the United States. As of the end of July this year, ILUMA has already established its presence in 23 markets, with plans to enter 50 markets by the end of the year. The company has been rapidly gaining market share in various regions. Since the launch of ILUMA products, the HNBpod market shares in Japan, Italy, South Korea, and Spain have increased by 5.5%, 3.5%, 1.0%, and 0.9% respectively. Currently, over 85% of IQOS users in Japan, Switzerland, and Spain have switched to ILUMA.

However, recently, PMI CEO Jacek Olczak stated that the company's target of having the majority of its revenue come from smoke-free products by 2025 may not be achievable due to the impact on growth in two major markets, Russia and Ukraine.