British media SLR cited the latest report from retail data consulting firm Talysis to analyze the e-cigarette retail market in Scotland. It was reported that in the first month after the implementation of the single-use e-cigarette ban in Scotland, the market showed a clear trend of “brand reshuffling”. This article compiles the changes in the brand landscape of the Scottish e-cigarette market and the brand response strategies.
Talysis data shows that the top ten e-cigarette brands account for 93% of the market’s value sales, but traditional strong brands are collectively under pressure: Elfbar plunged by 57.5%, Lost Mary dropped by 44.7%, SKE declined by 34.4%, and Gold Bar even plummeted by 93.5%. Meanwhile, emerging brands such as Pixl and Higo have risen strongly, and compliant alternative products like Hyola and blu have performed outstandingly.
Elfbar and Lost Mary have recently launched reusable versions of their most popular disposable devices. The Elfbar 600 pre-installed cartridge set replaces the Elfbar 600, while the Lost Mary BM600 pre-installed cartridge set inherits the BM600. Both products can be recharged and use pre-installed cartridges.
The company claims that the reusable Lost Mary BM6000 has quickly become a best-selling product in the high suction count category and has been upgraded to meet the requirements of the new regulations. Angelo Yang, deputy general manager of Elfbar UK, said: “Sales data show that the demand for high suction count equipment continues to grow, and the upgraded version ensures that retailers can continue to obtain one of the strongest products in this category.”
Although some large e-cigarette brands have been hit by the ban on disposable e-cigarettes, there are also some new brands that have risen rapidly. Pixl was launched in June 2024, and its sales have seen an astonishing growth, becoming the third best-selling e-cigarette brand with a 13.5% market share. Higo soared 238% with a market share of 7.1%, ranking fifth.
SKE is our best-selling product, followed by IVG and then Pixl, ranking third. Before and after the ban was issued, we arranged for Pixl’s sales representatives to conduct promotional activities in the store and promote products that comply with the regulations. The growth of Higo is astonishing, with its sales increasing rapidly. In the past two weeks, the sales volume of one product unit (SKU) of Higo has exceeded that of all other brands. Brands that launch new devices the fastest tend to perform the best. For us, Lost Mary might be at the bottom. We didn’t promote Lost Mary and Elf Bar much. Our promotional efforts mainly focus on other brands.” Guna Sud, the owner of Racetrack convenience store chain, said. She has been working closely with multiple suppliers to carry out promotional activities in the store. Sales representatives can popularize knowledge about alternatives to disposable e-cigarettes among consumers.
Hyola is such a brand. She said, “Last week, we had Hyola products in our store and they were selling them at half price.” If they sell the sets at half price, then in the following weeks, we will see a significant increase in the sales of the matching sets. That’s why they continue to sell.
Talysis pointed out that since the ban was implemented, Hyola has jumped from the 10th place to the 7th place in the top ten brands list, with a value share of 2.5%.
As of May 2025, the market share of Gold Bar was 5.8%, but in the first month of the ban’s implementation, its market share has dropped to only 1.5%. Guna said, “Gold Bar has really lost the market here. They still have 600-pack cigarettes, but sales were already declining before the ban was implemented, and they have never launched any other (compliant) versions.”
In the past four weeks ending June 28th, blu climbed to the tenth place with a market share of 1.2%.
Malm said, “Before the ban was issued, many retailers had decided to prioritize the supply of compliant alternatives, such as our blu bar sets.” Each cartridge of the blu bar set has a suction capacity of up to 1,000 puffs, providing consumers with a rechargeable and reusable e-cigarette device that offers the same taste experience and convenience as existing disposable e-cigarette consumers.
Imperial Brands said that the success of the blu bar kit has also driven the launch of another product, namely the blu box kit, which caters to the needs of a quarter of disposable e-cigarette customers who prefer boxed e-cigarette devices.
Although many of his customers have transited from single-use e-cigarettes, activation services have now become a core component of Racetrack’s e-cigarette alternatives.
Guna said, “I don’t think we have lost any e-cigarette customers.” Our customer base may have grown merely because we are conducting promotional activities, arranging sales representatives to communicate with customers, and distributing free gifts. Nowadays, when people come here, they are looking forward to seeing large-scale promotional activities. But this is good because it can attract them to come to the store every week. They will try out new products, but this means we have to work harder with brands to ensure that we can also offer high-quality promotional activities. We need to keep the promotional lineup running smoothly; otherwise, they might not come back.”
Overall, Guna is relieved that the ban has come into effect and that consumers are adapting to the new normal.
Guna said, “Leaving aside the surge in sales caused by panic buying in May, our sales have increased by 5% compared to April.” Now that the ban has come into effect, we are much happier. We now have more equipment that meets the regulations, and other brands have followed suit one after another, so we feel much better now. We started to select and analyze the sales volume again to see which products performed poorly and which ones could be replaced by other products. Everything is back on track.”
Looking at the individual product (SKU) level, after the implementation of the single-use e-cigarette ban, more than a quarter of the value sales in the Scottish e-cigarette market came from the top 20 products. Among them, four of the top five products are from SKE. Talysis observed that the lemon and lime flavor was the most popular, followed by the cherry flavor. Among the disposable e-cigarette products as of May 2025, the two most popular flavors are also these two.
Angelo Young, the deputy general manager of Elfbar UK, said: Fruit flavor remains the most popular flavor type among adult smokers and those who have quit. A recent study conducted by Elfbar and Opinium in December 2024 among over 6,000 British adults also confirmed this – 68% of e-cigarette users said A wide range of flavor options can help them reduce smoking or get rid of tobacco altogether. Nearly 48% of users would choose fruit flavors or other sweet flavors. The best-selling Elfbar flavors in Scotland include watermelon, blueberry and blueberry lime flavors. For the Lost Mary brand, the best-performing flavors are pineapple ice, strawberry ice and blueberry sour raspberry.
Given that flavor selection is a key factor for consumers when making a purchase, Imperial Tobacco has recently launched a series of new flavors for its blu cartridge series.
These cartridges are compatible with the company’s rechargeable blu devices. Each pack of two blu replaceable cartridges can offer consumers up to 2,000 mouthfuls of rich flavor. There are 15 flavors in total, including 11 new ones such as strawberry ice flavor, kiwi passion fruit flavor, mint flavor, and triple melon flavor.