European Nicotine Pouch Industry: 2026 Market Update

Key Takeaways:

• British American Tobacco (BAT), the company behind VELO, enjoyed growth in its modern oral segment, alongside its overall revenue.
• ZYN manufacturer Philip Morris International (PMI) had good results overall.
• Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) experienced a stable performance, but XQS pouches did well.
• Imperial Brands had a very modest rise in revenue, but its modern oral portfolio was one of its better-performing segments.

British American Tobacco (BAT)

British American Tobacco (BAT) is the company behind Europe’s biggest nicotine pouch brand, VELO pouches, alongside more traditional tobacco products.

BAT’s first half-year results for 2026 reported that revenue increased 1.4% overall. Its “New Categories” group did even better, with revenue up 18% — largely thanks to modern oral products like nicotine pouches.

BAT groups Europe and the Americas together when measuring its results, making it hard to determine exactly how well the company performed in the continent. However, across the whole region, modern oral products enjoyed an 18.9% rise in volumes compared to the first half of 2025. Its report pointed to Scandinavia, the UK, and Poland as relevant regions for these products.

Philip Morris International (PMI)

As the company behind ZYN pouches, no market report would be complete without PMI.

Overall, financial results showed the company enjoyed a positive second quarter in 2026. Net revenues grew 10.4% to over $11 billion, setting a new quarterly record for the company. The smoke-free business (which includes nicotine pouches alongside other products, like heated tobacco devices) was a particular highlight.

Its results for the first half of the year were also positive, with reported growth up 9.8%.

Europe is part of PMI’s International Smoke-Free segment, which excludes results from the US. In this region, modern oral products volume growth of 14.7%, while smokeless tobacco products didn’t perform so well. Romania and Greece received special mention as markets that enjoyed plenty of growth.

The report mentioned the Middle East conflict but noted only a minor impact, which was mostly due to transport and input costs. Consumer behaviour hasn’t yet experienced a significant shift.

Scandinavian Tobacco Group

Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) is a Danish tobacco company that owns XQS pouches, a growing collection with some of the most distinctive taste profiles we stock on Snusdirect. The group has also owned Ministry of Snus since its acquisition of Mac Baren in 2024, the manufacturer behind brands like Ace pouches.

Its results showed that net sales declined by 0.3% over the first half of 2026 when accounting for exchange-rate movement. Somewhat unusual considering the overall shift away from tobacco products, STG saw its handmade cigars segment grow 6% in net organic sales (although other tobacco products didn’t fare so well).

The group is currently in pursuit of Focus2030, a five-year strategy it started in 2025. This has three goals, with the third involving an expansion of STG’s nicotine pouch business. So far, it has added menthol flavours to the XQS collection. While nicotine pouches currently account for less than 5% of group net sales, it hopes to grow further and enter new markets. Austria was mentioned as one potential location.

Also, XQS performed better than the company’s other pouch brands, with organic net sales growth of 12%. Its pouches are particularly popular in Sweden, where XQS enjoys a market share of 13.6%.

Imperial Brands

Imperial Brands’ portfolio includes Skruf nicotine pouches.

Its half-year results (ending 31 March 2026, unlike other companies featured) revealed that Next Generation Products (NGPs) like nicotine pouches enjoyed a 7.5% rise in net revenue. In Europe, the category experienced growth of 15.3%.

CEO Lukas Paravicini said: “Our modern oral portfolio has grown strongly in European markets.”

However, overall revenue remained largely the same, with a rise of just 0.8% compared to the half-year period in 2025.

Other Nicotine Pouch Market Stories

Only the biggest tobacco and nicotine giants are publicly listed, which gives us financial results to analyse. But there’s plenty happening outside of this bubble! Below are some highlights.

ALP is Coming to Europe

ALP pouches have made a splash across the Atlantic, where they were launched in 2024 by political commentator Tucker Carlson. In July, its CEO announced Europe will be joining the action.

The team says that ALP hopes to become the second-largest brand in the European Union by 2030. This may be ambitious, but the collection has enjoyed fast growth so far thanks to its moist contents and carefully curated flavours, so who knows?

Counterfeit Nicotine Pouch Factory Found

In August 2026, the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) revealed it had found a large Lithuanian factory producing fake nicotine pouches. Authorities seized more than 330,000 boxes, which contained products that were counterfeits of well-known brands.

This highlights the importance of purchasing products from reliable retailers that have relationships with their suppliers and can verify the authenticity of their products, such as Snusdirect.

France Bans Nicotine Pouches

One of the biggest regulatory stories in Europe in 2026 has been France’s decision to ban nicotine pouches in April. It introduced some of the strictest regulations in Europe, with hefty penalties for possession and sale.

However, the move received backlash, with Sweden claiming it is an attack on the Swedish way of life. There have also been legal challenges, resulting in temporary suspensions and greater complexity that could lead to further developments.