On May 23, Phillip Morris Korea announced that IQOS has sold 1.9 million units since its launch last year.
Last year on this same day, PMI (Philip Morris International Inc.) announced that the group's HNB IQOS device would be sold in the Korean market.
The IQOS device is an alternative to regular cigarettes and works by heating HEET tobacco leaves. The Heets cigarettes are quite short and need to be inserted into the device's holder to be used. All are sold under the Marlboro brand.
Phillip Morris Korea reports that about 1 million Koreans have switched from cigarettes to HNB products since June last year. The HEETs market in Korea is also reported to have increased by 7.3% in the first few months of this year.
“I am very happy to see that the desire to replace cigarettes with technology products is being realized in Korea at such a rapid pace,” said Chong Il Woo, CEO of Phillip Morris Korea, at a press conference in Seoul.
Heets are locally made
As part of its plan to meet supply demand, Philip Morris Korea will begin domestic production of Heets at a factory in Yangsan, which is also the first Heets production facility for IQOS in Asia.
PMI has invested billions in research and development of tobacco alternatives and expects net profits to reach $1.2 billion by 2020, while also aiming to produce 32 million IQOS devices for distribution this year.
