Marking new territory
Nordics warm to vaping with first ever Scandinavian vape show
By Gordon Stribling
The end of the year will soon be upon us, giving us pause to take
stock of another huge year for vaping. From the emergence of
mesh coils to the explosion of CBD, a lot has happened over the
past 10 months, all of it reflected at expos around the world.
On July 28, Vape Scandinavia touched down at The Forum
Copenhagen in Denmark. The first expo in the region brought
together vapers and vendors from industry hot spots like the US,
the UK and continental Europe, as well as Scandinavia itself.
“We had a strong showing from all over the region,” organizer
Jason Monti said. “Including show sponsors InSano and Smoke-
It and distributor Efuma from Denmark. Advocacy groups from
Norway, Sweden and Denmark were on-hand to answer questions
from vendors, too.”
Having previously broken new ground with Vape South America
in Colombia, Jason rose to the challenge of unifying countries
with contrasting vaping cultures and policies. The remit was simple
– to provide countries with a high demand for vaping products
with the business connections to grow the industry and supply a
growing contingent of vapers.
“We approached the show as a new event for a relatively new
market,” Jason said. “We now have a solid base to build on when
we return next year.”
Far from simply transposing one successful show to another
continent, Vape Scandinavia was reflective of the region’s vaping
habits and revealed some interesting insight into the tastes and
preferences of the local vaping community.
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“We approached the show as a new
event for a relatively new market. We
now have a solid base to build on when
we return next year”
“Scandinavians take vaping very seriously,” Jason said. “They
enjoy their gourmet e-liquids and custom coils, so there were far
fewer pod systems than we’ve seen in the EU and South America
in the past year.”
While expos provide a focal point for the world’s vaping community,
Jason plans to drum up more local support next time around, with
more boots-on-the-ground marketing, flyers and radio appearances.
“We actually held back on marketing and advertising this time as
we assumed that there were more restrictions in place than there
turned out to be.”
The next event will be after the summer holidays in September
2019, maximizing attendance and helping build more connections
between businesses and vapers. That will be held at Denmark’s
Bella Centre.
In the meantime, Jason will be returning to Vape South America
twice, including a trip to Paraguay on January 19 for the country’s
first ever vape expo.