Vuse Extends Lead Over Juul

The prospect of a potential on sales of Juul Labs e-cigarettes in the U.S. has helped accelerate the market share gains of R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co.’s Vuse brand, reports the Winston-Salem Journal.

According to the latest Nielsen analysis of convenience store data, which covers the four-week period ending Aug. 13, Vuse’s market share rose from 37.4 percent in the previous report to 39 percent compared with Juul declining from 30.7 percent to 29.4 percent.

Meanwhile, No. 3 Njoy dropped 3 percent to 2.9 percent while Fontem Ventures’ blu e-cigarettes slipped from 1.7 percent to 1.6 percent.

In June, the Food and Drug Administration rejected Juul Labs’ premarket tobacco product applications, saying that the company has submitted insufficient evidence that its products were appropriate for the protection of public health. 

While the agency subsequently suspended its marketing denial order (MDO), citing scientific issues in the application that warrant additional review, the agency stressed that the stay does not rescind the MDO, leaving Juul in limbo.

Vuse, by contrast, has received FDA marketing approval for several product varieties, including Vuse Vibe and Vuse Ciro and Vuse Solo products.

In a note to investors, Goldman Sachs analyst Bonnie Herzog said that Juul’s market share decline occurred in part “following confusion around the FDA’s marketing denial order against Juul.”

As recently as May 2019—before the company started withdrawing flavored products in response to regulatory pressures—Juul accounted for 74.6 percent of the U.S. e-cigarette market.