1 of 8
Usonic’s pen unit with inserted NISE+ heat stick. Photo credit: First Union Technology
2 of 8
Smoore’s Aileen Du brandishing a sleep MiEE-fitted device.
3 of 8
Smoore’s Hill Qiu clearly finds MiEE fantastic.
4 of 8
MiEE – A wow moment in the palm of your hand. Photo credit: Smoore
5 of 8
6 of 8
Abel Zheng, Sixhill’s senior brand and marketing director. Photo credit: First Union Technology
7 of 8
Sixhill’s Usonic deploys the Atine 3-D spiral heating technology. Photo credit: First Union Technology
8 of 8
NISE+ sticks by Sixhill. Photo credit: First Union Technology
Almost no month passes without some exciting innovation in the HTP segment.
As brand owners continue to heavily invest in heated tobacco product (HTP) r&d, almost no month goes by without an exciting new device or groundbreaking technology emerging. Chinese firms, arguably the originators of a tobacco consumption method that back in the early days were clunkily called “heat-not-burn” (HNB), are particularly aggressive at advancing the industry. Where the first heat sticks tasted terrible, next generation sticks finally managed to emulate the taste of a combustible cigarette (but not its smell). Heating methods also have become considerably more sophisticated than their crude predecessors. The devices themselves not only are getting tremendously stylish but also increasingly sleeker and lightweight, too.
A revolutionary dual heating system
MiEE is the latest sub-brand under the umbrella of Shenzhen Smoore Technology Co., Ltd., one of the longest-standing trailblazers in the HTP business. According to MiEE sales manager Hill Qiu, the name is an abbreviation for “Multiple Effect Evaporator,” whereas the curious lower-case “i” symbolizes the heat stick itself. MiEE was only introduced at Germany’s InterTabac exhibition in September 2023. “Several of our business partners have since adopted this technical solution for products under their own brands, and which will soon be launched in certain European and East Asian markets,” divulged sales director Aileen Du.
But what makes MiEE so revolutionary? Well, flavored heat sticks typically gain their non-tobacco aroma from a crushable flavor capsule embedded in the tobacco filling. The capsule needs to be crushed before inserting the stick into the device’s heating chamber, thus working in pretty much the same way a regular flavor capsule cigarette does. However, the common downside with capsule heat sticks is that the flavor becomes flatter and flatter with every puff the user takes. MiEE, on the other hand, provides consistent flavor intensity from the first puff to the last, and this is due to MiEE’s ingenious dual-heating system.
Two-in-one atomizing and vaporizing
In simple terms, MiEE consists of two separate heating modules. One of them is an atomizer integrated in a flavored e-liquid pod; the other is the heating chamber that holds the heat stick. When in use, the device draws vapors produced by these two modules independently from one another and then mixes them together within the device itself to result in a – for lack of a better term – “e-liquid-and-heated-tobacco flavor cocktail.” So far, so good. But it is the device core where the true magic happens. “It allows for fully adjusting the two heating modules’ temperature settings according to brand owners’ or local distributors’ requirements and, thus, influences the flavor intensities drawn from either of them,” explained Du. “That enables the creation of very unique e-vapor and heat stick mixes – and all of that within the same device.” The end consumer also has the choice of deploying the heating modules individually, meaning they can either activate the heat stick only while keeping the e-liquid pod inactive; or vice versa.
The advantage of a hybrid system
While tobacco-flavored heat sticks taste quite the same across brands, the “add-in” vaping flavors create a complex, new, and exciting user experience. “We tried and tested more than 1,000 [e-liquid] formulas to figure out which characterizing flavor profiles match best with the generic tobacco flavor coming from the heat sticks,” remarked MiEE product manager Zale Zhu. He added that MiEE is compatible with any heat sticks with the standard 7.2mm diameter, “regardless whether they are herbal or tobacco based.” Although the MiEE devices Smoore exhibited at InterTabac 2023 merely were prototype samples, the first generation of actual commercial products deploying the MiEE system has in the meantime reached the Chinese company’s clients and will become available for their respective brands around May or June 2024. “Try MiEE and get your wow moment! We are confident you’ll be totally obsessed with it after 7 days of continuous use!” promised Aileen Du.
Yet another Chinese outfit, Shenzhen First Union Technology Co., Ltd. has been a trailblazer in the heated tobacco arena in its very own right, particularly with its Sixhill brand. “Our slogan is, Your Guide to the Heated Tobacco World,” Sixhill’s senior brand and marketing director, Abel Zheng, summed it up perfectly. “Everyone can find their suitable product within our Sixhill portfolio to enjoy the pleasure and harm reduction provided by heated tobacco.”
