F E AT U R E
certifications and they use the upper
echelon in flavoring so they command
a higher price… better product, better
quality, more money… it’s pretty simple.
This is literally the tiering for every
other retail product on the market… cell
phones, alcohol, makeup… everything
goes in range from bottom to top shelf.
For most of us, we were aware that both
Federal Regulations (FDA Deeming
Regulations) as well as those overseas
were coming (TPD) for the industry.
There was no way we were going to
have this unregulated market forever…
especially not with the amount of money
the industry is bringing in. I am not
sure however, that everyone saw the
impending crash of the E-Liquid Market
coming due to regulations. What am I
talking about? I am talking about stores
not ordering per usual to keep money
from going out with the regs landing, or
even worse, saying they wouldn’t order
if you were not going to “get through”
the FDA Deeming Regs. No one…. As
in, not one company at this point can
tell you with confidence they have made
it th rough the FDA Deeming Regs and
their PMTA has been approved. That is
because there is not one company at this
point that has even filed one, much less
had it reviewed. If anyone is saying they
have been FDA Approved or certified
they are, to put it plainly, full of it. Shops,
“Things are going to continue to change as
regulation deadlines approach and as they always
have in our industry. We are an industry born
of innovation. We should be focusing on how to
innovate to keep our industry alive, not supporting
the race for the bottom.”
people have not stopped vaping… so to
stop ordering does nothing but hurt the
industry itself and if you are buying from
companies who say they have this FDA
“thing” in the bag baby, well then you are
ordering from a company who is about
to be out of business. As someone
currently working on the contracts for
my own company’s compliancy, I can
tell you this… getting through the PMTA
Filing will cost millions if you have more
than a flavor or two and that doesn’t
even guarantee that you will have your
products approved.
So how has this crashed the E-Liquid
Market? Price cuts, One Off Flavors
(check into it… your Uncle’s Brother-inLaw is probably making one with your
neighbor), and 60 mL’s have become
the new ordering trends. First off, I am
not sure how when faced with impending
Million Dollar contracts just to file PMTA’s
a lot of these E-Liquid Manufacturers
went…. Hmm…. Let’s just lower our
pricing…. That’s the answer for sure!
NO- that is not the answer. Have the
shops lowered their margins? NO. So
how will dollars off the bottle (unheard
of in ANY other industry… normally
price changes for wholesale units
go in pennys) help push your line to
VAPOUROUND MAGAZINE ISSUE 06 101