Because of the heavy tax on e-liquid, a country in Eastern Europe became popular at one time and became the mainstream. This is the status quo of Slovenia in Eastern Europe.
Slovenia, the most developed wine country, is one of the countries in Eastern Europe. It is connected to Italy in the west and is located at the crossroads of the main European trade routes. It is a very important regional country in trade routes. In a country with a population of more than 2 million, the per capita GDP is 200,000 yuan, which is higher than that of Beijing, and the per capita salary is also above 13,000 yuan.
According to a report from the overseas network Vaporvoice, when visiting the local electronic atomization market in Slovenia, an EU country, and distributors Vape On and VAPEX, it was found that disposable electronic atomization is a mainstream product in Slovenia.
Why?
The reason is that Slovenia charges 18 euro cents (about 1.3 yuan) per milliliter of e-liquid, and a small bottle of 25ml nicotine e-juice will charge an extra 4.5 euros (about 36 yuan); at the same time, zero-nicotine products are taxed at the same rate. In addition to value-added tax, the price of open electronic atomization has greatly increased, which makes disposable electronic atomization a more cost-effective product.
Some shop owners even said, “Our nicotine tax is the highest in Europe, so it is difficult to make money.” A shop owner in Maribor, the second largest city in the north, also said that currently in Slovenia, disposable electronic atomization is almost the only practical option .
Meanwhile, in Slovenia, regulations prohibit the sale of pre-mixed flavors. A 60ml bottle of its own brand of e-liquid is priced at 19 euros (about 150 yuan). However, e-liquid does not contain nicotine and is not flavored. Users only need to purchase nicotine and flavors to adjust their own flavors.
At the same time, in Slovenia, the business formats of “vaping + coffee shop” and “vaping + bar” continue to emerge.
This shows that the social attributes of vaping in this country are very strong, and it has become a business form linked to coffee and bars. And there are many stores, which started out as a bar and later added a vaping business. For example, a distributor, Vape and Puff Shop, said that they have 14 stores in this country. Among them, there is one in Zagreb, Rhodia, which is still named after the bar, called Belidim Bar. There are also some businesses that cross over and become one of the coolest vaping shops because it is both a coffee shop and a bar.
The local CBD cannot be sold openly, and the shopkeeper will only sell when the customer proposes to buy.
In Croatia, which is also an Eastern European country, its laws and regulations tend to be similar to those of Germany, which is relatively free and less restrictive. But if Germany decides to limit or regulate flavors, Croatia may follow suit.
It can be seen that Eastern Europe is moving towards a different market structure under the influence of different measures at one time. Its one-time development, but also some opportunities.
Where are the e-cigarette opportunities in Germany?
From the perspective of e-cigarette activities, from September to October, Europe has successively opened e-cigarette exhibition time. For example, the 2023 Dortmund Tobacco & Electronic Cigarette Exhibition in Germany on September 14 is about to start. It is known as one of the largest and has many large booths. The booths are currently sold out.
Germany can be said to be one of the largest markets in Europe, and a large number of Chinese companies have continued to flood into Germany this year to participate in the market. Such as ELF BAR, LOSTMARY, GEEKVAPE, KIWI, SKE, ELUX, VAPORESSO and other well-known electronic cigarette brands all participated. For example, at an e-cigarette exhibition in Stuttgart, Germany in May this year, more than 140 e-cigarette manufacturers participated enthusiastically, exclaiming that there is another wave of Chinese companies!
At present, Germany is also an important place for intensive cultivation of disposable brands. Like the leading brand ELF BAR, Germany has become its second largest market in the world.
According to the data, there are more e-cigarette activities in Germany. For example, from Frankfurt to Stuttgart, Dortmund and Hamburg have international e-cigarette exhibitions, which shows that in the local industrial system, e-cigarette exhibitions have become one of the important activities.
Overall, Germany is one of the largest e-cigarette markets in Europe, and the market size will continue to grow in 2023. Although Germany has relatively strict legislation and supervision on e-cigarettes, consumers have a high degree of acceptance of e-cigarettes, and the market has great potential.
At present, there are more than 2.4 million e-cigarette users in Germany, but there are 18.2 million smokers. There is still a lot of space and opportunities.
The German channel opportunity in September has come!
In order to open up German channels and help Chinese factory brands enter the German market, FREBAR is about to embark on a journey of overseas visits to Germany, and will provide Chinese companies with more real research information on first-line channels.
How do you think about the opportunity of the German channel in September?
Look at a few points:
1. This season is the peak season for consumption in the German market.
In the second half of the year, Germany is opening the way of summer, and the popular local music festivals or beer festivals have become one of the important promotion scenes for the popularity of e-cigarette consumption. In the field of culture, the music festival can also be said to be an important symbol of Germany. The frenetic vibe is blood-fueled and a proposition for consumption. In addition to enjoying music, tasting delicious beer and traditional German food, these festivals also have various consumption and social attributes, attracting millions to tens of millions of tourists every year. Various music festivals, film festivals and other activities where young people gather are also where e-cigarette users are.
