Vaper Expo Showguide 2019 VAPOUROUND-MAGAZINE-MAY-SHOWGUIDE-2019 WEB_compres | Page 80

A Rather Decadent Decade E-liquid flavours like caviar, curry, roast beef, absinthe and rainbow fruit can only mean one brand – Decadent Vapours. Marking 10 years in business, the company’s founder Peter Cole tells how his home start-up became a booming business, and it all stemmed from £200. By Lucy MacKinnon This year’s Vaper Expo plays host to many big names in the vaping world, but how many names in this industry can say they’ve been around for the last 10 years? Peter Cole started the company back in 2009 with a £200 start- up, now it is one of the biggest British vape brands. Peter told us that this time 10 years ago he was working nights in a petrol station, flicking through New Scientist where he came across an article on e-cigarettes. “I actually smoked a pipe and I remember thinking to myself ‘Oh I’m sure they don’t do an electronic pipe’ [but] I Googled it and they did so I thought it’d be good for work – well, there was less chance of me blowing up the work place.” Disappointed with the liquids available on the market at the time, he began mixing his own at home. With a keen interest in chemistry and previous experience combining flavours from his days as a chef, Peter experimented and before long, he ended up with a couple of litres of juice, “Probably more than I was going to get through in several years” he added. After exchanging bottles with fellow forum fans, he realised he’d hacked it, and within two months of mixing he jumped in head first and quit his ironically named ‘day job’. “It was the middle of the recession, early 2009, I had no previous experience, no bank was going to lend me money or do anything 80 | VAPER EXPO SHOWGUIDE