Tag: Sting Free

Swedish Billionaire Invests in Sting Free
Erik Selin (Photo courtesy of Sting Free)
Swedish billionaire Erik Selin has invested SEK4.4 million ($434,247) in the Swedish nicotine pouch innovation company Sting Free. He has thus become the second largest shareholder in the company, which is now valued at just under SEK31 million. Sting Free’s other shareholders include Curt Enzell, inventor of the original snus pouch and Meg Tivéus, a former board member of Swedish Match.
Sting Free has developed and patented a pouch for modern oral nicotine products and snus, where one side has an integrated protective shield for the gums ((also see “Patching the Pouch,” Tobacco Reporter, July 2017). The shield effectively reduces the burning sensation and gum irritation that is normally caused by these products.
This is the third time Selin has invested in companies in the snus industry. He is already the largest Swedish shareholder in the snus giant Swedish Match and is also a major shareholder in Haypp Group, which is the largest e-trader of snus and modern oral nicotine pouches in Europe.
“We welcome Erik with open arms and could not have found a better partner,” said Sting Free founder and Chairman Bengt Wiberg.
“We are a tobacco harm reduction company whose technology has already received much media attention and an international award for removing the stinging sensation. The stinging sensation is often considered as being a deterrent for smokers and other nicotine users who have never tried smokefree oral nicotine products,” said Wiberg.
Sting Free AB recently conducted a survey with more than 1,000 snus and nicotine pouch using men and women in Sweden. The results show that the patented technology is in demand, especially among women and those who have, or are concerned about, oral health problems linked to their use of these types of products. The survey results shows that 59 percent of users dislike the familiar burning sensation and 56 percent have worried about their oral health in connection with their use of the products presently on the market.
The market for snus and tobacco-free nicotine pouches is presently worth approximately SEK9 billion per year in Scandinavia alone.
Before the end of 2022, Sting Free AB will launch its first tobacco-free nicotine pouch with the unique integrated Stingfree shield. “In the future our goal is to license the technology and thereby create a new standard in the industry that is as familiar to consumers as light products are for soft drinks or Gore-Tex is for clothes and shoes,” says Sting Free CEO Daniel Wiberg.
June 24, 2022
Sting Free Inaugurates Stockholm Office

CEO Bengt Wiberg and CTO Daniel Wiberg outside their office near Stockholm (Photo: Sting Free)
Sting Free today inaugurated its new office in Lidingo, near Stockholm, where CEO Bengt Wiberg and Chief Technology Officer Daniel Wiberg now work full-time.
“We are very happy about the fantastic location with a view of Stockholm harbor on the seventh floor and Fastighetspartner as landlord,” said Bengt Wiberg.
“I am very happy to finally be able to spend full time on the exciting Sting Free journey. I never thought I would one day rent an office and run a company with my dad and even less a company in the nicotine industry. I am convinced that the Sting Free technology will delight many future customers and make an important contribution to public health,” says Daniel Wiberg.
Sting Free has developed a solution that minimizes the sting associated with snus, thus eliminating a barrier for smokers who want to switch to a less harmful method of nicotine consumption.
The company holds patents for its technology in Sweden and the U.S. and has received preliminary patent approval for all European countries.
Tobacco Reporter profiled Sting Free in its July 2017 issue.
September 1, 2021
Andy Cars Joins Sting Free Board

