Dryft Files Antitrust Suit Against Swedish Match

Dryft Sciences has filed an antitrust lawsuit seeking $1.2 billion in damages from Swedish Match (SM).

Brought on Aug. 2 in the California Central District Court, the suit accuses SM of filing baseless lawsuits against Dryft in order to increase legal costs, deter third-party investment and ultimately force Dryft out of business in order to establish a monopoly on nicotine pouch (NP) products.

“SM brought these legal actions against Dryft because it knew it could not compete fairly with Dryft based on the qualities and price of its NP product, Zyn,” Dryft Sciences wrote in its complaint.

According to Dryft, SM publicly expressed its intent to unlawfully eliminate the product Dryft from the market. In a convenience store industry report dated Sept. 16, 2020, SM’s director of category management stated that Dryft would be the first brand casualty, Dryft Sciences alleges in its complaint.

Originally developed by Thomas Eriksson in Sweden, Dryft was launched in the United States by Kretek International in 2016. Kretek International later spun off Dryft Sciences and the Dryft product into a separate entity.

The case is 2:22-cv-05355, Dryft Sciences LLC v. Swedish Match North America LLC.