China Tobacco Enters the Bureau
The patent summary shows that the utility model discloses an intelligent heat-not-burn electronic cigarette. The heating temperature of the intelligent heat-not-burn electronic cigarette of the utility model is adjustable. ; At the same time, it can collect heat-not-burn e-cigarette and user smoking information and display it on the user terminal to help users understand their own smoking status.
According to Ou Junbiao, president of the Electronic Cigarette Industry Association, the entry of a wholly-owned subsidiary of China National Tobacco Corporation into the e-cigarette market is a general trend.
“The reasons why China National Tobacco Corporation entered the e-cigarette industry are mainly divided into three points. One is the need to integrate with international standards. The international tobacco giant Philip Morris launched the heat-not-burn product IQOS in 2014, which has been widely used in Japan and other countries. The market has achieved good sales; the second is the need to reduce coke and harm. The heat-not-burn product releases active ingredients during the carbonization process, which greatly reduces the amount of tar released. Coke reduction means harm reduction, which is beyond the reach of traditional cigarettes. The third is the need for technical reserves and product reserves. China Tobacco has a complete industrial system, and research on new tobacco has never stopped for a moment. In related materials, formulas, processes, equipment, intellectual property rights, industrial chains, and market research, It has deep technical reserves and numerous product reserves in various fields," said an industry insider in the e-cigarette industry.
Currently, e-cigarette products on the market are mainly divided into two categories according to the principle of smoking. One is heat-not-burn e-cigarettes. The main principle is low-temperature heating. It releases smoke by heating new tobacco. The main features It is a new type of tobacco that needs to be inserted into the cigarette rod, similar to a cigarette, and the representative product is IQOS; the other is the e-liquid atomization type electronic cigarette, which atomizes the e-liquid through electric heating to generate smoke, such as RELX, etc.
Accelerate the survival of the fittest
iiMedia Consulting analysts believe that from the short-term prosperity in 2019 to the market winter in early 2020, the e-cigarette market will usher in a wave of eliminations, and small brands with insufficient competition will After being eliminated, some leading companies in the e-cigarette industry are trying to seek growth in overseas markets.
Data show that in 2019, the size of my country’s e-cigarette market reached 7.86 billion yuan, and it is expected to exceed 9 billion yuan in 2021. In November 2019, relevant national departments began to tighten the control of e-cigarettes. On November 1, 2019, the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration and the State Administration for Market Regulation issued the "Notice on Further Protecting Minors from E-cigarettes", urging e-commerce platforms to close e-cigarette stores in a timely manner and remove e-cigarette products in a timely manner. Removed from shelves. Subsequently, eight national departments jointly issued the "Notice on Further Strengthening Tobacco Control among Youth", warning various market entities not to sell e-cigarettes to minors, especially selling e-cigarettes to minors through the Internet. In addition, the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration and the State Administration for Market Regulation also issued a notice stating that from July 10 to September 10, 2020, a comprehensive cleanup of Internet e-cigarette information, e-cigarette physical stores and e-cigarette vending machines and other new types of e-cigarettes will be carried out. Complete channel inspection.
With the strengthening of online sales supervision, some e-cigarette companies have begun to expand overseas. On December 5, 2019, Doo, a domestic e-cigarette brand, recently reached an exclusive strategic cooperation agreement with Indigo, an e-cigarette channel operator under the American Kali Group. The two parties will establish a joint venture in the United States and jointly participate in strategic investment and development in the U.S. market.
In July 2020, Smore, the “first e-cigarette stock”, officially listed on the Hong Kong stock market. According to the prospectus previously released by Smore, the maximum amount raised in this listing will reach 7.1 billion Hong Kong dollars, which is approximately 6.5 billion yuan. Data shows that from 2016 to 2019, Smore's revenue from direct and indirect sales of products to the United States accounted for 55.4%, 49.9%, 52.4% and 46.5%. There is also news that 80% of Smore's products are sold to Europe, the United States and Japan.
According to industry insiders, the variability of e-cigarette technology determines the diversity of e-cigarette products and the uncertainty of future products. This is not only a dilemma for supervision and regulation, but also an opportunity for continuous innovation and experimentation. At the same time, as some e-cigarette companies receive capital support, competition in the e-cigarette industry will become more intense in the future.
The market is in urgent need of regulation
"China Tobacco Corporation's entry into the e-cigarette industry is expected to accelerate the development of the e-cigarette industry in the direction of standardization and standardization." Economist Song Qinghui said.
According to data from Tianyancha Professional Edition, there are currently 35,000 companies in my country whose names or business scopes include "e-cigarettes, electronic atomizers", and the company status is active, existing, or moved in , e-cigarette related companies that have moved out. In terms of enterprise types, 52% of the relevant enterprises are limited liability companies, and 46% of the relevant enterprises are individual industrial and commercial households. In terms of registered capital, nearly 80% of e-cigarette related companies have registered capital of less than 2 million yuan.
As the number of entrants increases, industry chaos also emerges one after another. While the state is cracking down on online sales of e-cigarettes, some companies are still taking desperate risks. In addition, at the 2019 "3·15" party, CCTV reported that e-cigarettes can also release harmful substances, endangering the health of smokers and passive smokers. The nicotine content labels of some e-cigarette liquids are not standardized, and some nicotine content exceeds the standard. Cigarette liquid contains formaldehyde, propylene glycol and glycerin.
An e-cigarette industry practitioner who did not want to be named said: "With Shenzhen as the processing base, there are thousands of e-cigarette-related business entities around the world, and behind this is huge global demand. Now There are many e-cigarette brands on the market. In the absence of relevant standards in China, as the market competition becomes more intense, small companies with insufficient production design and brand capabilities will be eliminated."
"China E-cigarettes" The Industry Value Insight Report 2020 pointed out that the emergence of e-cigarette products has promoted the rapid growth of enterprises related to the industry chain, and at the same time promoted the expansion of the tobacco industry chain, which has a promoting effect on the tobacco industry to create a good industry ecology; and together with it, it provides society with Harm-reducing, safe e-cigarette products. E-cigarette companies start from R&D, design, production, sales and other processes to reduce carbon dioxide and other gas emissions and energy consumption, which is of positive significance for China to achieve its carbon neutrality goal and achieve ecologically sustainable development.