Imperial Tobacco (Canada) buys Skruf?

[ummerr]

I read this article that said they are considering releasing Snus in Canada, and that Imperial Tobacco just bought a stake in Skruf. I also hear they are testing it currently in Edmonton. Anyone know of any updates? It would be great if I could just buy snus, rather than having to order it and pay Canadian customs.

Takk

[ummerr]

i suppose it would be helpful to specify questions i had.

1) what brands are it being sold under?
2) how much is it per tin/box?
3) is it relatively successful?

i guess this question is directed towards anyone in alberta who has had access to the stuff. or anyone in the know. snus is taking over the world.

[YK]

My only source your info on this is the Canadian news. All I know is that it will be marketed under the DuMaurier brand (apparently the best selling brand of cigs in Canada) and that it is being test marketed in the Edmonton area starting Sept. 28.

I'm having my friends in Edmonton keep a look-out for snus coolers :-)

I'll try to keep abridged of any new developments.

YK

[Zero]

I seriously hope they don't **** it up. I'll happily continue buying the swedish stuff when I get back as I suspect they'll turn it into the same crap that the US did.

[Zero]

I've just sent a letter to Imperial Tobacco Canada :

Sir or Madam,

As a Canadian living abroad who has discovered the fantastic snus products native to Sweden, I admit I am both excited and apprehensive about hearing the news that Imperial Tobacco has invested in Skruf of Sweden and is planning to test-market a DuMaurier branded product in Alberta.

I am excited at the prospect of snus gaining a wider audience in North America, both as an enjoyable product and one which, on account of its naturally low nitrosamine content, stands to provide immense benefit to existing smokers and oral tobacco users who will have more choices when it comes to balancing their love of tobacco with their health and well being. The potential to continue providing high quality tobacco products while improving the health and quality of life for tobacco users is, for the former, immense and, for the latter, undeniable.

I am apprehensive, however, in the wake of a similar move undertaken recently in the United States, where Camel has, by all measures, taken an excellent product with centuries of tradition and refined quality and utterly destroyed it. The pale imitation of snus offered by Camel barely deserves to bear its namesake and I sincerely hope that Imperial Tobacco does not opt to do something similar in Canada.

To give you some of my relevant background, I currently moderate an online community of several hundred international members which is devoted to discussions on the topic of snus. We have large numbers of members from both Europe and North America who almost exclusively share the common trait that they are not native Swedes and have discovered snus by word of mouth, travels, or other means. While my experience within this community cannot provide hard scientific data, I can say with confidence that the overwhelming majority of our members, Europeans and North Americans alike, whom have sampled Camel's offerings have found it to be of substantially inferior quality and value. The prevailing criticisms decry the heavy, artificial, and sweetened flavours as compared to the, generally, saltier and much more lightly aromatic swedish products; the smaller form factor of the Camel portions; and considerably higher price per unit.

If I can offer any advice to Imperial Tobacco, both as a connoisseur of snus and as a potential future customer, it would be to seriously consider these points. An Imperial Tobacco product which remains faithful to the Swedish originals would not only offer much greater potential for competitiveness and success in the marketplace, it would further serve to distinguish Imperial's product from that offered by Philip Morris, providing both additional brand distinction and a level of quality which I can almost guarantee your customers will appreciate.

I thank you for your time and wish you success in bringing the Swedish Experience to Canada.

Sincerely,
Justin


Hopefully that will knock some sense into them before they screw it up!

[Coffey]

^ Good on ya Zero! Perhaps a thoughtful and coherent letter like this one will show big tobacco that not all users of their products are idiots who will take whatever shitty product they give us and be thankful for it. I'm probably hoping for too much, but I'm an optimist :lol:

[Zero]

Yeah, I hope the unspoken message is "if it's crap, don't expect me to buy it or have anything good to say about it to our modest but growing community... thanks" :lol:

[The Cook]

Good letter, Zero. I too have misgivings about Canadian snus, but having not yet tried it, I can't offer an opinion. I had a bit of an email conversation with the coordinator of Consumer Relations at Imperial Tobacco and I told her that Imperial's snus should mirror the Swedish product as closely as possible in taste and nicotine content, and presentation.

I think it is important for us Canadians to make our voice heard in this matter. Bravo, Zero

[YK]

Well written and poignant. Good job, Zero.

With all hope this will get to right people. Perhaps you could organize some sort of petition to supplement this letter. It may just add an extra level of impact.

YK

[chainsnuser]

Very good letter, Zero!

You also could have mentioned Marlboro-"Snus".

Hope, the letter gets to the deciders.

I'm not too optimistic, though, what kind of product will come to the stores. Real snus is expensive to produce, has to be sold at a relatively low price, to gain consumers and one tin may last longer, than 3 or more packs of cigarettes.
While snus and similar products, in the long run, will be the media for cigarette-producers to survive, in the meantime, they will only cut their earnings. Also, I don't know, what fraction of people really falls in love with snus, when they use it for the first time. I did, but many people may even prefer some candy-like, expensive crap with little nicotine. So, I fear, that outside of Scandinavia, we will, at least for some years, not see much better products, than Camel-Snus or Marlboro-Snus.

The Swedish manufacturers, themselves, should overcome their fears and do more investments on the international markets. In North-America, with it's vivid smokeless-tobacco-culture, it shouldn't be that difficult, to attract consumers to buy their fine products, once they hit the stores.

Cheers!