How has competition in the vaping industry led to innovations that benefit all types of vapers, from hardcore hobbyists to casual ex-smokers?
Vaping Industry Embraces Competition to Drive Innovation and Improve Quality of Devices
When Chinese pharmacist Hon Lik invented the first modern e-cigarette in 2003, it was a pretty basic device by today’s standards. Designed solely as a smoking cessation aid, Hon Lik’s e-cigarette was a small and low-powered device; e-liquid flavour was an afterthought with early options consisting only of tobacco and mint.
Twenty years on, vaping has exploded in popularity, with thousands of manufacturers and devices pushing the boundaries with innovative and creative ideas to add increased quality and customisation to the vaping experience. With more e-liquid flavours and types of vaping devices on the market than any one person could try in a lifetime, it’s no surprise that the market has become fiercely competitive. Big names in vaping such as VooPoo, Uwell, Vaporesso, SMOK, and many more are constantly innovating in order to define the future of vaping, while smaller and up-and-coming brands are also rising in popularity.
It’s no secret that vaping exists in a somewhat strange position in society, blurring the lines between healthcare and hobby. While some people vape solely to avoid cigarette cravings and couldn’t care less about the latest VW mods and honeycomb airflow designs, others treat vaping as a serious hobby and method of self-expression. Because vaping has become a popular hobby, it’s no surprise that the industry has become increasingly innovative, creating better devices and technologies that benefit everyone from the former smoker who uses a small pod kit to avoid nicotine cravings to the hardcore hobbyist with a decked out box mod.
Here’s a closer look at how the popularity of vaping has led to the industry embracing competition and driving innovation to produce better devices for everyone.
The Importance of Innovation
In just two decades, vaping technology has improved rapidly to create better devices offering a more pleasant vaping experience, superior power output and battery life, and custom settings and modes that help vapers take control of their own experience.
At their most basic, vapes only need four things: a battery, a coil, a mouthpiece, and e-liquid. However, if this was all that vaping offered, it’s unlikely that it would be so popular and effective as a smoking cessation aid. Innovative technological advancements have allowed vapers to explore and experiment with everything from sub-ohm vaping and cloud chasing using low-resistance coils and getting the full flavour from e-liquids using temperature control mods. Constant innovation from various vape manufacturers drives up the quality of vape devices and provides an ever-improving vaping experience for consumers to enjoy.
The Role of Competition
There’s a reason that Shenzhen, China, has been called the vaping capital of the world. This is where around 90% of the world’s vape devices are designed and manufactured and it’s the home of some of the biggest vape brands including Innokin and SMOK. Fierce competition between the various world-leading vape manufacturers in Shenzhen and beyond has driven innovation while keeping down prices for consumers. This means that today it’s easier than ever to access the latest vape technology without breaking the bank – especially if you shop at a budget-friendly online vape store such as Legion of Vapers.
Quality Control and customer satisfaction
Fierce competition between various manufacturers also has beneficial impacts for quality control, with each vape brand looking to create the safest and most reliable devices for consumers to enjoy. In a highly competitive vaping market, vape brands ensure the safety of their products with rigorous quality and safety checks.
In addition to quality control, customer satisfaction is another key concern for vape manufacturers. Brands are striving to understand and meet the needs of customers with their latest designs, offering a wide variety of different features to suit all types of vaping preferences and habits.
The Future of Vaping
The global vape industry was valued at USD 22.45 billion in 2022 and is expected to grow rapidly at a compound annual growth rate of 30.6% from 2023 to 2030. It is likely that competition will continue to drive innovation and improve the quality and affordability of vaping in the coming years, with new technologies already being developed for better performance, longer battery life, and more powerful devices.
Looking back at how far vaping has come in the last 20 years since Hon Lik’s original designs, who knows what incredible vape devices we’ll be using in another 20 years time?
