IN common with many other tobacco companies JTI says price and value have become main influences on adult smokers when they are choosing products in both ready-made cigarettes and roll-your-own tobacco. In Scotland it reports value cigarettes is the leading ready-made cigarette sub-category with 49% volume share. JTI says it currently has 29.4% volume share of value cigarettes in Scotland, with Sterling as one of the best-selling brands.
In RYO, the firm estimates that price-marked packs currently account for 38.5% volume share of the UK market with volume growing 4.1% year on year.
Adult smokers are looking for value, the firm says. Price marking makes value clear, it reckons, and that, in turn encourages shopper visits – often leading to extra associated purchases – and helps build customer loyalty and repeat business.
In the last year it has repositioned its B&H Silver RYO product into the value segment of the market and made it available in PMPs.
But the firm also sees other influences as important to capturing the imagination of adult smokers. It argues it has been to the forefront in developing new products, brand extensions and limited-edition products.
It views capsule cigarettes as a particularly important innovation and highlights its own work in that category in recent months including the modernisation of B&H Dual packs at the end of last year. The move followed earlier developments including the launch of value capsule line Sterling Fresh Taste On Demand and of the UK’s first SuperSlims crush filter product, Silk Cut SuperSlims Choice.
