Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/1500748
50 tobaccoasia Issue 3, 2023 May / June by Leona Zhu; Edited by Rui Tian, 2FIRSTS The flavor of e-cigarettes has become a direct driving force for consumers when selecting prod- ucts. As a channel for interacting with consumers, the flavor of a product is a crucial "weapon" for ensuring that a brand can stand out in the industry. Flavor innovation is also an important direction during brands' research and development of new products. Therefore, how to innovate on the ba- sis of classic flavors, and how to stand out in the homogenized market has become a problem that major e-cigarette brands and e-liquid manufactur- ers tirelessly explore. In this regard, 2FIRSTS interviewed several Shenzhen e-liquid manufacturers and e-cigarette brand merchants to understand the current situa- tion and development trends of e-cigarette flavors. Single flavor development has peaked, fusion flavors are the trend Currently, there are over a thousand e-cigarette flavors on the market. If we include those devel- oped but not yet launched, the number of e-ciga- rette flavors could exceed tens of thousands. This seems to be a consensus among e-liquid produc- ers. These thousands of individual e-liquid flavors can be classified into several major types, such as single fruit flavor, composite fruit flavor, beverage flavor, pastry flavor, floral flavor, and so on. Different regions have different preferences for e-cigarette flavors. For example, the European and American markets prefer sweeter, more re- freshing flavors. Russia prefers cooler and stron- ger throat-hit flavors, and Southeast Asia prefers heavier and more intense flavors. The flavor preferences of these mainstream markets can be measured in parallel as different levels of "coolness + fruitiness + sweetness". Among them, the most widely used flavors are berry flavors such as blueberry, cranberry, grape, etc. The reason for this is that berry fruits are rela- tively sweet and already have a wide market accep- tance in other consumer food products. They have unquestionably become the most popular flavors on the market. The Fragmented Future for Flavors E-cigarette brands say the development of single flavors has peaked. The future is to focus on technology and raw materials to create the most marketable blends. Credit: 2FIRSTS