Technology Titan
Since its inception in 2014, ICCPP has had a steady focus on technology and innovation in vaping.
TR Staff Report
This year marks 20 years of development in the vaping industry. During this time, the industry has progressed rapidly from early basic products to today’s more technologically advanced systems alongside innovations in manufacturing and standardization. The vaping industry is expected to be valued at $24.61 billion this year. In the world of e-cigarettes, numerous companies have experienced highs and lows. Some survived; many did not. However, ICCPP Group, the parent company of Voopoo, has grown steadily in its mission to offer a “healthier and happier life” through its dedication to technological innovation.
Today, ICCPP’s products and solutions have been marketed in more than 70 countries worldwide, covering 100,000 brick-and-mortar outlets serving over 36 million consumers. Founded in 2014, ICCPP Group has been deeply committed to scientific and technological innovation. ICCPP leadership says the foundation of its success is adhering to user-centered and talent-driven concepts. Many ICCPP products have gained popularity among consumers over the years, such as its innovative Drag system, the first instant-inhaling vaping product that changed user habits with its 0.025-second igniting speed in 2017.
The company is also known for its Vinci series, which debuted in 2019, that represented the birth of a new product category: the Pod Mod. ICCPP is neither the largest nor the oldest company in the industry, but it is one of the most advanced. The company has grown from fewer than 50 staff members in 2014 to more than 4,000 employees in 2023. This level of success has the industry asking many questions, such as: How did ICCPP quickly grow from a small company to a key influencer? How did ICCPP become the company responsible for many of the products that influenced the future of the industry? How does ICCPP keep its products competitive?
Always Adhering to Innovation
Innovation is nothing new to ICCPP. “Since the day of establishment, innovation has always been the DNA of ICCPP,” explains Everest Zhao, co-founder and CEO of ICCPP Group, who has more than 10 years of experience in the vape industry. In 2014, when ICCPP was just established in China, it mainly provided technical solutions for e-cigarette companies. It then began moving forward with major investments in R&D and the creation of advanced products and vaping systems.
In 2016, ICCPP proposed a creative solution to one of its customers. It was the predecessor of the Drag, which aimed to completely change the vaper’s habit of “igniting before using.” However, the customer did not accept the changes and insisted on a traditional solution. This incident deeply touched the founding team, according to Zhao. “It is hard for a supplier to ensure the overall quality and the user experience,” he said. “If we don’t solve the user’s pain point, don’t control the trend of technology, don’t break through the bottleneck of the industry, we can’t be seen as a company that really respects the user.”
In 2017, ICCPP created its own brand, Voopoo. The revolutionary instant-inhaling device Drag swept the global market after its introduction. Additionally, the ignition speed of 0.025 seconds broke the industry’s speed ceiling and received wide praise from global users. The Drag series won the global sales championship for two consecutive years, which had a profound impact on the whole industry, according to Zhao.
In 2019, ICCPP successfully developed a new product category with the first intelligent electronic atomization device, Vinci, which allowed e-liquid and nicotine salts to be utilized within one device. It successfully filled an industry gap and brought the arrival of Pod Mod, the miniaturized version of the traditional vape Mod. In addition to frequent innovations in open systems, ICCPP was also instrumental in the development of closed system products.
In 2021, ICCPP’s replaceable product hit the market with an innovative human-computer interactive smart screen and CNC technology design. The disposable product reached the overseas sales mark of 1 million pieces in two weeks after its initial launch. Subsequently, it won not only many industry awards in Britain, the United States and other markets but also the praise of many consumers.
From the perspective of ICCPP, the company is “a late bird” compared to its peers, according to Zhao. “Our strategy is not to compete for speed in a 500-meter race or for endurance in [a] 3,000-meter race but to compete for completion in a 10,000-meter race. No matter the investment in R&D, or reserve of talents, ICCPP is always at the forefront of the industry,” he said.
In the early stages of ICCPP’s development, the company owned less than 40 patents. In 2020, the number of patents filed by the company exceeded 400, and in 2021, it exceeded 600. To date, the total number of patents filed by ICCPP has exceeded 2,000. The growth cannot be separated from ICCPP’s dedication to innovative employees. ICCPP Group invests no less than 10 percent of its yearly profits in R&D, according to Zhao.
In 2019, to improve its own R&D capabilities, ICCPP cooperated with several universities to carry out research on innovative materials and set up a materials research institute, focusing on the development and application of new electronic atomization materials. To achieve a breakthrough of heating materials, ICCPP persevered through 1,000 days of research and 2,000 groups of material formulas, underwent 120 days of cyclic testing, passed more than 1,000 evaluations by global atomization enthusiasts, developed 100,000 pieces of product samples and, in 2021, developed its nano-microcrystalline ceramic core called Gene Tree.
At the Vaper Expo U.K. 2022, ICCPP launched the industry’s first use of a ceramic core in disposable products and multi-category ceramic core solutions. At present, ICCPP has built four research institutes with more than 500 R&D staff, and the Everest Lab, which has been accredited by the China National Accreditation Service for Conformity Assessment, is becoming one of the few laboratories recognized by national authority in the electronic atomization industry.
Pioneering ESG Strategy
Sustainable development and corporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategies are becoming an increasingly important issue for the vaping industry. ICCPP plans to release its first ESG report and carbon footprint certification for three products this year. During GTNF 2022, held in Washington, D.C., ICCPP shared on stage a series of their research results in green product innovation and digital transformation. Its environmentally friendly product gained widespread attention.
As early as 2019, ICCPP started working on environmentally friendly products, and in 2020, it launched the first disposable product made of biodegradable materials, which won a Red Dot Award in 2021. At the Vaper Expo U.K. 2023, the ICCPP ODM+ business made a technological upgrade and launched the world’s first new dual environmentally friendly disposable vape solution called the Cyclo series. It is the first combined concept of detachable parts and biodegradable materials—far ahead of the rest of the vaping industry in achieving portability and recyclability.
Cyclo, starting from the concept of low carbon and environmental protection, considers the whole life cycle of disposables from the design, production, usage and disposal to recycling, trying its best to use biodegradable materials for the body, a unique lead-less design for assembly and a patented weld-less structure that is fully detachable so all the device’s disposable waste can be easily dismantled, according to ICCPP. This allows for direct disposal with the ability to sort and recycle, thus minimizing the harm to the environment. Many industry experts have commented that Cyclo should be the best choice to meet the environmental challenges in the vaping industry.
Developing environmentally friendly products is just one small part of ICCPP’s ESG strategy. The company officially launched its Digital Transformation Strategy in May 2022 and became the world’s first electronic atomization enterprise to collaborate with SAP and PwC, leading the industry into the digital transformation stage.
“In the future, we will create an unprecedented digital closed loop and a new type of digital competitiveness, getting through the complete path of digital R&D, digital manufacturing, digital marketing and so on,” said Zhao. “We will take the lead in driving corporate development through digitalization and realizing new value creation through digitalization.
“We have always been a firm that advocates and practices within the ‘open industry’ ecology. We are willing to share our resources and achievements with the whole industry. We hope all members of the vaping industry will grow together in a healthy way. We are looking forward to working together with like-minded partners to build an open ecosystem and reshape the future of the industry.”