Where’s the Hype for the VYPE?
Where’s the Hype for the VYPE?
These days, it seems like all the big players from tobacco and corporate America are launching their own, proprietary vaping systems. You can’t turn on your TV or open an email without hearing about Juul – and for good reason. Market data shows that the Juul is the most widely-distributed device worldwide and there are no signs that they are slowing down – we carry them at VapeMeet and sell a ton of them.
The VYPE is developed and distributed by Imperial Tobacco, a British tobacco company with even more money in the bank than Juul. Here in Canada, you can find VYPE at every convenience store and gas station, but we cannot think of a single vape shop that carries them. Why is this?
Though Juul is seen by many to be a “threat” to the grassroots vaping industry, vape shops have no problem carrying them because they feel like they have to – customers really want them. The VYPE however, does not carry the same weight in the Canadian market.
It can’t be the price. The VYPE is priced almost 50% lower than a similar set-up from Juul and is available in several different models, flavours and even as bottles of e-liquid, unlike Juul’s singular system and exclusive pods. Could it be the design?
The Juul is definitely slimmer and shorter, but only a little lighter. The VYPE is extremely light, even considering that it holds much more liquid. You could, in theory, hold it between your lips or teeth like a Juul, but you have to activate a switch to make it fire but that’s not really a deal-breaker – especially considering you have a lot more battery life as a handy tradeoff.
It’s not conclusive, but the issue may stem from the relative nicotine contents. The Juul boast nearly 60mg/ml of salt nicotine why the VYPE only has 18mg/ml of freebase. Either one of these has far more nicotine than most people would need to replace their source from cigarettes for the day, but the Juul is so much stronger. We know that people THINK they need more nicotine than they really do, but this can’t be the only factor that’s keeping the VYPE out of shops across the country.
We’ve tried the VYPE, tested it quite a bit actually, and it’s not bad at all. We could imagine it being a great first device for someone new to vaping, and it’s certainly economical. The problem is that while it’s available at any corner store or gas station, it’s missing from almost every vape shop, meaning most won’t have any experience troubleshooting it, carry replacement pods or accessories for it or even speak about it with any kind of love.
We believe that if a company wants to break into this market, they need to sell the vape shops on the device first. Convenience stores sell vaping gear for sure, but there is no way they can offer the after-sale support or knowledge that even a sub-par vape shop can. Maybe that’s where VYPE went wrong, they ignored that community that started this industry, and maybe that’s why they continue to lack the hype of their competitors.