Make it lighter, make it smaller
Weighing only 34 grams, the pen-style Usonic not only is one of the latest additions to the Sixhill portfolio but is also regarded as one of the world’s smallest heated to-bacco devices. “With Usonic we are reinforcing the prevailing trend of making devices smaller and lighter than ever to accommodate increasingly more mobile lifestyles,” explained Zheng. Usonic’s 730mAh battery can be fully recharged within 70 minutes using a type-C USB cable, the detachable pen then being good for about 15 smoking sessions. But, similar to PMI’s IQOS Iluma Prime, the Usonic is going to become available later this year in a recharging dock edition as well. The device deploys Sixhill’s proprietary Atine heating technology, which “due to its 3-D spiral heating body has a larger heat source area that delivers more heat to the tobacco and can thus release the flavor faster and more evenly, creating the ultimate vaporization experience,” according to Abel Zheng.
Presently, Usonic comes in four stylish color shades: space gray, champagne gold, emerald green, and dark purple. “However, the plan is to expand that palette with more colors that we want to customize in the favorite shades of the different markets where the device eventually becomes available,” Zheng said. As of January 2024, the Usonic is retailed in Indonesia only, where it can be purchased in Sixhill official stores and Sixhill partner shops including minimarts, as well as on the popular Tokopedia online store. Launches in other markets will depend on the feedback from Indonesian users.
A bunch of NISE+ components
Usonic can be loaded with Sixhill’s proprietary heat sticks under the NISE+ label, but it is also fully compatible with any other heat stick brands that have a 7.2mm diameter, which is pretty much the industry standard nowadays. However, NISE+ sticks are packed with quite a few more features than meet the eye. “Besides selected finely ground tobacco, NISE+ sticks also impart components such as a cooling plug that helps lower the aerosol temperature for a more comfortable mouth feel; an airflow chamber that ensures that just the right amount of aerosol passes through the stick for a satisfying and easy draw; and of course, a protective paper wrap to avoid tobacco residue spillage, negating annoying cleaning of the heating chamber” elaborated Zheng.
The world’s first kretek stick
In addition to its six regular flavors, NISE+ has another ace up its sleeve, but for the time being exclusively for the Indonesian market only: the world’s first kretek-flavored heat stick, rolled out only in April 2024. The distinct clove flavor is beloved across the vast Southeast Asian archipelago, but pretty much nowhere else. “To be honest, only Indonesians like kretek-flavored cigarettes – and now they also can enjoy this particular flavor with our NISE+ sticks,” pointed out Parlin Harbet, Sixhill’s senior brand and marketing manager in Indonesia. “The market for heat sticks and alternative tobacco products is highly competitive in Indonesia, so by introducing kretek-flavored sticks we aim to differentiate NISE+ from other brands,” Harbet reasoned. But whether the kretek sticks also will premiere elsewhere is somewhat questionable at this moment. “It’s going to largely hinge on the feedback from Indonesia. If it is good, we may consider rolling out the kretek sticks in some other markets, too,” said Harbet.
AURR-some!
Indonesia appears to be a most rewarding launch market for Sixhill products in any case, for it was in October 2023 that the company launched another groundbreaking heated tobacco product precisely there: AURR. In fact, the Shenzhen-based firm regards AURR a more likely candidate for international distribution than Usonic – and with good reason, too. The device uses groundbreaking Breelight infrared heating technology that was originally developed by Sixhill. Besides AURR, the technology so far has only been picked up by a small handful of other brands, leaving it a novelty that has yet to make it into the mainstream, though that may be only a matter of time.
Smoke it twice
A further feature of AURR is probably even more exciting than the company’s kretek sticks. Modern heated tobacco devices generally only permit for a limited number of puffs within one session before their heat sticks exhaust, must be discarded, and have to be exchanged for a new stick. With AURR’s proprietary Terea sticks this wasteful practice is becoming a thing of the past, as each stick can in fact be used twice.
In other words: a Terea stick does not have to be thrown away after the first session, but can be left in the heating chamber and be used a second time – without aroma or flavor loss! “It’s a very cost-effective way for consumers to enjoy their heated tobacco,” remarked Parlin Harbet before hinting at Sixhill’s plans to earmark AURR and Terea for “distribution in countries where IQOS already exists.” Accordingly, besides its launch market of Indonesia, the company already has rolled-out the two products in Italy (January 2024) and the Philippines (February 2024) while it is presently gearing up for Japan (July 2023). Now, if that isn’t AURR-some, what is?