Tobacco: Top Products 2019

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This was supposed to be a disruptive year for tobacco. After all, it’s reeling from the double whammy of the rise of vaping and the introduction of track & trace legislation.

In the end, 2019 wasn’t quite the bloodbath the sector was expecting. Firstly, vape producers were forced to fight their own battles. Secondly, while track & trace caused a few headaches in the supply chain, sales were not directly hit – and there was anecdotal evidence that the new rules were beginning to curb the illicit tobacco trade.

Indeed, the category’s performance was in keeping with the long-term trend driven by falling numbers of smokers. Value fell 1.3% in grocery as volume sales tumbled 8.8%.

Nevertheless, at £14,570.9m, the market remains enormous. “The truth is that traditional tobacco is still the largest fmcg category,” says JTI UK head of sales Ross Hennessy. “It remains a crucial category for UK retailers, as a major footfall driver and with a profit potential that should not be discounted.”

As far as trends in the category go, the picture remains relatively unchanged from recent years. As increased taxation continues to push up prices on a yearly basis, the majority of smokers are looking for the best value – whether that means trading down to the lowest priced cigarettes or switching to roll your own.

The impact of this behaviour is a hard squeeze on mid-tier cigarette brands, warns Filco Foods MD Matthew Hunt. “Premium smokers are loyal, with brands like Marlboro and Silk Cut holding up,” he explains. “The middle ground is the one which has been decimated with down-trading to cheaper brands regularly visible.”

Marlboro Gold was by far the best performing premium brand this year, with value sales down just 3.4% to £506.6m. Value brand Benson & Hedges’ King Size Blue enjoyed the biggest value growth, adding £184.3m to be worth £704.6m.

Meanwhile, rolling tobacco this year grew by 6.7% in value and 0.4% by volume. JTI’s Amber Leaf dominated the sector with sales up 3.8% to £909.7m, while the supplier’s Sterling brand was fastest-growing, shooting up 74.3% to £236.7m.

The Top Products

In association with nielsen

Top 10 Cigarettes
				£m	change (£m)	change (%)
			Total Category:	11662.9	-158.0	-1.3
Total volume change:	-8.80%		Total Own Label:	-	-	-

This year’s rank	Last year’s rank	Brand	Manufacturer	£m	change (£m)	change (%)
1	1	Benson & Hedges	JTI	1834.7	234.7	14.7
2	2	Players	Imperial Brands	1610.1	124.5	8.4
3	3	Sterling	JTI	1375.8	2.6	0.2
4	4	Lambert & Butler	Imperial Brands	1133.8	24.1	2.2
5	5	Marlboro	Philip Morris	741.0	-7.1	-1.0
6	7	Sovereign	JTI	640.7	33.1	5.5
7	9	Rothmans	BAT	555.7	-9.9	-1.7
8	6	Mayfair	JTI	533.8	-120.1	-18.4
9	8	Carlton	Imperial Brands	500.3	-68.2	-12.0
10	10	JPS	Imperial Brands	458.0	-93.0	-16.9

Top 10 Rolling tobacco
				£m	change (£m)	change (%)
			Total Category:	2908.0	181.8	6.7
Total volume change:	0.40%		Total Own Label:	-	-	-

This year’s rank	Last year’s rank	Brand	Manufacturer	£m	change (£m)	change (%)
1	1	Amber Leaf Original	JTI	909.7	33.2	3.8
2	2	Golden Virginia The Original	Imperial Brands	431.0	-20.5	-4.5
3	3	Gold Leaf Quality Blend	Imperial Brands	422.2	24.6	6.2
4	6	Sterling	JTI	236.7	100.9	74.3
5	5	Golden Virginia Yellow	Imperial Brands	171.1	-2.7	-1.6
6	4	Cutters Choice Original	BAT	159.6	-24.8	-13.5
7	7	Cutters Choice Extra Fine	BAT	105.9	29.6	38.7
8	8	Amber Leaf Original 3 In 1	JTI	68.2	12.8	23.1
9	9	Pall Mall Fine Cut	BAT	53.5	0.0	0.0
10	11	Holborn Yellow	JTI	45.1	1.3	2.9

The Grocer’s Top Launch

Nordic spirit

Nordic Spirit by JTI

OK, so this isn’t actually a tobacco product. Due to plain packaging rules and the display ban, there has been a dearth of innovation in tobacco. So JTI is looking instead to a completely new category with Nordic Spirit tobacco-free nicotine pouches. Made from “a blend of plant-based fibres, nicotine, additives and flavourings commonly used in the food industry”, they’re designed to be kept under the user’s lip, moulding to the gum and delivering nicotine for up to an hour.