April 20, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] British American Tobacco is to roll out its own tobacco heating device in mid-August to compete in the Korean vaping market, where demands for such devices are increasing.

BAT Korea will hold a press conference Aug. 10 to promote its own tobacco heating device Glo, and disclose when the device will be on sale here, company officials said Aug. 6.

The company is hoping to boost sales by filling up the increasing local demands which Philip Morris International’s heat-not-burn device IQOS could not fully cover.

Philip Morris International took a preemptive step into the Korean market by launching IQOS in early June but fell behind the soaring demands, largely due to constraints of cigarette-shaped tobacco refills imports from Italy.

BAT Korea grasped an upper hand in terms of refills supply as it finished building new plants in Sacheon in the southeastern part of the country where it will be producing non-burning tobacco sticks called Neosticks.

Also, the price of the Glo will be slightly lower than that of the IQOS, according to market observers.

The Glo is expected to appeal to the customers who prefer to smoke several times in a row. With a single charge, the device lasts more than 30 sessions based on back-to-back usage, whereas users of the IQOS have to recharge it after every session.

Meanwhile, Korean tobacco manufacturer KT&G is also to roll out its own non-burning tobacco device as popularity of such devices grows.

By Shim Woo-hyun/The Korea Herald (ws@heraldcorp.com)