ZYN Shortage: Production Capacity Can't Meet Demand

Retail stores are experiencing shortages of ZYN nicotine pouches, disrupting the fastest-growing nicotine product market segment. But despite rumors about the source of the supply issues, ZYN manufacturer Swedish Match North America says it’s simply a matter of demand for the popular nicotine pouches growing too rapidly.

“We’ve heard the chatter and want you to know there have been no manufacturing disruptions to US ZYN operations,” the company said July 1 on the ZYN Facebook page. “We know locations are experiencing low inventory of ZYN, and we can assure you that the dedicated teams behind America’s #1 Nicotine Pouch are working tirelessly to increase production capacity as quickly as possible.”

Swedish Match raised ZYN prices in March, and at least one major online pouch retailer has recently limited the number of cans customers can buy each month. But demand continues to outstrip the company’s manufacturing capacity.

ZYN is the nicotine pouch brand leader, owning more than 70 percent of the $8.6 billion U.S. market in 2023. ZYN nearly doubled its sales between 2021 and 2023. However, the popular brand could begin to lose loyal customers if it remains unable to meet demand.

“The category still is very young, so there is no strong brand loyalty, and consumers are likely to try new brands,” Euromonitor analyst Raphael Moreau told Tobacco Reporter in January. “This makes the market attractive to new entrants. And there’s quite a lot of room for them, as the category is growing very fast.” 

Swedish Match recently suspended online sales from its ZYN.com site after the District of Columbia attorney general subpoenaed the company seeking information about flavored ZYN sales in D.C. The company says, however, that ZYN.com sales represent just a small percentage of total sales.

Swedish Match, which is also the world’s largest producer of Swedish snus, was bought for $16 billion by Philip Morris International (PMI) in 2022. The acquisition gave PMI an instant entry to the U.S. market. PMI is also relaunching its IQOS heated tobacco product (HTP) in the U.S. this year.