“I think one of the major problems at the moment is the uncertainty. A lot of UKVIA members
not only work within the UK market but also the EU market, so Brexit is high on the agenda.
But unfortunately, as the government doesn’t even know what it wants to do, it’s hard for us to
make any predictions. We have some members who are looking at distribution outlets outside
of the UK just in case, so they can have stockholding here and in Europe.
From a manufacturing perspective, I don’t see a lot changing. The likelihood is that we’ll be
in a transition period for two to three years or more. So, we’ll still be under TPD rules for
the foreseeable future. If we’re manufacturing to one standard for Europe, we’ll probably
manufacture to the same standard for the UK regardless of what happens. The only issue
that might soon arise would be customs duties or tariffs imposed and issues with the speed of
getting products through customs.”
-
John Dunne, Director of the UKVIA
“The biggest issue is the question of what’s going to happen now that there won’t be an
internal European Union border, but the chances are we’ll be continuing, business as usual
for the transition period. The fact that we’re no longer going to be part of the European Union
and Customs Union doesn’t necessarily mean things need to change that dramatically. It can’t
be an entirely frictionless border, but a lot of the barriers people are talking about don’t need
to be in place; there don’t need to be any tariffs, nor competition between the EU and UK.
The one ‘fast move’ everyone wants is a relaxation of the advertising restrictions. The UK
market is the most advanced in Europe in terms of vape uptake, it has the first government
to recognise the benefits of vaping. Some relaxation of that will be incredibly beneficial and I
hope it’s the first thing looked at post-Brexit.”
-
Liam Humberstone, Technical Director of Totally Wicked
“Everything’s kind of fluid throughout Europe. Even within the EU you find variation on what’s
permitted. For example, Barista Brew has been developing aromas for e-liquids, a DIY feature
and alternative to standard short-fills. Places like Italy and Germany have wholeheartedly
embraced this DIY aroma trend and we’ve been creating recipes around that to make a full
launch in certain countries.
We don’t know exactly what’s going to happen in the UK market, but we keep our ears to the
ground here. We have great partners like Flawless who keep us informed and can provide a
framework to guide us through regulatory changes. And at that time, at a moment’s notice,
we’ll need to form a new plan and move fast on whatever may (or may not) happen.”
-
Wes Brown, CEO of Barista Brew Co.
OUR
SURVEY
SAYS
71%
OF RESPONDENTS SAID THEY
FEEL BREXIT IS GOOD FOR
BUSINESS AND THINK IT WILL
MAKE FOR A MORE SUCCESSFUL
INDUSTRY
POST-BREXIT.
We asked our readers how Brexit may
affect their businesses and workforce
in an online survey. Our Brexit poll ran
during November.
28.5%
OF RESPONDENTS
DID NOT AGREE.
64%
OF THOSE WHO RESPONDED
WOULD PREFER NOT TO
REMAIN IN THE EU FOR THE
SAKE OF THEIR BUSINESS.
VM20 | 69