At 15:00 on December 18, China Tobacco Sichuan held a premiere to release its new heat-not-burn product, Kung Fu 3.0, in Zhu Bingren Bronze Intangible Cultural Heritage Life Museum, Kuanzhai Alley, Chengdu, with the theme of "the three begets all things · creativity builds the future".
2FIRSTS was invited to the event to witness the release of Kung Fu 3.0. Our editor interviewed the creators' team (including Dr. Han Donglin, Head of the Heaters Department, Xie Li, Product Designer, and Guo Linqing, Aroma-producing Materials Researcher of the Product R&D Department), as summarized below.
2FIRSTS: What are the highlights of Kung Fu 3.0 compared with the previous products?
Dr. Han Donglin: The biggest highlight is the innovative heating mode. Kung Fu 3.0 features airflow heating. Like infrared heating and microwave heating, it is a non-contact heating mode. It helps to heat tobacco in a more uniform and thorough way to produce aroma and active ingredients efficiently. Since it is non-contact, there is no coke residue after use, so there is no need to clean the smoking device, which is more convenient.
While inheriting the minimalist look of the previous product (Kung Fu 2.0), Kung Fu 3.0 features brand-new industrial design and heat-insulation materials. With different color options for those who like the business style and those who prefer more colors, the product can attract consumers with different portraits. Kung Fu 3.0 is equipped with Bluetooth to realize man-machine interaction. It is also equipped with an intelligent chip to implement accurate temperature control by learning and remembering the ambient temperature. With the optimized battery power supply system, the product features a small size and large energy, as well as greater endurance under higher energy consumption, where a full charge can support the use of 22 cartridges.
2FIRSTS: What are the target markets of Kung Fu 3.0?
Dr. Han Donglin: Our target markets are mainly Southeast Asia, Russia, and Europe. The previous generations of the Kung Fu series have achieved excellent results in Spain and Malaysia, with high praise from our users.
2FIRSTS: Could you reveal the shipment data?
Dr. Han Donglin: Since it is not the end of the year yet, the data available is being updated. You may refer to the data released by China Tobacco International (HK) Company Limited at the end of the month, which will include the shipment data of all China Tobacco companies.
2FIRSTS: What are the differences between Spain and Malaysia in terms of the flavor preferred?
Dr. Han Donglin: In both Spain and Malaysia, there are established brands run by multinational tobacco giants that entered the markets earlier, so both of them mainly seek the flavors offered by these tobacco giants. Therefore, China Tobacco Sichuan is still in the trial stage for flavor research and development. With the increase in our market share, we will introduce flavors unique to the Kuanzhai brand with Chinese characteristics.
2FIRSTS: As you are in the trial stage, what is your overseas layout strategy in the future?
Dr. Han Donglin: In general, we will follow our overseas competitors first and then surpass them. Meantime, we will focus on finding and solving users' pain points, so as to continuously attract users.
2FIRSTS: What is the pricing of the Kung Fu series in overseas markets? How is the price compared with other competing products?
Dr. Han Donglin: We target mid-to-high-end users, so we do not fight a price war. Kung Fu products do not attract consumers by price, but by the continuously enhanced brand strength.
2FIRSTS: What are your latest breakthroughs or developments in tobacco research and development?
Guo Linqing: We have developed a new generation of disorderly structured heated cigarettes, which feature the flavor of traditional tobacco and are more likely to be favored by smokers. Together with orderly heated cigarettes, disorderly heated cigarettes will add to our tobacco portfolio and bring more choices to consumers.
2FIRSTS: Could you briefly introduce the "orderly" and "disorderly" heated cigarettes?
Guo Linqing: "Orderly" and "disorderly" refer to the arrangement of tobacco shreds in the smoke section of a heated cigarette.
For orderly heated cigarettes, tobacco shreds are orderly arranged along the axial direction of the cigarette, which is quite different from traditional cigarettes. For disorderly heated cigarettes, however, tobacco shreds are arranged disorderly, which is more like traditional cigarettes.
2FIRSTS: Are there any other new tobacco products under development in the New Tobacco Products Center of China Tobacco Sichuan?
Dr. Han Donglin: While focusing on heated cigarettes, we also pay attention to the development of new vapor technology.
The creators' team of the Kung Fu series also introduced other peripheral products, including the ashtray that can absorb the smell of cigarettes and give off a nice smell and herbal vapor products.
The full interview will be released tomorrow in a video. Please stay tuned.
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