The wholesale of nicotine pouches stuttered in the early stages, with much of the nicotine pouch market dominated by Zyn. As Zyn ran large scale marketing campaigns, on the ground it made it difficult for regular resellers to make any money. The margins were handled by Philip Morris (PMI) and therefore monopolised the entire market demand, meaning one way financial traffic. The nicotine market, in general, has always been in a choke hold by the entity known as Big Tobacco - the group of the largest international nicotine companies.
The nicotine pouch market in the US is highly concentrated with brands like Zyn, VELO, and Rogue obtaining the bulk of sales. Considering the market grew 300% between 2021 - 2024, brands have attacked the monopoly with targeted North American marketing. Across the pond in the UK, and Europe, Zyn and VELO, two of the biggest US brands are seen as entry level pouches. Though the demand for these two brands is high, the acquisition point for these brands are at ground level on first time users. Alternative brands, typically out of Eastern Europe, dominate sales, especially in the UK. As such, demand for variety increases month on month, with more importation of European nicotine pouches travelling to North America.
Interestingly, the Big Tobacco’s primary brands like VELO and Zyn have been torn in their own products. The North American versions, which dominate sales, have teetered off in repeat sales due to the EU versions easily being imported. Perhaps the biggest achilles heel for the brands is the differentiation of their own products segmented to market. Flavors available in the EU are not domestically available in North America, and the same in strengths. As such, fans of these brands seek to import, which can incur both fees and a waiting time. Therein lies significant opportunity for wholesalers importing nicotine pouches in bulk for resale in domestic markets.