Philip Morris’ all-new IQOS ILUMA with TEREA reinvents the rules of heating tobacco. Its all-in-one design offers up to 20 consecutive uses with a single charge.
ILUMA has bladeless technology at its core for a simple and clean heated tobacco experience.
John Rennie, Director of Commercial Operations, UK & Ireland at Philip Morris International, tells Wholesale Manager more about the launch.
What does your role as Director of Commercial operations involve?
My overarching focus is to accelerate PML’s transition to a majority smoke-free business, in line with our global ambitions for smoke-free products to account for more than 50% of our total net revenues by 2025. This includes driving the success of IQOS ILUMA – our next level heated tobacco product – in the UK. IQOS ILUMA re-invents the rules of heating tobacco with breakthrough technology and we’re incredibly excited to be introducing it to the UK market.
Do you personally spend time working with wholesalers?
Yes, I do. Wholesale and Independent Retail are hugely important to us, these are priority channels for driving consumer awareness, therefore with our commercial team, I work closely with the trade to understand their needs and provide proactive support. Keeping in touch, listening, and seeing things first-hand is the best bit of my job. It helps me to understand how we can make our retail proposition better, what motivates our customers and, ultimately, makes everyone more successful. We have also significantly expanded our Field Force to ensure we have the boots on the ground to help businesses educate their adult smoking customers on the smoke-free alternatives available to them.
Tell us about the launch of IQOS ILUMA. How does the product improve on current IQOS?
I’m really excited about the launch. IQOS ILUMA is a truly revolutionary product that will see a massive step forward for the heated tobacco category in the UK.
When we describe it as the ‘next level’, that’s because it truly is; the bladeless innovation at IQOS ILUMA’s core delivers an impeccable product experience, providing the user with an enhanced draw and a real tobacco taste. It’s also effortless, as the robust design and lack of blade means there’s no chance of blade breakages, and no need to clean the device – ever.
The IQOS ILUMA series sees a line-up of three innovative devices – IQOS ILUMA PRIME, IQOS ILUMA and IQOS ILUMA ONE. All three are built with the same revolutionary technology at their core but have been designed to address varied preferences and different price points. IQOS ILUMA ONE, our hero product in the UK, is a more affordable alternative to continued smoking; an adult smoker could save up to £3,000 a year by switching to IQOS ILUMA ONE from cigarettes1.
Importantly, this product is going to help thousands of convenience retailers switch their adult smoking customers away from cigarettes for good and can help unlock new growth for their businesses – a benefit that will also be felt by the wholesalers who supply to them.
When will IQOS ILUMA be available to UK wholesalers?
Our all-new TEREA tobacco sticks designed specifically for use with IQOS ILUMA are available in all nine variants for wholesalers to stock now. The tobacco sticks come in a wide range of real tobacco blends, from classic and menthol, to more aromatic tobacco variants.2 When available, the device will be sold to retailers directly through our digital trade engagement platform HEATWAVE OPEN.
How does the new SMARTCORE INDUCTION SYSTEM technology work?
IQOS ILUMA’s new SMARTCORE INDUCTION SYSTEM™ heats tobacco instead of burning it to deliver the taste of real tobacco. The heart of the new bladeless system is an innovative metal heating element placed inside the stick and coated with stainless steel. This metal element seamlessly transfers heat from the holder to the tobacco, heating the tobacco from the core instead of burning it.
What sets your brand apart from others?
IQOS is the world’s leading heated tobacco brand3. It uses real tobacco but unlike cigarettes it heats the tobacco rather than burning it. This means that IQOS ILUMA emits on average 95% lower levels of harmful chemicals than cigarettes4. IQOS ILUMA provides cigarette-like satisfaction5, meaning for smokers who don’t quit smoking but are looking to switch to reduced risk products, this could be an alternative for them (alongside vapes and oral nicotine pouches.
Our IQOS brand, and the pioneering range of heated tobacco products that sits within it, are the cornerstone of our vision for a smoke-free future and is the result of more than a decade of research and $10.5 billion worth6 of investment into developing and commercialising and scientifically substantiating sophisticated smoke-free technology.
How can wholesalers maximise sales of the category?
It’s important to educate your retailer customers on the heated tobacco opportunity, and how it can unlock growth for their business. With increasing numbers of IQOS users in the UK and the launch of IQOS ILUMA, ensuring retailers can stock up on the full range of TEREA variants in one visit to your depot is also key.
How do you work with wholesalers to help them grow sales?
We have extensive commercial programs to create IQOS users in different channels, with a winning strategy for the convenience sector. Our laser focus on communicating the benefits of smoke-free products like heated tobacco to adult smokers in this space is proving highly successful – so much so that the heated tobacco category has grown +400% in the UK in the last three years7. This means independent retailers are turning to wholesalers to fulfil this demand, who then reap the benefits in the form of increased footfall and boosted sales.
It’s important to us that we work with wholesalers and their customers on the various options we offer in our smoke free portfolio, to help them make an informed choice in what products to list to support the changing needs of the consumer. We also actively monitor our customers’ volumes and share market trends to support them with tactical and value-adding activities to keep them competitive in the market.
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