What’s Next for Capsule Filters

by

By Patrick Meredith / Strategy & Business Development Director, Essentra

Since the first cigarette filter was created by inventor Boris Aivaz in 1924 in cooperation with Bunzl’s Filtronic subsidiary, cigarette filters have changed dramatically, from the manufacturing processes to the materials used. Like any industry, the manufacture of filters has been heavily influenced by consumer tastes, technology, and regulation, leading to the introduction of filters in different sizes, materials, tobacco concentration, and flavors.

When first introduced to the market, filters were made of crepe paper, with some variants including cellulose wadding. The initial uptake, however, was relatively slow as very few machines could produce cigarettes with filtered tips included. The difficulty in manufacturing meant that cigarettes with filters were considered as more luxury items until 1935 when British company Molins introduced the first filter cigarette combining machine. At the same time, doctors and researchers began to find evidence of a link between smoking and lung diseases.

This, therefore, led to an increase in demand for filtered cigarettes as they were considered to have less impact on the consumer’s health – it was recognized that by incorporating filters into cigarettes whilst maintaining the same stick length, less tobacco was required and less tar was delivered to the consumer. As a result, by the early 1960s when more advanced and efficient machinery was more prevalent and consumer awareness increased, filtered cigarettes began to dominate the market.

Further to the above, the surge in demand for filters had some additional benefits for manufacturers. Firstly, cigarettes with filters were cheaper to make as filters cost less than tobacco and secondly the filter provided additional opportunities for innovation. Manufacturers experimented with different materials for the filters, including cellulose acetate, which is now industry standard. Advances in technology and machinery also led to the creation of more complex and adventurous filters, such as segment filters and mentholated filters. These original filters provided customers different sensations and experiences when smoking, offering brand and product differentiation.

One of the more interesting filter developments was capsule filters. Though the first use of a capsule in a cigarette is thought to have been invented in 1924, the capsule was situated in the mouthpiece and was pierced as opposed to crushed. It was 40 years later in the late 1960s when applications for patents were filed for filters containing a capsule. This was mainly driven by the focus on consumer health that has previously been highlighted and these capsules were not intended to contain flavoured substances; they were composed mainly of water which was considered an effective filtration medium for a number of chemicals within cigarette smoke.   Capsules that provided flavors were introduced much later, hitting the market for the first time in Japan, in 2008.

Capsule filters today

Since then, the demand for flavored capsule filters has increased significantly, as they meet customers’ evolving tastes and preferences. They provide flexibility, variety and ‘mass personalization’; customers can personalize their experience by choosing which flavors they wish to smoke and when during their consumption they want to release the flavors.

Nowadays capsules vary in terms of flavors, ranging from the more traditional, such as menthol, to the more niche, such as rose or green tea. With an audible ‘pop’ when the integrated capsule is crushed, capsule filters enhance the customer experience through the addition of sound as well as taste. At Essentra, a leading global supplier of specialty filters, the entry point capsule filter is the Sensation™ filter. The Sensation™ currently comes in a wide range of different flavours, including grape, apple, spearmint, and osmanthus.

In addition, capsules can be incorporated into dual segment filters to add extra features. For example, capsules can be embedded in dual-segment carbon filters, or be included in filters that incorporate a tube segment. Similarly, dual segment filters with capsules in both segments mean consumers can enjoy a bespoke experience. A filter with two capsules means consumers can get twice the flavor, on demand – as can be seen with one of Essentra’s most recent proprietary innovation, the TwinSense™. Filters with two capsules are seen to be the filter type that offers the customer the most control; consumers can choose not to burst the capsules at all, to burst one for one flavor, or to burst both for a combination of the two. There are a number of flavor combinations available, such as menthol and strawberry or menthol and grape.

However, with further legislation scheduled for implementation, there may be limitations within the capsule market.  For example, in accordance to the EU Tobacco Products Directive, menthol cigarettes will be banned in the EU by May 2020. Plus, a ban on cigarettes containing characterizing flavorings has already gone in to recent effect in the US, authorized by the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. More recently FDA proposed to ban menthol, although any legislation will still need to go through a number of regulatory phases so may take some time to implement.  Until this legislation is realized, brands can use menthol capsule filters to differentiate themselves and diversify their portfolio.

As the global consumption of cigarettes is beginning to plateau and decline in some markets, it is essential that manufacturers continue to widen their portfolios, keeping consumer tastes at top of mind. New and more exciting flavorings are an effective way of doing so and this can be seen with the continued popularity of capsules, even now. Furthermore, with more vapour products entering the market, with increasingly more unique flavors, cigarette manufacturers must keep up to stay competitive.