Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/658237
tobaccoasia 39 Targeting the Wrong Consumers Presently, it is estimated that there are about 300,000 to 500,000 conventional e-cigarette users. The electronic liquids they use normally contain less nicotine. Users of conventional e-cigs often make use of a high-power box smoking set to gen- erate a large amount of smoke. When using such devices, their primary motivation is to "look cool" rather than anything else. There have been serious mistakes in targeting the right group of consumers in international markets of e-cigarettes, and such mistakes have been repeated in China. Truth be told, enthusiasts of e-cigarettes are not the same as ordinary consumers. It is regretta- ble to see that many manufacturers have not been able to understand this and identify the right group of consumers. In the US and Europe, the majority of electronic cigarette expos have completely devi- ated from the right track, presenting tattoo shops, hip-hop artists and even "sensual booths" taking the e-cigarette market into an "alternative culture" direction. Real tobacco substitutes should not be tied to fringe cultures as the majority of consumers are part of the mainstream general public. At the peak of popularity of large e-cigarette products in 2015, US manufacturer Pax Lab pre- sented a small-sized JUUL e-cigarette product, be- coming an instant sensation in the industry. The consumers of JUUL openly gravitated towards the culture of the mainstream. Users of JUUL were mainly traditional consumers, including white col- lar workers and professionals from all walks of life, who are fundamentally different from con- sumers of large types of e-cigarettes. In presenting their e-cigarette products to the marketplace, large tobacco companies in the US have also advanced the concept of small-sized products, not geared towards any fringe cultures or niches societies. The e-cigarette culture has gradually made its debut in China as well. Tying these products to non-mainstream cultures would be a grave error, which may even drag the entire electronic cigarette industry into decline over the long term. Since the beginning of 2015, there has been no obvious in- crease in the number of consumers of e-cigarettes, and, in its weekly reports, Wells Fargo has gradu- ally reduced the number of times it mentions elec- tronic cigarettes. In December 2015, it pointed out that many consumers in the US, faced with the chaotic world of e-cigarettes, have resumed their smoking of real cigarettes. In reality, only by appropriately arousing the enthusiasm of mainstream Chinese consumers to use tobacco substitutes instead of cigarettes can THE COMPLETE SERVICE ESSENTIAL SOLUTIONS, DELIVERED DISCOVER MORE AT WWW.ESSENTRA-ENDTOEND.COM E-CIGARETTE MANUFACTURING END-TO-END MANUFACTURING AND INNOVATION Essentra offers e-cigarette manufacturing, design and testing, as well as finished, customised packaging to suit individual customer requirements. ©2016 Essentra 64110_e-Cig_Ad_TobaccoAsia_HP_260216_AH_Flightchecked.indd 1 26/02/2016 13:13