(Music festivals in Germany are too shocking, consumption, culture, and social interaction are all in one crazy)
2. The channel gathers major e-cigarette activities, attracts major distributors, and finds the right opportunity to be recognized by more channel dealers.
This year, it was discovered that some German chain distributors are still continuing to open stores offline. For example, this Riccardo distributor has more than 60 e-cigarette stores in Germany and continues to open stores this year.
INTRADE, the largest e-cigarette trade wholesaler in Germany, is also cooperating with ELFBAR.
RELX International also cooperates with a large number of local channels in Germany, and has established cooperation with more than 2,000 retailers in one year. Channel forms include tobacconists, kiosks, gas stations, supermarkets and online e-cigarette stores.
3. Most retail system stores in Germany sell e-cigarettes.
For example, convenience stores, supermarkets, e-cigarette liquid stores, kiosks, hookah shops and tobacco shops all sell e-cigarettes.
4 a one-time opportunity.
Compared with other European countries, Germany’s one-time penetration rate is very fast. According to market data, more than 5 million disposable e-cigarettes are currently sold in Germany every month, and the most famous brand is China’s ELF bar. According to the data of the German Electronic Cigarette Trade Association (VdeH), the sales of electronic cigarettes in the Federal Republic will exceed 300 million euros in 2022, and they are now often sold in supermarkets and convenience stores at prices between 7 and 10 euros. This year, the sales of disposable e-cigarettes in Germany have increased by 40% compared with last year, and it is expected that the monthly sales will reach 8 million in the future.
At the same time, users mostly prefer high-end and simple design styles to e-cigarettes, and do not like fancy design forms. The main attraction of e-cigarettes in the local area is curiosity and rebellion, followed by the influence of social and taste reasons.
5. The demand for reloading is rising.
Because of some problems caused by one-off, including the impact of e-liquid tax, the demand for cartridge replacement is on the rise. The German market, in particular, may be the first to react.
The popularity of disposable products in Germany is declining this year, and the market is turning to refill products. The core reason is that Germany will introduce an e-cigarette tax increase policy in July 2022. From July 1, 2022, e-liquid will be subject to an additional tobacco tax of 0.16 euros per milliliter.
However, one thing to pay attention to is that Germany is a country with stricter e-cigarette regulations in the EU national system. It has strict restrictions on the composition and content of e-cigarettes, and needs to comply with relevant EU regulations. At the same time, the tax collection of e-cigarette oil has also been started, and it is increasing year by year. The tax label is very important (even if exhibitors are required to attach tax labels to all products or report to the customs). Germany also launched a ban on flavored HNB this year, but not e-cigarettes.
As the largest market in Europe after the United Kingdom, Germany has a population of more than 80 million (basically the most populous country in Europe), a highly developed national economy and consumption strength, and its demands and consumption trends for e-cigarettes, including disposable The crazy influx has provided opportunities for this market to open.
In Spain, an important European market, its Carrefour supermarket chain announced that it will put one-off products on the shelves.
According to Spanish media okdiario, Carrefour, a large supermarket chain, has started selling vaping products in some parts of Spain. This is the first supermarket chain to enter the Spanish vaping market.
(Retailization of channels in Spain?)
And there are many flavors. The flavors Carrefour sells in its stores include mango, banana, apple, forest fruit, mint, watermelon and more. The brand sold by Carrefour is Cool Vaps, about 9.95 euros (about 100 RMB).
They are all compliant one-time products, mainly 2ML, 600 ports. It can also be seen that in the European market, large KA channels attach great importance to compliance.
As a major market in Europe after the UK, Germany, and Italy, Spain has always received a lot of attention, and it is also a representative of the southern European market. Its one-time use will also be reversed from 2022, and the number of e-cigarette users will reach 2.4 million, accounting for 5% of the total population.
In terms of current measures, Spain mostly sells through tobacco shops. Including many Chinese companies are also expanding such channels, and began to cooperate with local tobacco distributors in Spain. Even the Spanish National Commission for Markets and Competition (CNMC) has stated that cigarette specialty stores have a monopoly on vaping sales.
At present, Spain is also expanding the market for electronic atomization in tobacco shops. That’s because the agency, chaired by Cani Fernández, has put forward a series of considerations for the Tobacco Market Act, which seeks to extend the monopoly of cigarette shops to the sale of vaping products, as well as other preliminary bills for related products. Including Spain’s licensing system to restrict the sale of electronic atomization only in special channels, and it is also proposed to ban and close all electronic atomizers in Spain, and only allow sales in tobacco shops.
In addition, the regulatory model of cigarettes should not be applied to electronic atomization. In their view, electronic atomization should have its own independent supervision to suit its characteristics.
The distribution channels for vaping in Spain have not been regulated or controlled so far. In fact, some Spanish pharmacies started selling disposables a few months ago, both in-store and online. Furthermore, vending machines, for example, have also joined the trend, and now supermarkets are also selling them.
From this point of view, the Spanish electronic atomization sales channels are also accelerating the opening up.
