Tobacco Asia

32 tobaccoasia Issue 6, 2023 November / December Rebellion Cigars United Kingdom Rebellion Cigars was founded in 2019 by UK entrepreneur couple, Mandi and Shaun Wilkinson. The brand stands out through its rather unusual (or "rebel- lious"?) color scheme: pink. "It's my favorite color, but even more importantly, when you look at other brands' schemes, it's a sea of browns and blacks," ex- plained Shaun Wilkinson. In our case the logo's pink, the cigar boxes are pink, the cigar bands are pink… you get the picture." The second aspect that prob- ably burns itself into customers' minds are the very creative (or again "rebel- lious"?) names given to the Wilkinson's handcrafted cigar lines. Starting out with the Rockstar, the portfolio was expanded to eventually also include Sweet Child O'Mine, Voodoo Child, and Ace of Spades. Then, earlier this year, Rebellion Cigars rolled out its country range for the US market, which presently com- prises the Redneck Woman (what else?), Five O'Clock Somewhere, and Ring of Fire. ,QWHU7DEDFZDV5HEHOOLRQ&LJDUV·ÀUVWLQWHUQDWLRQDOVKRZDQGZKHUHLW also launched its latest products, the Sweet Child O'Mine toro and gordo. "The exhibition was a smashing success for us right from the start, as we got more than a 100 inquiries," Wilkinson said. Website: rebellioncigars.com Level Nico-Pouches Sp. z.o.o. Poland Consumers often have difficulties glancing what strength the tin of nicotine pouches they purchase has. Once opened, the product may turn out to be either much too strong or way too weak. A Polish brand, aptly named Level, intends to do away with guesswork once and for all. "Our brand is really customer friendly, because each tin bears the relevant nicotine dosage in mil- ligrams per gram on its lid in large lettering so customers can immediately select what is right for them," Konstantin Kahalionak, c.e.o. of Level's cre- ator, Nico-Pouches Sp. z.o.o., told Tobacco Asia. Level comes in incremental strengths, starting with a mild 5mg/g all the way up to a tachycardia-inducing 50mg/g. The stacked dosages also allow users to switch between strengths easily after the motto: "I don't feel like having a nicotine bomb today; 15mg will do just fine." Kahalionak added that the prominent lid design makes Level stand out on shelves from a sea of other pouch products that require a magnifying glass to determine their respective nicotine strengths. Level is presently available in eight flavor variants (soon to be 10). Website: nico-pouches.eu Pointful Korea IKT – International Korea Tobacco South Korea South Korean company International Korea Tobacco (IKT) – not to be confused with the country's former monopoly Korea Tobacco & Ginseng (KT&G) – garnered headlines not long ago with its Pointful Korea cigarette EUDQGDVWKHRXWÀWKDGVHFXUHGLWVHOIDTXLWHLQWHUHVWLQJPDUNHWLQJFKDQQHO offshore sales on large cruise ships. The channel not only saves IKT from having to pay Korea's hefty tobacco taxes but also has generated phenomenal volumes as passenger stock up on the brand duty-free before disembarking. %XWZLWKLWVÀUVWDSSHDUDQFHDW,QWHU7DEDFLWLVFOHDUWKDW,.7LVDOVRVHWWR push into regular markets. "At the show, we got a serious inquiry from a Peruvian distributor, who wants to market Pointful Korea in Latin America," disclosed IKT's director, Daeyoung Jung. The company also plans to place its products available at more airport duty-free shops outside South Korea. Pointful Korea is presently available in kingsize, light, slim, super slim, as well DVÁDYRUFDSVXOHYDULDQWV´%XWLQRUGHUWRFDWHUWRPRUHPDUNHWSUHIHUHQFHV ZHDUHLQWKHSURFHVVRIDGGLQJDVWURQJÁDYRUHGOLQHWRWKHSRUWIROLRWKDWLV reminiscent of Marlboro Red," Daeyoung said. Website: ikt-tobacco.com The correct nicotine dose for anybody: Level nicotine pouches Pointful Korea is a private enterprise label not DIзOLDWHGZLWK.7 * Credit: IKT A box of Rebellion Cigars' "Voodoo Child" label.

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