来
自
中
国
One word leapt out at me from the
Vaper Expo floor plan – Shenzhen.
This Chinese megacity on the Pearl River
Delta is home to upwards of 600 e-cigarette
producers which, between them, account for 95
percent of global e-cigarette production.
And at May’s Vaper Expo there were more
companies attending from China, and
Shenzhen in particular, than ever before.
They came to meet trade customers and to
see, first hand, what consumers thought about
their products and what they would like to see
next.
Steve Chia is marketing director for Shenzhen-
based vape wholesale giant ElegoMall which
had a large stand right at the entrance to the
show.
He said: “Vaper Expo is very important for us
because we can meet so many distributors,
retailers and consumers. It makes perfect
sense for us to come here because so many
potential clients are right here under one roof
and we can meet a lot of people over the three
days.”
Relx Technology was one of a number of
Chinese manufacturers at the show whose
products feature the clever Feelm heating
system which has been specially designed for
pod systems. This heating technology uses a
metal film and ceramic conductor instead of
wick and cotton to produce a smooth vape with
great flavour.
Relx are keen to capitalise on the huge
popularity for pod systems in the UK and the
Vaper Expo plays a key part in their strategy
to do so.
Trade marketing manager Loro Fu said: “We
have a great product and we want to increase
our sales in the UK and Europe which is why
we come to events like this.
“It is important to visit different countries to
really understand how the markets differ. For
example in China, Mung Bean Ice is our most
popular flavour but it is not so popular in the
UK where Lemon Tea and Mango is the best
selling flavour in our pods.”
Vzone, which specialises in the design and
manufacture of innovative, high performance
products including the Preco Tank, Graffiti mod
and Scado pod, had a great expo.
CEO Ellis Li said modern vapers, especially
the younger adult users, favoured lightweight
devices rather than the heavy metal ones and
Vzone is working hard to capitalise on this
market.
The CEO said: “The UK is our second biggest
market after the US and we receive lots of
valuable feedback at an event like Vaper Expo.
“We also find that while the UK often follows
the US market, the rest of Europe will follow
the lead of the UK. For example CBD was first
huge in the US, it is now very popular in the UK
but it has yet to move into the rest of Europe
although this will happen.
“Vaper Expo is also a great opportunity for
Vzone to increase its brand recognition and it
allows us to tell people what we are doing. Also,
for me, I can come here and see what other
people are doing and what the new trends are.”
Frank Si, EU sales director for Jouz, said
the Vaper Expo is an ideal platform to allow
consumers to to see their premium products.
In fact their expo stand looked very much like
an Apple store with their high quality hardware
displayed on rows of wooden tables.
Frank added: “It is very important to us that
consumers get to know our brand and get to
see and touch our premium products and we
are very pleased with the feedback we are
receiving at Vaper Expo.”
As vape consumers become ever more
demanding and the competition between
manufacturers remains intense, it looks that
Chinese companies will continue to use events
like Vaper Expo to connect with both the retail
and consumer audiences.
“THE UK IS OUR SECOND BIGGEST MARKET
AFTER THE US AND WE RECEIVE LOTS OF
VALUABLE FEEDBACK AT AN EVENT LIKE
VAPER EXPO.”
Vzone CEO Ellis Li
VM23 | 125