The Companies Behind the Brands: The Nicotine Pouch Manufacturers

It can be confusing to understand who manufactures what, especially as products undergo rebrands and ownership changes hands. But this article is here to guide you through the big names!

Swedish Match

Nicotine pouches hail from Sweden, where they were introduced as a modern, tobacco-free alternative to traditional snus.

Swedish Match has played a key role in the story of Sweden’s tobacco and nicotine products. In 1918, the company was formed as a merger between the Swedish government’s tobacco monopoly and a match manufacturer (which is where the “Match” part of the name comes from).

While Swedish Match originally focused on tobacco products like snus, chewing tobacco, and cigars, it has since moved into tobacco-free nicotine pouches and even nicotine-free products.

In 2022, Phillip Morris acquired Swedish Match for $16 billion, but it continues to use the Swedish Match brand name due to its reputation for premium products and traditional Swedish methods.

Swedish Match manufactures:

• ZYN nicotine pouches for the European market
• VOLT nicotine pouches
• Swave nicotine pouches
• Qvitt nicotine-free pouches

British American Tobacco

British American Tobacco (BAT) closely follows Swedish Match in the league of well-known, major nicotine pouch manufacturers. It also shares a similar history — the firm was established in 1902 as a joint venture between the UK’s Imperial Tobacco Company and the American Tobacco Company (from the US).

Fast-forward to today and BAT boasts the highest net sales of tobacco in the world and has expanded into tobacco-free areas like e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches. It also produced EPOK, the predecessor to VELO that helped to kickstart the transition from snus to nicotine pouches.

Unlike Swedish Match, it hasn’t been acquired by a bigger firm in the market.

BAT manufactures VELO nicotine pouches — the most popular brand for this market segment in Europe — and LYFT nicotine pouches.

While VELO is now the biggest name of the two, LYFT actually predates the brand. Some LYFT products have also been rebranded as VELO, leading to confusion over VELO vs LYFT for many consumers.

BAT initially launched LYFT in Europe and VELO in the US. It then replaced LYFT with VELO in Europe (except for Sweden) — but finally decided to bring LYFT back to Europe with a whole new range in 2022.

Many pre-2022 LYFT flavours are now VELO products, with the current LYFT range boasting a whole new collection. Plus, VELO underwent a fresh rebrand in 2024.

Skruf Snus AB

Skruf Superwhite is one of the more popular nicotine pouch brands, and it’s made by a manufacturer of the same name. The company was first founded in 2002 to produce snus and challenge the larger brands. However, it transitioned to tobacco-free nicotine pouches in 2018.

Småland, a tree-dense province in southern Sweden, is the home of Skruf. While the brand is now popular across Scandinavia, Skruf still places emphasis on its roots and counts the small town of Sävsjö, Småland as its base.

The Imperial Tobacco Group (ITG) — the world’s fourth-largest cigarette company after Philip Morris, BAT, and Japan Tobacco — obtained full ownership of Skruf Snus AB in 2008. However, as with the case of Swedish Match, the Skruf brand name remains.

As well as Skruf Super White, Skruf Snus AB manufactures the newer Zone X brand, launched in 2021.

GN Tobacco

GN Tobacco is a Swedish company that produces smokeless tobacco and nicotine products. It was established in 2004 by Gevorg Nalbandyan with the same mission as Skruf Snus AB — challenging the small number of large brands dominating the market.

Now, GN Tobacco offers more than 80 products across its brands, which are sold in more than 90 countries. Its production is based in Enköping, a small locality around one hour from the bigger cities of Uppsala and Stockholm.

White Fox is GN Tobacco’s most well-known collection. Following the success of White Fox, GN Tobacco launched a second collection, HIT nicotine pouches, in 2022.

The Ministry of Snus

Now, we move on to some newer blood in the market. The Ministry of Snus was launched in 2018, more than a decade after original challenger brands like Skruf and GN Tobacco. While most nicotine pouch manufacturing is based in Sweden, The Ministry of Snus is from Denmark.

This isn’t the only way in which the firm shows a commitment to doing things differently. The Danish manufacturer invites an “expert panel” of its customers to its headquarters regularly, giving them a chance to share feedback and aid product development.

It’s also known for its commitment to sustainability, using 100% recycled plastic in its cans.

Despite having “snus” in its name, The Ministry of Snus produces tobacco-free products. Ace nicotine pouches are the manufacturer’s most popular collection, including Ace Superwhite and the full-bodied Ace X pouches. It’s also behind the GRITT brand.

Another Snus Factory

Despite a name hinting that it’s generic, Another Snus Factory is a modern, forward-thinking company based in Stockholm. Its Instagram bio says it all: “We’re not like them. We are Another Snus Factory.”

While only launched in 2019, Another Snus Factory has already made some headway in the market.

Its popular LOOP range shows how innovative the manufacturer is, as the products use InstantRush™ Technology to provide an immediate nicotine delivery and come in the recycled PlantCan™ (which is made entirely from natural materials).

Another Snus Factory also makes Lynx nicotine pouches.

Habit Factory

Habit Factory is another Stockholm-based manufacturer, although it also plans to open a nicotine pouch factory in Finland.

The manufacturer has a focus on great tastes, and its factories contain an in-house laboratory to explore unique pouch flavours and set new trends. This commitment shines through in Habit Factory’s products, which include the KLINT and FIX collections.

Other Nicotine Pouch Manufacturers

Combined together, the manufacturers outlined above cover Europe’s most popular nicotine pouch brands. But it’s far from an exhaustive list, with plenty more small, international, or up-and-coming manufacturers.

Which is your favourite?