How well does this stuff sell

[shikitohno]

I'm with lx, I think it's quite definitely aimed at the US market, especially with v2. These manufacturers don't see widespread distribution in Sweden, and I know SM actually forcibly pulled v2 products from all distribution in Sweden not too long ago over "concerns about bacteria levels." Definitely didn't have anything to do with v2 starting to gain some decent traction, no. As far as I can tell, v2's biggest market is online distribution, of which US snusers seem to make up the better part of the vocal set that comes of forums and tries to interact with them. I can see v2 easily catering to the US market, and it appears that they do so.

[wa3zrm]

If I want to taste mint, I'll have a Mojito!

I don't think that the producers (first and foremost) have a regional market in mind.

The flavored brands in general are clearly aimed at smokers. It's a mystery to me, why most smokers, who are used to suck burned, indefinably sour/bitter tasting smoke into their mouth all day, mostly go for the total opposite when it comes to snus and start with sweet flavored brands, but they obviously do. Just have a look at the "my first order threads" here in the forum.

These brands could also be aimed at younger people (not to say schoolchildren), who naturally gravitate to the more sweet flavors and probably stay with these brands even after their tastebuds have matured - or at least develop a positive opinion about the manufacturer and continue to use brands from the same company.

It's the new consumers, that smaller producers (who don't already have a stable market share and a followership in Sweden) want to win. And in that regard, of course, the development of new regional markets is on the agenda as well. A flavor like wintergreen is certainly used to get a foot on the American market. It's a flavor that 90% of the Europeans connote with urinal cakes rather than with candy. But mint flavored brands rather fall into the category of products to win over smokers worldwide.

BTW, I don't want to criticise people who are long-time snusers and still prefer flavored brands. People are different. Some just prefer the flavored/sweet brands, while others prefer the pure tobacco brands. But it's astounding how many people wait for months before they get the idea to try one of the traditional brands, which are all more or less pure tobacco or just slightly flavored.

Cheers!

Excellent post Chainsnuser! I find your observations very interesting.... especially since you back up your hypothesis with a review of the "my first order" threads. I know what you have stated here applies to me. I started off with flavored/sweet and after about a year, my goto's became smokey/tobacco. One thing I am curious about though, is the increased use of sterks. I know for about a year, I relied heavily on the high nic brands; now, however, I only use one or two sterk portions a day. The majority of my daily rotations center on Oden's Original Portion, Olde Viking and Green Harvest... all of which are lower nic brands. Do you think that folks are burning themselves out on the high nic's... or... is it just that my tastes have changed over time?

[GoVegan]

I am still waiting for Snickers or Almond Joy snus.

[voodooman]

i have to agree with others attributing it, at least in some part, to the american market. i still buy "dip" occasionally, and among the available selection, mint varieties are least offensive. many have become accustomed to that, and are stubborn to change.

and claq qui...
...i miss it too.

[shikitohno]

I could do with another few rolls of Claq Qui. It was a perfectly good snus, and decent as a sterk.

[sharesnusinfo!]

I think all the mint, berry, and wintergreen snuses are geared mainly for the American market.

Not for Jakobssons Wintergreen! We launched it on the Swedish market autum 2011 and it´s already our big seller.. Norwegian people also love it.
the thing we have in Sweden resambles wintergreen is an dicontinued chewinggum called "JENKA" and mouth wach "Listerine" in Norway the had a US. snus brand higly appriciated that is now dicontinued in norway the "HAWKEN WINTERGREEN"

[chainsnuser]

Do you think that folks are burning themselves out on the high nic's... or... is it just that my tastes have changed over time?

It certainly depends on the brand and the person. Some of the newer starks are a bit over the top IMHO. I can use Skruf (Xtra) Stark all day, if I must, and about half of my cosumption overall are still stark brands. That hasn't really changed since I began to use snus. My first order was as widespread as it could get (only 5 cans, but of every kind: white, original, mini, lös, strong, normal, candy-flavored, pure tobacco ...) and I've always used several types of snus in the daily mix. But some new brands are so high in nic that I can't really enjoy them, not even one portion or prilla.

Besides of that, I think that the stark brands are also aimed at smokers (who fear that snus might be too weak in nic, like I did too, and therefore start with strong brands) and again at younger people (who like to test their courage, so to speak).

Cheers!

[WickedKitchen]

doesn't matter if high-nic snus is meant for smokers or not it's a win anyhow for the manufacturer. more nic means a more noticeable effect and a much higher addiction potential...even if the new snuser switches off of sterks, they're still more likely to continue using snus, and probably at a higher rate than if sterks weren't introduced in the first place.

I like them but I restrict my use of them usually to 1 or 2/day. Sometimes 3. I don't require that much more nic and at this point I don't want to get used to it.

...on the mint thing. Blech. I keep a can of Thunder Frosted around now but if I use 2 cans in a year I'll be surprised.