BAT invests in pouch market with Dryft acquisition

British American Tobacco (BAT) has acquired the US pouch nicotine brand Dryft as the firm looks to expand its presence in this expanding category.

Dryft will now become part of BAT’s global pouch brand VELO and boosts the company’s range of oral nicotine products available in the US from four to 28. It is the latest step in the business’s ‘A Better Tomorrow’ strategy which commits BAT to “providing adult consumers with a wide range of enjoyable and less risky products” and “encouraging those who otherwise continue to smoke, to switch completely to scientifically-substantiated, reduced-risk alternatives”.

Jack Bowles, CEO of BAT, said: “Today’s announcement underscores our societal commitment to accelerate our transformation and build ‘A Better Tomorrow’. Our multi-category strategy is key to our transformation. The addition of Dryft to our US Velo brand is a major step forward, further enhancing our successful vaping and oral portfolio.”

Jason Carignan, President of DRYFT Sciences, LLC, said: “We’re proud of the tremendous momentum we’ve built with Dryft and thrilled that our strong product portfolio will now serve to enhance the Velo brand. We remain confident that modern oral innovations like Dryft and Velo will continue to find an adult consumer base [which is] seeking alternatives to traditional products.”

BAT aims to accelerate the growth of its next generation products revenues at a faster rate than its total revenue, reaching £5bn by 2025. The company says its ambition is to reach 50 million consumers of non-combustibles worldwide by 2030. Today, BAT’s non-combustible products are already available in more than 50 countries worldwide.