Zyn may have taken nicotine pouches mainstream, but we’ve come a long way since the brand popularized the “lip pillow.”
uncertain
brand → take → pillow
When the company hit US shelves more than a decade ago, it helped kick open the door to a booming new market for tobacco alternatives.
asserted
it → hit → alternatives
Now, everyone wants a piece of the pouch.
asserted
everyone → want → pouch
Brands are repurposing the under-the-lip delivery system for everything from caffeine and cannabis to vitamins and melatonin.
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Brands → repurpose → vitamins
The trend “was almost inevitable,” Stephanie Boyd, a consumer-focused researcher and marketing expert, told The Post.
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Boyd → focus → Post
“Consumers are consistently looking for products that can fit seamlessly into their existing lives without extra preparation, equipment, calories or having to go outside,” she said.
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she → look → preparation
Chances are, you’ve had a conversation with someone with a pouch tucked under their lip and never even knew it.
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you → have → it
“I think that discretion is one of the most underestimated drivers of this category,” Boyd said.
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Boyd → think → category
“Smoking announces itself.
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Smoking → announce → itself
A pouch doesn’t.
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pouch → do → ?
And that may be the key to understanding why the pouch has escaped the nicotine aisle.
uncertain
pouch → understand → aisle
Though Zyn and its competitors certainly popularized pouches, they didn’t invent them.
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they → popularize → them
Oral snus — a moist, powdered tobacco product traditionally placed between the gum and cheek or upper lip — has been used in Sweden for centuries.
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snus → place → centuries
They took off in the US after Swedish Match introduced Zyn in 2014 (the brand has since been acquired by Philip Morris International).
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brand → take → International
An alternative to smoking for nicotine users, some of the appeal is that they may have a “lower risk of mouth cancer, heart disease, lung cancer, stroke, emphysema and chronic bronchitis,” according to the FDA.
uncertain
they → smoke → FDA
But the wider cultural impact has gone beyond fueling a potentially less risky nicotine habit: Zyn helped normalize the pouch itself.
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Zyn → go → habit
Smoking was once an easy, relatively cheap way for young people to look “older and sexier” while signaling rebellion and belonging, said cultural specialist Annalisa Nash Fernandez, a former Philip Morris International employee.
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Fernandez → look → rebellion
As the damaging health impact took center stage, they lost some of their “cool” factor.
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they → take → factor
Vaping offered a newer way to get nicotine, but it carried some of the same stigma as cigarettes.
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it → offer → cigarettes
Pouches represent the latest evolution: a way to consume nicotine without the smoke or vapor.
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Pouches → represent → smoke
“Gen Z was raised on infinite personalization with customized playlists, a thousand skincare routines, et cetera, which is what the flavors play into as self-expression,” Nash Fernandez said.
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Fernandez → raise → expression
“But instead of expressing as rebellious, Zyn is for the individualized identity of a new age.”
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Zyn → express → age
Once consumers got used to the format, brands started swapping out what was inside — betting that the pouch’s discreet, adaptable nature could make it a vehicle for just about anything.
uncertain
it → use → anything
The stealth appeal of cannabis
The cannabis industry has embraced the pouch, offering users a way to partake without leaving the neighborhood smelling like a skunk.
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industry → embrace → skunk
Michigan-based KSHN touts its pouches as “more discreet than smoking and more controlled than edibles.”
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KSHN → base → edibles
JOEI by Garden Remedies in Massachusetts similarly promises users can “enjoy the full effect of THC without smoke, odor or cleanup.”
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users → promise → smoke
For those looking for something milder, California’s Cannadips offers a CBD line in flavors like toasted coconut, southern peach and rebel red apple.
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Cannadips → look → coconut
No THC,” its website reads, “just deeper calm and full control.”
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website → read → ?
“Culturally, [this] discretion gives consumers more autonomy so they can consume without necessarily inviting questions or judgement,” Boyd said.
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Boyd → give → questions
From getting buzzed to getting well
The trend is being fully embraced in the wellness world.
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trend → buzz → world
NZE sells “performance pouches” powered by nootropics intended to support energy, clarity and focus, such as Alpha GPC and L-Tyrosine.
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NZE → sell → GPC
WIP offers sugar- and calorie-free pouches containing up to 200mg of natural caffeine — roughly the amount in two mugs of coffee.
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WIP → offer → coffee
Its website describes them as “built to move,” emphasizing that “no liquid = no sipping, no slosh.”
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liquid → describe → them
Zalt, meanwhile, makes what it calls the “first ever electrolyte and B vitamin pouch,” with flavors like strawberry lemonade and lemon lime.
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it → make → lemonade
“Hydration support that kicks in quick.
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that → kick → ?
No mixing, no shaking, no waiting,” its website states.
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website → state → mixing
TRGT takes aim at bedtime with “sleep pouches” that are “formulated to support natural wind-down and restorative nighttime recovery” and contain melatonin, magnesium and L-Theanine.
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that → take → melatonin
The wellness industry, Boyd said, is especially receptive to pouches because its consumers are already focused on optimization.
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consumers → say → optimization
“A pouch can be positioned not just as a supplement but also as a frictionless way to maintain a wellness routine,” she explained.
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she → position → routine
Lip pillow, meet oral health
It seems natural that dentistry would get in on the action, too.
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dentistry → meet → action
…and 24 more, not listed.
The Aporia