Photo: Sting Free
Serial entrepreneur Andy Cars has invested in Sting Free and joined the company’s board of directors.
Since 2014, Cars has been running Lean Ventures International, focusing on structuring and streamlining innovation work in large companies. As part of that work, Cars helped develop the world’s first management system for innovation (ISO 56002), which was published in July 2019. Customers include H&M, Essity, Tieto, SMHI, BillerudKorsnas and Philip Morris.
Cars has also coached more than 200 startup teams to take their ideas to market. As a jury member of the European Innovation Council, Cars evaluates and funds scalable startups within the EU.
Cars holds a magna cum laude Master of Business Administration degree from the European University Business School in Lisbon.
“Sweden has the lowest number of smokers per capita in Europe and is the only country in the EU that allows the sale of snus,” said Cars in a press note. “I think that other countries will soon start to follow Sweden’s example. With tobacco-free nicotine pouches being permitted, not only in the EU but in most countries, such a development is already taking place.”
“Andy brings to the board a whole range of unique qualifications and valuable experiences that I am convinced will help Sting Free AB to continued success,” said Bengt Wiberg, CEO of Sting Free. “We are looking forward to soon launch the world’s first patented sting-free snus and nicotine pouches via licensees.”
The board of Sting Free now comprises Bengt Wiberg, Daniel Wiberg, Andy Cars and Lars Erik Stromberg. Advisers include Ken Storey, Curt Enzell, Tony Axell and Conny Andersson, who joined Sting Free in April.
Sting Free has developed a solution that eliminates the stinging sensation associated with snus use, thus reducing a barrier to tobacco users looking for less harmful methods of nicotine consumption.
Tobacco Reporter profiled Sting Free in July 2017 (see “Patching the Pouch”).
July 8, 2021
Conny Andersson Joins Sting Free

Conny Andersson (Photo courtesy of Sting Free)
Snus master blender Conny Andersson has joined Sting Free, a Swedish company that has developed a solution to eliminate the stinging sensation associated with snus use.
Andersson is a skilled and experienced tobacco expert and “father” to popular snus varieties, such as vintage snus Kardus (2005–2012), Islay Whiskey Snus, Crafted Snus and Hop (e) & Glory snus.
In recent years, Andersson helped produce several tobacco-free snus alternatives, including Infiniti, YoYo and others. Since 2015, Andersson has worked as a self-employed consultant for several Swedish and international companies, primarily in the snus and nicotine pouch industry.
Sting-free may become a new standard in the global oral nicotine industry.
Conny Andersson
“Sting-free may become a new standard in the global oral nicotine industry,” said Andersson in a statement. “The reason is that the burning sensation on the gums is a big obstacle for almost all adult nicotine users to take up snus or nicotine pouches [for the] first time. This is especially true in countries outside the Nordic region where there is no snus tradition at all. The fact that the new technology may also help smokers to dare trying a smoke-free oral nicotine alternative to cigarettes is inspiring.”
Andersson is a shareholder in Sting Free and a new member of the executive working group from April 2021.
Tobacco Reporter profiled Sting Free in July 2017 (see “Patching the Pouch”).
April 1, 2021
Investors Embrace Sting Free Snus

Bengt Wiberg (Photo: Sting Free)
Sting Free AB has received SEK27 million ($3.1 million) through an ownership dispersion. Investors include Curt Enzell, inventor of the snus pouch and former head of research at Tobaksbolaget (Swedish Match).
Sting Free has developed a product that prevents the familiar stinging sensation on the gum from snus and nicotine pouch consumption, widening the pool of potential consumers for snus and pouches (also see “Patching the Pouch,” Tobacco Reporter, July 2017).
The technology is applicable to both snus and tobacco-free nicotine pouches and has already been successfully produced in prototype series with industrial and unmodified snus packaging machines. Swedish Match has signed a nonexclusive license agreement for the new technology and several other Nordic and foreign producers are expected to do the same soon.
“The capital injection from the ownership dispersion enables the company to requisition national patents in about 40 countries, including all countries in Europe, as well as a capital base for coming industrial production,” said Sting Free CEO and founder Bengt Wiberg in a statement.
“We are very happy that so many prominent people and companies have chosen to invest in Sting Free AB.”
Sting Free’s innovation can make it easier for many to switch to snus, as the burning sensation often constitutes an obstacle for smokers to convert to snus.
Curt Enzell, inventor of the snus pouch
“Sting Free AB’s innovation can make it easier for many to switch to snus, as the burning sensation often constitutes an obstacle for smokers to convert to snus,” says Enzell.
In a market survey with 660 male and female Swedish snus users, Sting Free found that 40 percent of the respondents dislike the stinging of snus. Only 11 percent of women and 17 percent of men enjoy the sensation. In empirical tests with adult nicotine users who had never tried snus or nicotine pouches before, nine out of 10 thought the burning sensation was unpleasant while an equally high proportion considered the identical contents in a Sting Free technology pouch to be enjoyable.
March 17, 2021