One of Imperial Tobacco’s latest cigarette launches illustrated the growing importance of value and economy cigarettes to the UK market.
Introduced in the spring, L&B Blue was made available in packs of King Size 19s. The launch included a smooth variant, and saw L&B Blue positioned in what Imperial Tobacco calls the sub-economy price sector, with an RRP of £6.40, which the firm said gave 6.42% profit on return (POR) for retailers.
At the launch, the firm said economy and sub-economy brands accounted for 43% of all cigarette sales and that all evidence suggested trends would continue to be towards low-cost cigarettes this year.
Alison Williams, senior brand manager at Imperial Tobacco, said: “Increasingly cost is a key consideration for shoppers. Consumers are looking for lower-priced, quality products from big brands.
“L&B Blue is expected to appeal to smokers who in the past have switched from Lambert & Butler. It will also appeal to long-time value smokers who previously haven’t been able to afford a product from the Lambert & Butler family.”
