PUFFMI's Strategy and Trends in Russia's E-Cigarette Market

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At 12:00 Moscow time (17:00 Beijing time), the e-cigarette exhibition in Moscow, Russia's Crocus Expo exhibition center, opened. The event attracted numerous industry professionals, vendors, and consumers.

At the exhibition, 2FIRSTS conducted an exclusive interview with Songyu Yin, the regional sales representative of e-cigarette brand PUFFMI in Russia. He shared his insights on the Russian market and the brand strategy on behalf of the renowned e-cigarette brand PUFFMI.

The number of people expressing their opinions loudly is a trend.

At the exhibition, PUFFMI showcased their disposable e-cigarette products with a high mouth count, including options with 9,000 and 7,000 puffs.

Yin Songyu stated that these products have received very positive feedback. According to him, these products with oversized mouthpieces will hit the market in early July. Currently, PUFFMI has introduced disposable products with 4000 and 5000 mouthpieces in the Russian market, but still lacks products with even larger mouthpieces.

Yin Songyu pointed out that there is a growing demand among Russian consumers for large-sized disposable e-cigarette products. This trend seems to differ greatly from the mainstream e-cigarette consumer markets in Europe and the United States, where the focus is not on high numbers but on other factors.

The exhibit items showcased at the PUFFMI booth | Photo source: 2FIRSTS

Yin Songyu analyzed that first of all, in products with a small price gap, this type of product has a higher cost-effectiveness.

Furthermore, many consumers do not like to frequent physical stores for their purchases. They prefer to make a one-time purchase of a high-capacity e-cigarette.

This will be a trend in Russia.

Large numbers are still a trend.

Chasing the pod system.

In Russia, where disposable products are already the norm, major e-cigarette manufacturers are now focusing on developing pod systems. This shift is being driven by both economic and regulatory factors.

Yin Songyu candidly acknowledged that most mainstream Russian brands are pushing for the development of refillable products, as the tobacco stick itself is not subject to taxation. Compared to the e-liquid excise tax of 20 rubles per milliliter for disposable products, refillable products can achieve lower costs in the future. Additionally, given the increasingly stringent regulatory trend, this means that refillable products have greater potential in terms of market growth.

Tourists walk past the promotional image at the PUFFMI booth | Image source: 2FIRSTS

About 90% of the products on the market are considered to be in a gray zone.

He believes that a complete ban on flavored e-cigarettes is unlikely based on the series of regulations regarding e-cigarette passed by the National Duma. As for the list of additives and substances, he thinks that only the use of some harmful substances may be banned.

The new brand showcased at the PUFFMI booth | Image source: 2FIRSTS

The recent new policies have led to an increase in demand for Bai Guan products in the Russian market, and legalization of the market would be advantageous for the PUFFMI brand. Yin Songyu stated that the brand is anticipating the legalization of the market, as most of the current market is made up of illegal products.

Ninety percent of the products are mediocre.

He highlighted that the ratio between white tariffs and grey tariffs would be adjusted based on market demand.

It is worth mentioning that PUFFMI brand does not engage in online sales in the Russian market, but instead relies on offline sales channels.

Finally, Yin Songyu expressed confidence in PUFFMI's potential in the Russian market and has high hopes for the future development of the PUFFMI brand in Russia.