The world’s most dynamic heated cigarette market

In recent years, Japan has become the world’s most dynamic heated cigarette market. Japanese consumers have always liked new products and new technologies. In Japan, there are a large number of consumers of fine cigarettes, ultra-fine cigarettes and Buzhu cigarettes. It can be said that heated cigarettes became popular in Japan almost immediately after they first appeared in the country.

IQOS Leads the Heated Cigarette Market in Japan
This year, FIMO celebrated the 10th anniversary of the launch of its heated cigarette IQOS in Japan. When FIMO launched IQOS in Japan, it was rewarded handsomely. In March, FIMO launched the latest generation of IQOS Iluma in Japan. In the past few years, the multinational tobacco company has introduced heated cigarettes in different price ranges to appeal to consumers of different income levels.
At present, Japan is the world’s largest heated cigarette market in the country. If many companies want to launch a new heated cigarette product, they often choose to launch it first in Japan. The rapid growth of heated cigarette products in Japan has almost halved Japanese cigarette sales in the past few years.
Tamarind Intelligence, a global business research firm, estimates that heated cigarettes currently account for about 42% of the Japanese tobacco market share, which is difficult to achieve elsewhere. Julian Bovadilla, market analyst at Tamarind Intelligence, estimates that sales of heated cigarettes in Japan this year will be about $10.3 billion, up 6% from a year earlier; More than 15 million adults in the country are users of heated cigarettes, representing 14 per cent of the country’s population over the age of 18.
Bovadilla said that there are four main brands in the Japanese heated cigarette market, namely IQOS of Phimo International, glo of British American Tobacco, Ploom of Japan Tobacco and lil of Korea Tobacco Company. The IQOS brand is the leader in the Japanese heated cigarette market, accounting for more than half of the total market share. Followed by GLO, accounting for nearly 20% of the market share; Japan Tobacco’s Ploom brand accounts for about 10% of the market. Korea Tobacco Company’s heated cigarette brand LIL has a market share of about 6%.

Glo attracts japanese spenders with new technology
Mariel Markram, Regional Marketing Director for BAT Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa, said:“Japan is a very important market for our heated cigarette brand glo. British American Tobacco aims to become a smoke-free tobacco product company by 2035. Now, much of BAT’s revenue in Japan comes from smokeless tobacco products, including glo.”
To meet its development goals, British American Tobacco introduced the glo Hyper Pro, the latest flagship model in the glo family. Launched on the Japanese market in December 2023, the product features a range of innovative technologies, such as HeatBoost heating technology that helps devices reach optimal heating temperatures in a faster time and the EasyView screen with multiple functions. Markram introduced that:“Users can view device-related data through the Easy View screen. For example, when the battery needs to be charged and the device is ready, a prompt will appear on the screen. Our device also has a Taste Select dial that switches between standard and enhanced modes to change the user experience.”
Markram says:“Japanese consumers have a strong desire to seek cutting-edge technology and innovative products. The advanced technology applied to heated cigarette products allows them to experience the taste of tobacco without burning it, which is attractive to consumers in Japan.”

Ploom drives revenue growth for Japan Tobacco
Although Japan Tobacco enjoys a certain “home advantage” in the Japanese market, due to the fierce market competition, the company’s heated cigarette products have not achieved absolute advantage in Japan. With the Ploom brand of heated cigarettes, Japan Tobacco achieved a relatively high ranking in the Japanese heated cigarette market. In November 2023, the company introduced the Ploom X Advanced, the most advanced device in the Ploom family. The company said that in the first quarter of this year, Ploom achieved solid sales growth in the domestic and foreign heated cigarette market, which contributed to the company’s revenue growth; In Japan, Ploom equipment sales increased 34.7% YoY and heating cigarette sales increased 1.6 percentage point YoY.
Japan Tobacco expects its heated cigarette sales to grow strongly. In view of this, Japan Tobacco is prioritizing investments in heated cigarettes in an effort to increase its market share in this sector. A company spokesman said:“From 2020 to 2022, the share of our low-risk products in the Japanese tobacco market will grow by 3% to 5% per year. Heated cigarette sales growth rates from 2020 to 2022 are 25.9%, 30% and 34%, respectively.”

Many Cigarette Consumers Switch to Heated Cigarettes
A recent report by the Japan Tobacco Institute (TIOJ) indicates that heated cigarette products currently account for nearly half of the country’s tobacco market. It is expected that by the end of 2025, heated cigarettes will account for more than 50% of the Japanese tobacco market.
“In the past few years, many Japanese adult smokers have switched from using cigarettes to using heated cigarettes, and this trend is expected to continue.” Markram said,“I have witnessed a major transformation of the Japan tobacco industry, as the Japan tobacco market has moved from a relatively single product category to a multi-product co-existence. The Japanese tobacco market now has a variety of innovative products for consumers to choose from.”
Japan Tobacco said that sales of cigarettes in Japan began to decline before the advent of heated cigarettes. A company spokesman said:“We expect the decline in cigarette sales in Japan to continue due to a number of factors, including growing demand for smoke-free tobacco products. Other factors contributing to the significant increase in sales of heated cigarette products in Japan include increased consumer demand for low-tar, low-nicotine content products and the smoking environment in Japan. While smoking is banned in restaurants in Japan, heated cigarette products are actually allowed in well-ventilated dining areas.”(Compiled by Xue Xiuyun and Wu Houfu from Asian Tobacco)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Product Enquiry