In 2019, e-cigarettes are in full swing in the venture capital circle, and more and more enterprises are entering the e-cigarettes market.
From September 26 to 28, Thinkr brand Thinkr launched its first offline brand conference in Wuxinbao, Moganshan, Zhejiang Province, with the theme of “switch for love” to introduce the research and development background, product features and brand stories of products to the public.
At the meeting, Yang Dongyun, the founder of the brand, said that the reason why “switch for love” was emphasized was that every smoker on the road of quitting smoking wanted to break through himself, get rid of the dependence on tobacco, regain a happy family and truly achieve “switch for love”. And Thinkr’s original intention is to adhere to “design for smokers” and really strive to “serve smokers sincerely, help quit smoking and reduce harm, and keep children away from second-hand smoke”.
Market Layout
The reporter noted that the brand launch of Thinkr was named “global launch”. In response, Yang Shanyu, chief talent officer and special assistant to the president of Thinkr, said in an interview with the media, “E-cigarettes are a global trend, not only that we want to go to the international market, but also that international brands are expanding into the Chinese market, which is an inevitable interaction process. We must have a forward-looking or positive mindset and way of doing a good job of layout and steady progress from the beginning. At the same time, the Thinkr brand is building a strong international team. The products of our acquired suppliers have been exported to the United States and cooperated with leading brands in the United States. ”
In terms of channels, Thinkr and Yunji formally signed a strategic cooperation agreement at the meeting. “Thinkr’s development is to focus on the domestic and global. At home, we are pushing forward from the horizontal and vertical systems. Horizontally, we promote online internet marketing and offline physical channels. Vertically, we will take the first and second tier cities as the main line to radiate downward. We will adopt a positive and stable market policy and start one after another when conditions are ripe. This is the first time to start cooperation with cloud channel, mainly because it is a relatively closed market and relatively effective to avoid minors. ” Yang Shanyu said.
In addition, Yang also revealed that the company plans to complete the market layout as soon as possible, and complete the product upgrading in 3-5 years, aiming to compete with international companies such as Philip Morris in the world.
In fact, compared with foreign markets, the penetration rate of domestic e-cigarette market is very low. According to the public data, the global e-cigarette market in 2018 is 18 billion US dollars, with a compound growth rate of 34% in 2015-2018. The United States is the largest e-cigarette consumer country, accounting for 47% of the market share; European countries account for about 29%; while China’s e-cigarette market share is only 3.22%.
It can be seen that before the introduction of relevant laws and regulations on the supervision of electronic cigarettes, consumers are more likely to keep a wait-and-see attitude. In addition, the polarization of strong capital flow and low public praise has also made the public confused and questioned the electronic cigarette industry.
To this end, Yang said, it is not a bad thing for consumers to have concerns, which means that wandering consumers are not totally negative about electronic cigarette products. The traditional tobacco market has a long history, and it needs a process of comparison and selection to be accepted by the market as a new thing. Thinker does not want to acquire customers through the education market, but wants to serve the market and accumulate brand trust through distinctive product experience.
“E-cigarettes are partly substitutable. According to the report issued by the Ministry of public health, e-cigarettes are 95% healthier than traditional cigarettes; a survey conducted by YouGov, a British public opinion research company, in collaboration with the anti smoking group Ash (smoking and health action) and King’s Arcademy, shows that the number of smokers using traditional tobacco products has decreased significantly, only increasing by 0.3% since 2016; however, these are the credit of electronic cigarettes. In addition, because the electronic cigarette has no harmful components such as tar, it can reduce the harm of cigarette to the body. ” Yang told reporters.
Industry needs differentiation
The first time to buy e-cigarettes, friends often feel troubled – there are too many e-cigarettes on the market, no matter the appearance, function or the parameters of e-liquid, the difference is not big, and they are often choosy. In fact, this is a long-standing industry pain – homogenization.
Thinkr said that the root cause of the homogenization problem lies in the lack of clear product positioning and blind catering to market demand. Different from most competitive products on the market, Thinkr e-cigarettes has a very clear positioning since its inception: serving smokers.
According to Yang Shanyu, there is still a problem of product homogeneity in the head of e-cigarette enterprises, with a high degree of convergence from appearance to consumption experience. When talking about the difference of Thinkr products, Yang said that Thinkr is an electronic cigarette product with the condenser, i.e. the filter nozzle as the obvious sign. It has its own innovation and advantages in avoiding the penetration of e-liquid, especially the main demands of smokers such as lip feeling and taste. Moreover, the company adheres to the principle of serving smokers, creating a life of harm reduction, and constantly increases R & D and talents investment .
“At present, the e-cigarette market has obvious polarization. There are not only regular enterprises like Thinkr to continuously improve their core technology and quality, but also some small brands or even counterfeit to bring adverse effects to the industry.” Facing the upcoming e-cigarette regulatory policy, Yang said that it is absolutely good to increase the supervision of e-cigarettes, so as to ensure the long-term healthy development of the industry, clean up the non-standard products and protect the interests of users.
According to Yang, although the penetration rate of e-cigarettes in the domestic market is relatively low, the development of the whole industry in China is relatively fast. “At present, the market capacity of domestic e-cigarettes is about 10-20 billion. In the future, Thinkr will increase its investment in R & D, especially in materials, device and vape juice. At the same time, the company will continue to explore the international market and strive to become an international leading e-cigarette brand. ” Yang told reporters.
