The most obvious change in the market has been the explosion of electronic cigarettes, but in the world of non-electric cigarettes, hand rolling tobacco (HRT) has once again been the success story of the year.
As in previous years, the government attempted to persuade shoppers to quit by whacking even more tax on tobacco in the March Budget. Some might say it’s worked: sales of ready-rolled cigs have fallen 5.9% by volume [Nielsen 52 w/e 12 October]. But while the hike convinced some to quit, it seems more have simply traded down - with HRT volumes up 3.8% in the same period.
Read The Grocer’s full Top Products Survey.
According to JTI’s UK head of communications, Jeremy Blackburn, around one in three adult smokers in the UK are now rolling their own cigarettes - a trend that has had a profound impact on the major cigarette brands.
Premium brands such as Marlboro, B&H Gold and Silk Cut have been losing volume for a number of years. Now, even brands that were once seen as cheaper alternatives, such as Lambert & Butler, are losing out to rolling tobacco and value cigarette brands.
Lambert & Butler sales fell 7.1% to £1.36bn, which equates to the greatest absolute value loss - £104.2m - of any category in the past year volumes are down 13.9%. But Imperial Tobacco isn’t giving up on the brand just yet. “We have and plan to continue to invest in this iconic brand, which has taken pride of place on retailers’ tobacco units since 1979,” says UK communications manager Gayatri Barua-Howe.
At the top of the table, the biggest-selling cigarette brand, Mayfair, has suffered like Lambert & Butler. Its value increase of just 0.2% reflects an 8.1% volume decline. It is not far from being eclipsed by value-priced stable-mate Sterling, up 9.6% in value terms. “Sterling has an extensive range of King Size and Superkings variants, offering choice to existing value smokers, and is in growth in all UK regions,” explains Blackburn.
JTI is also behind the big winner in the HRT sector this year - Amber Leaf. The number one HRT brand has grown sales by 17%. The launch in 2012 of Amber Leaf Blonde, a cigarette-like blend designed to appeal to smokers trading down from tailormades, has been key, according to Blackburn.
Read The Grocer’s full Top Products Survey.
Top launch: Njoy electronic cigarettes
“Cigarettes are analogue to our digital,” said Bo Ekberg, Njoy’s senior VP international, as America’s leading e-cigarette launched in the UK. This year, the number of UK e-cig ‘smokers’ hit 1.5 million, as the market shifted from online to the high street. Njoy has been at the forefront, reproducing the cigarette experience from the soft ‘filter’ to the classic packaging. Having originally launched in London independents, it has now secured a nationwide listing with Sainsbury’s.
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