Hola Madrid: Pod Vapes is Trending

Ellesmere Zhu and Jason Tian, Madrid - In a 3km radius of downtown Madrid, tobacco shops selling e-cigarettes significantly outnumber dedicated vape shops. "There were like 7 or 8 vape shops near here in 2019, but now, only 3 of us survived", recalled a staff of Skyvap vape shop. A staff from HD shisha shop agreed with his counterpart from Skyvape that all dedicated shops have been experiencing trends of "up and down" and never has one brand been dominating all the time as open systems fell from the pedestal in 2021.

Tobacco shops in Madrid started selling e-cigarettes in 2021, a tobacco shop staff said. Some shops have special promotions for IQOS of PMI or Blu of Imperial Brands. 

In tobacco shops, disposable and pod-system e-cigarettes are the crowd favorites, with open-system products noticeably absent from the shelves. Popular disposable brands include Brooklyn, Olé, Lost Mary, ELFBAR, Vuse Go and WAKA. Notably, ELFBAR and WAKA primarily sell zero-nicotine products, while others offer 2% nicotine products. Produced by Adivape and Budvape of Shenzhen, China, respectively, Brooklyn and Olé are priced between €10-€13 for 600-puff devices. The staff from Skyvap told 2FIRSTS that those who consume disposables are "mainly tourists". 

The tobacco shops offerings for pod systems are dominated by just two brands: Vuse and Relx, with Relx's 3-cartridge kit priced between €7-€8. An exception was noted at the Vapemoniadas vape shop, where owner Lapoma sells the same kit for €4 as part of a special offer.

The HQD dedicated shop in central Madrid stands out with most of its 40-square-meter storefront showcasing HQD, Salt, and Maskking brand products, with the HQD Super Pro disposable e-cigarette in Strawberry Watermelon, Mixed Berries, and Black Ice being the most sought after.

Open system products, more frequently used by seasoned e-cigarette users, are less common due to their high maintenance. However, Lapoma noted a shift in trend as many former open system users are switching to pod vapes for their superior portability and lower entry-level barriers. Miette, a regular customer at Vapemoniadas, believes most people who start with disposable e-cigarettes would eventually transition to pod systems due to the high cost vs low puffs when compared to pods and open systems.

Both HD shisha shop and HQD vape shop have disposable recycle bins. There are no special promotions to encourage consumers to recycle, such as the scheme that is trending in the UK where customers can enjoy discount or free vapes for recycling their used vapes. The shop owners recycle on their own accord and take it to recycling centers when they have time. HD shisha shop staff shared they have accumulated as many as "7 bins of disposable devices". 

While traditional smokers still vastly outnumber e-cigarette users in Madrid, this snapshot of the city's e-cigarette market hopes to offer insights for the industry and its potential growth.