Juul Labs now worth $10 billion

Juul Lab’s value is now estimated at $10 billion. The American company can now be considered a legitimate competitor to challenge the traditional tobacco giant Philip Morris. Indeed, the maker of the Juul vaping device has adopted numerous marketing and financial strategies of large tobacco companies.   

 Ten years ago, James Monsees and Adam Bowen founded Juul Labs in San Francisco. Together, the two Stanford students created the first tobacco vaping device. The product was originally marketed under the name Ploom. Although the success was immediate, the new technology has seen its fair share of criticism due to its potential harmfulness.

A few years later, the two innovative and insightful inventors began to realize the importance of developing a discrete vaping device. And so the Juul was born, a vaping device that looks like a USB key. The brand has been extremely popular amongst young people, but it is also discrete enough to fly under the radar of parents’ watchful eyes. Juul, however, continues to defend its unique design.

 

A meteoric rise, despite heavy criticism

Juul’s creators were inspired by strategies employed by Big Tobacco in order to develop an attractive product for young people.The design was thoroughly researched and fruity flavours were carefully concocted in order to create a new and lucrative market.

For their advertising campaign, the manufacturer championed the Juul’s safety compared to traditional cigarettes. However, once the product hit the market, there was a violent backlash. Moreover, the vast majority of young vapers are not aware that Juul contains nicotine.

In the face of numerous criticisms, Juul Labs decided to respond to the backlash.The company decided to spend $30 million on vaping research. Part of this money will also be used to help educate parents and their children about the potential dangers of vaping.

Considering Juul Lab’s $10 billion valuation, the new funding for research and education is a drop in the bucket.