For cigarette makers, the countdown has begun. They only have a few months left to promote their electronic cigarette and recruit new followers. After May 20, a European directive on tobacco products strengthening manufacturing standards and restricting communication will apply to all manufacturers. It must be transposed as part of an ordinance in the coming weeks, in particular article 20 relating to electronic cigarettes. This is what the " modernizing our health system Of January 26, which also tightened the rules governing advertising and the use of e-cigarettes.
Large groups hope to capture part of the market that has so far escaped them. The electronic cigarette has been adopted by 3 million people in France (6% of 15-75 year olds), half of whom vape daily, according to the latest figures from the Health barometer of the National Institute for Prevention and Health Education .
A fragmented market
In 2015, the three main tobacco companies launched their electronic cigarette model in France, using their usual distribution channel, namely tobacco dealers (more than 26 tobacconists in France). Imperial Tobacco, through Fontem Ventures, launched JAI in February 000, which it plans to replace with the recently acquired international brand Blu, which has a stronger presence in the US and UK market. Japan Tobacco International released Logic Pro at the end of November after acquiring the American company Logic and its e-cigarette in early 2015. Finally, British American Tobacco (BAT) marketed Vype in late November, after launching its first model in 2013 in the UK, where it claims 7% of late 2015 market share. All with a lot of communication: 1 million euros was invested in BAT to promote the brand in France on the Internet and by digital signage between December 19 and January 24.
The manufacturers' promise: an electronic cigarette called cigalike that is more secure because it cannot be filled, like most items on the market, with any liquid. Refills are used like ink cartridges for fountain pens, with or without nicotine, pre-filled, disposable, easy to install and more hygienic. The downside for consumers: having to use only refill cartridges from the same brand, like the way the Nespresso brand was launched, to capture users.
Professionals hope to offset the anticipated decline in cigarette sales with the introduction of the neutral package
Today, the electronic cigarette market is fragmented. Around a Chinese technology designed by manufacturers of consumer electronics, distributed around the world by importers and start-ups, the market has structured itself in a few years into a vast ecosystem on which there is very little data. . " It is very difficult to estimate the size of the market, as there is no Nielsen [distributor] panel, or IRI, as it may exist in other sectors.explains Stéphane Munnier, head of the Vype project at BAT. And there is very little quantified data given the multiplicity of sources and distribution channels. So everyone makes their own estimate, but no player reaches 10% of the market. »
There are thus several categories of actors: “ Device specialists, who are more like importers or companies that have their brand produced; e-liquid experts where there are many start-ups; companies that try to be generalists by doing both; networks of resellers, such as Clopinette, Yes store, J Well, Vapostore…; and Internet players who resell under multi-brands to shops or individualss ”, continues this former Danone and Monster Energy, who launched the energy drink Monster in France. A study by Xerfi carried out in 2015 estimated the market at 395 million euros in 2014, three times more than in 2012.
"A dynamic in all countries"
While Xerfi counted on 355 million euros in 2015, the Interprofessional Federation of the vape (Fivape) thinks instead that the market will continue to grow despite a decline in the number of specialty shops, passed from 2 500 in 2014 to 2 000 end 2015. The 
former smokers prefer specialized brands and do not necessarily want to go back to the tobacconist. For Brice Lepoutre, president of the independent association of electronic cigarette users, " the public health law and the European directive risk having perverse effects, since the only approved e-cigarette risks being that produced by the tobacco industry, in the long term, while the electronic cigarettes which best meet the user expectations are of a different kind ».
It is difficult to assess the reception of new entrants to consumers, accustomed to their purchasing circuit, especially as tobacco companies are fairly secretive about their sales. At most, we can describe the reception of tobacconists as excellent at BAT: " After a month and a half, more than 1 tobacconists have our products, and we want to quickly grow up to 000, mainly urban outlets which are already resellers of the electronic cigarette category. "Says Mr. Munnier.
In this way, the tobacco industry also hopes to offset the expected decline in cigarette sales with the introduction of the neutral package. " Today, it is a consumer product that tobacconists can work with, such as confectionery or drinks. “, Adds Mr. Munnier without qualms.
And at BAT, we do not intend to stop there: a department for new generation products was created three years ago, where nearly 200 people work in research and development, marketing and sales, and recent launches. weeks in several countries after the United Kingdom (Italy, France, Poland, Germany).
« There is a dynamic in all countries but it is variable. We chose these five European countries to develop ourselves first, because we have visibility on the tobacco market and we have looked at the maturity of the electronic cigarette market, explains Mr. Munnier. We will go where there is a consumer movement towards electronic cigarettes. In Belgium or Switzerland, they do not allow e-liquids with nicotine, so this reduces the importance of this market. In the UK, her nicotine inhaler, called Voke, has been approved by health authorities to be prescribed and taken care of.
Five years after its arrival on the French market, the electronic cigarette continues to be debated. It is an alternative to tobacco for some, which has potentially toxic effects for others. In any case, the market remains dominated by rechargeable products (97% by volume), which are preferred by users.
Source : Lemonde.fr
