S&E Distributors / Tsunami
S&E Distributors Inc. in Troy, MI, which markets the Tsunami Electronic Cigarette line, is moving aggressively to take full advantage of what it sees as a burgeoning new market.
“Our business saw huge increases in 2013,” reports Scott Elias, S&E’s Vice President, “and we think it was because of the big demand for this kind of product.”
S&E, which uses the tag line “The House of Tsunami Electronic Cigarette,” was founded in 2011 by a group of businessmen who have been in the tobacco industry for over 13 years. The company distributes its own brand, Tsunami, targeting primary and secondary distributors as well as convenience store chains in all 50 states.
E-cigs continue to grow in popularity, Elias feels, “because of all the smoking bans for the regular cigarette in many states.” Despite that, he and his colleagues tend not to worry about federal and state governments legislating against e-cigarettes. “We have a legal department in our company, and the people in it are working very hard to follow up with all the FDA regulations. The regulations will go for everybody who wants to do business in the right way.”
Tsunami Electronic Cigarettes are a nicotine delivery system that looks like a real cigarette, are non-flammable and produce an odorless water vapor. A nicotine liquid is converted to an odorless water vapor, providing the user with nicotine, minus the smell. Each is equal to three packs of cigarettes, or 800 puffs.
The company’s e-liquid and e-hookah together account for approximately 70% of the company’s sales. Overall, Elias confirms, sales last year rose by a breath-taking 300%. One reason for the ongoing success has been product innovation:
• Tsunami 1000X is the company’s line of new chargeable electronic cigarettes. It reportedly lasts as long as a carton of cigarettes, is available in dozens of flavors, generates no secondhand smoke, or carbon monoxide.
• Tsunami Flavored E-liquid, also called E-Juice, comes in a variety of flavors and multiple nicotine levels to help users reduce their nicotine needs gradually. The product contains 70% PG/30% VG optimized for the most vapor and flavor. Its Ejuice is compatible with many of the rechargeable tank-system e-cigarettes. The company’s E-liquid flavor palette is large, and includes Berry, Blue Breeze, Blueberry, Cherry, Clove, Fruit Punch, Hawaiian Tropical, Kiss on the Lips (kiwi strawberry), Mandarin, Mocha, Peach, Pinacolada, Pineapple, Pomegranate, Rose, Strawberry, Tobacco, Toro Rouge, Vanilla and Watermelon, among others.
S&E’s major initiative for the remainder of 2014 is its new model, called Tsunami Twin Kings size, a small e-cigarette that is the same size as regular cigarette, with the soft cotton tip. “It is the size of a real cigarette,” says Elias, “and the pack looks like a pack of real cigarettes. Together with the cotton tip, it is designed to give users the same sensation as a real cigarette.”
S&E’s marketing strategy is designed to target as wide a range as possible, Elias points out, “everybody from the end user all the way up to the massive distributor. We deal with them all with the same great customer service. At the end of the day, these are the people who make the brand. I have always believed that the design for the product is very important when it comes to making the first sale, but that it is the quality of the product that will determine the repeat business that is going to build our brand. The only way to do it right is to love what you do.”
The company offers customers a lifetime warranty, something few if any of its competitors do. “For every part they buy, if something happens to it they can go online, make a claim on it, and we will replace it for them. As far as I know, other companies don’t offer that to their customers.”
S&E also makes a large number of point-of-sale materials available, which Elias points out “is another thing that makes us different from other companies. We spend a lot of money on acrylic and plastic displays and fixtures.” The most successful retailers are the ones who use them wisely.
“We don’t deal with a lot of retailers, but in our experience we have found that if they advertise the product in the right way -- by placing it first and foremost in the right spot in the store -- they will definitely have a lot of success,” he says. The best spot in which to merchandise the product line, he notes, “is of course on the counter, right next to the cash registers.”
Another powerful sales tool at retail is sampling, Elias reveals. “When stores request some samples we will supply them. It is very effective. A lot of people want to try a product before they buy it.”
Ahead, Elias explains, “We are looking for long-term business. We are doing lots of studying about the industry, and we expect the going to be good in the long term. We are building strong relationships with our customers.” The large majority of end users are 18 to 60, he says, and tend to split evenly between men and women. Packaging is designed to appeal to each: pink for women, blue, green and black for men.
Indeed, he continues, since the industry so new “we are collecting feedback from them and having our marketing and production team analyze it to ensure better performance and help develop newer models.”
In short, S&E is doing everything it should be doing to help grow the industry and with it its customers’ -- as well as its own -- bottom lines.