How did this come about?
When life gives you lychees, make a beloved, bestselling e-liquid.
Managing Director Hing Wong is a man of many talents, all of
which have converged into the creation of ZAP! Juice. Hing’s
professional background is in theoretical physics and natural
sciences. His talents for chemistry would later come into play
when ZAP!’s first juices were being mixed. The company’s
reputation for flavour was established as soon as its products hit
the market and under his guidance, it can stay this way.
“My first job was writing PlayStation games,” says Hing, “I worked
as an IT contractor until the recession in 2007. A lot of companies
weren’t hiring contractors anymore and I moved on.”
Hing’s wide skillset kept him in employment running several pubs.
He encountered his first e-cigarette several years later in Wigan,
with the assurance that this would be the next big thing and he
needed to get in on it. Hing was convinced, and by 2012, the
phenomenon that would become ZAP! Juice was born, beginning
as a single retail vape shop. Happy as he was to be involved in
the vape trade, it took a while to get things into gear.
“It was a 200 square foot shop holding three cabinets and only
ten available flavours. I had thirty products, maximum, in there.”
In 2013, Hing expanded into wholesaling upon learning that
Chinese e-liquid manufacturer Dekang was red hot. “Our first
order was 1,000 bottles.”
Then comes that familiar story, when an entrepreneurially-minded
person gets a taste of the vape industry and begins to wonder
“what if?” – envisioning their own liquids and other products,
wondering how far they can take things.
“By 2015, we started to seriously consider making our own
liquids.”
Hing’s scientific knowledge gave him a slight edge, and he soon
noticed how he could gain an edge on the flavour front.
“Most companies were using standard food flavourings for their
liquids,” he says. “There’s nothing wrong with this, but it doesn’t
always translate to an e-liquid, especially when vapourised
at such a high temperature. There’s a disconnect between the
liquids and the foods/fruits/cocktails et cetera, that inspire them.”
“Sometimes this industry feels like the perfume
and pop-record business; there’s a lot of fads,
but the good ideas will last forever”
The team sampled all the flavours being sold by industry leaders,
getting to know everything as they found a way to stand out.
The process of mixing came from extensive research looking
at formulas at a molecular level. By lucky chance, he happened
across an e-liquid formula which formed one of ZAP’s finest
products.
“We started with 25 litres of lychee concentrate and didn’t even
know what to do with it, so we added it to the e-liquid formula. We
didn’t even know what we were mixing at first, but it turned out
brilliantly!”
The team found similar success with a cola flavour. Every liquid
company worth their salt relies on feedback, and ZAP’s cola and
lychee liquids received rave reviews.
Though flavour specialists, the company has also carved out a
respectable place in the market for their branding and product
presentation. They won Best Branding at Vape Jam 2017. Their
trade show presence is marked by a distinctly cost-effective
and environmentally-friendly wood palate setup, eschewing the
traditional metal and plastic shell scheme. ZAP! also turned heads
with an innovative response to the TPD which vastly improved
the standard presentation of e-liquids. Hing wondered how they
could avoid the confinement of the typical 10ml bottle/sticker/box
packaging and make their product look more upmarket, choosing
to sell bottles in a light and easily-stored bag. This extended to
the art style:
“A lot of companies had urban or graffiti-inspired art with complex
patterns. We wanted something that would be visible on vape
shop shelves and more identifiable to browsing mobile users.”
For all they have going, there’s a strong feeling of emerging
promise with ZAP! – they’re a company who have earned their
reputation but have plenty left. Hing guarantees big, new things
for 2018, and doesn’t dare spoil it yet.
“The product has to be more than a commodity. Sometimes this
industry feels like the perfume and pop-record business; there’s a
lot of fads, but the good ideas will last forever.”
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