On May 12th, The Guru reported that the KT&G Group, a Korean ginseng and tobacco company, is accelerating its expansion into the Southern European market through a partnership with PMI International.
In January 2023, KT&G and PMI signed a 15-year supply contract for overseas sales. The contract will be in effect until January 29, 2038.
According to sources within the industry, KT&G has started selling its heated tobacco product, lil SOLID Ez, in Bosnia and Herzegovina after entering the Serbian market.
Korea Tobacco & Ginseng Corporation (KT&G) will be providing heat-not-burn tobacco products to Philip Morris International (PMI) for global distribution outside of Korea. The contract covers various products like Lil Solid, Lil Hybrid, Lil Able, and exclusive smoking devices such as Fit, Mix, and Aim. More products are expected to be released in the future.
After partnering with PMI in 2020, KT&G has accelerated its global expansion efforts. Its products now reach 31 countries worldwide, including Serbia, Lebanon, and Portugal.
On May 11th, KT&G released their first quarter performance report which showed a 64.3% year-on-year increase in the international sales volume of their specialized heated tobacco products. KT&G attributed this growth to the continuously improving market penetration rates in the countries they entered.
KT&G CEO Bae Hok-rim stated:
Our strategic alliance with PMI will further enhance the global competitiveness of KT&G products and lay the foundation for stable growth of overseas business.
Bai Furen stated that he will strive to lead the new tobacco market and become a top player in the industry as soon as possible.
Reference:
KT&G and Philip Morris have joined forces to accelerate their efforts to expand into Southern Europe, with a focus on the "real" marketplace.
This document has been generated through artificial intelligence translation and is provided solely for the purposes of industry discourse and learning. Please note that the intellectual property rights of the content belong to the original media source or author. Owing to certain limitations in the translation process, there may be discrepancies between the translated text and the original content. We recommend referring to the original source for complete accuracy. In case of any inaccuracies, we invite you to reach out to us with corrections. If you believe any content has infringed upon your rights, please contact us immediately for its removal.
