When Swedish Match wanted to know if its new ZYN nicotine pouches would appeal to American consumers, it chose Colorado as its initial test market in 2014.
Demand for the pouch — which is designed to provide nicotine without the carcinogens created by burning tobacco — was much stronger than expected.
That demand has only accelerated with each passing year. On Monday, the U.S. subsidiary of Philip Morris International (PMI), which acquired Swedish Match in 2022, officially opened its first greenfield manufacturing facility in Aurora to produce ZYN.
The 780,000-square-foot campus sits on 148 acres south of Denver International Airport. It will employ 500 workers at an average annual wage of $90,000.
Initially announced as a $600 million capital investment, PMI U.S. now plans to invest $1.2 billion in the facility through 2028.
“Since Colorado is the state where we sold the first can of Zyn ever, it is a homecoming for us,” said Stacey Kennedy, CEO of PMI U.S.
Using a “design-build delivery” approach, where one entity handles both the design and construction, the Aurora campus went from announcement to groundbreaking to full operations in two years.
The Aurora plant will work in tandem with an older facility in Owensboro, Ky., to supply the U.S. market and to create pouches to export to Asia and Latin America.
“Our ambition is to continue to replace combustible cigarettes as fast as we can get consumers to switch,” Kennedy said. “We want to be ahead of consumer demand.”
Aurora offers the company increased agility in its supply chain and geographical diversity so it can better cover markets across America, she said.
The rise of oral nicotine has met opposition. Public health advocates argue that ZYN pouches replace one form of nicotine addiction with another and are concerned about youth access.
In a high-profile news conference in early 2024, Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called for the FTC and FDA to invest ZYN’s marketing and health impacts.
PMI has conducted extensive research and says that the pouches are healthier than smoking tobacco, winning formal marketing authorization from the FDA in early 2005.
That was followed on June 30 with a Modified Risk Tobacco Product designation that allows PMI to market ZYN as carrying a lower risk of heart disease, stroke, and several cancers compared to traditional smoking.
For Kennedy, who came out to celebrate the plant opening on Monday, the connection between ZYN and Colorado has come full circle.
“It is a state known for providing Americans with better choices and better products,” Kennedy said.
