Imperial to double Blu spending while JTI plans Japanese launches

Imperial Brands is to double its spending on its premier e-cigarette range, Blu. The company has announced that it will invest £100m in 2019 in its next generation products (NGP) portfolio and look to expand Myblu into more markets.

Preliminary results for the year ending 30th September 2018 showed Imperial made a profit of £3,779m, up 2.9% on the previous year. Net revenue grew by 2%, with around 1% coming from tobacco and 1% from the success of Blu. Revenue from  NGP in 2018 was £0.2bn and the company expects positive profits in the category next year.

Meanwhile, Japan Tobacco International (JTI) has confirmed to ECigIntelligence that it is to launch two new products in Japan, adding to its Ploom Tech range of heated-tobacco products.