Vapouround Magazine Canada VMC ISSUE 1 | Page 92

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. 92 | VMC “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.