FEATURE
JABIR AHMED AND SABITUR RAHMAN
HORIZON VAPE DISTRO
The word ‘family’ gets used a lot in this industry. One of the
reasons people get so wrapped up in vaping is the sense
of community fostered by passionate individuals who have
successfully broken free of tobacco’s toxic spell.
Then there are those who run successful vape businesses
with their actual family.
Horizon Vape Distro is headed by sales and marketing director
Jabir ‘Jabs’ Ahmed and his accounts director nephew, Sabitur
‘Sab’ Rahman.
The idea of starting a vaping business came naturally to Jabs.
Prior to working in sales for a vape company, he dabbled in
everything from eBay stores to car repairs. Whenever he got
an idea for a business, he pressed forward with it. If it didn’t
work, he’d try something else.
“After leaving the vape job I spent a few months planning
what to do,” Jabs said. “That’s when I got talking to Sab at
a family party. He was vaping on a big device that I’d never
seen before. He’d heard that I’d been selling vape products
for this company.”
Sab’s background includes pharmaceutical science,
accounting for Sage and running his family’s food businesses.
And, crucially for Jabs, he had experience of mixing his own
high-VG liquids.
“When it came to starting a business, Jabs was the only person
I had in mind,” Sab said. “He’s got a reputation in the north-east
for being a good businessman. I knew he was the person who
could help me accomplish this.”
Within five months, they’d launched Reggae Juice, their first
e-liquid line. They spent the rest of the year growing the brand
and forging the relationships that would lay the foundations of
Horizon Vape Distro.
Jabs was already a fan of Horizon Tech when he met with the
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company at a show. They were surprised with how informed
he was of their range. Initially, they only agreed to supply him
with their products.
“I had to create the UK market and spend a lot of money
in marketing to create the demand,” Jabs said. “I wanted
exclusivity. I didn’t want to put all that effort into it and then
have everyone else get involved and we as a small company
lose out.”
Impressed with Jabs, Horizon Tech agreed an exclusive UK
distribution deal. And so, Reggae Juice evolved into Horizon
Vape Distro. The scope of the challenge ahead dawned on
them before th ink had even dried.
“Our family heard our business idea and they believed in us,”
Jabs said. “The five directors that came in at an early stage
each brought invaluable expertise, which enabled the business
to grow rapidly.”
Horizon Vape Distro was formed in July 2017. By the end of
the year they had the hugely-successful DUOS and ARCO 2
tanks, the latter being something game-changer with its flax
paper technology and renowned flavour-production.
The Falcon launched in March this year and proved even more
popular. More than 25 exhibitors at May’s Vaper Expo used the
Falcon for sampling their e-liquids. Sales have since boomed,
not only in the UK but also France and Bahrain where HVD
are exclusive distributors.
“Sales have reached half a million a month and we expect to
smash that in the next six to eight months,” Jabs said. “It’s
getting bigger and bigger in the UK. Even our partners in China
are struggling to meet the global demand.”
Buoyed by awards picked up on the trade show circuit, the
guys are heading into 2019 all guns blazing. A deal with V
Zone has not only granted them UK distribution rights, it’s