Best ZYN Alternatives

The surging popularity of tobacco-free nicotine pouches is undeniable. They compete with traditional oral tobacco products like snus and dip. Increasingly, smokers and vapers are turning to nicotine pouches as a viable option as well. Mi-Pod has an expanding collection of nicotine pouches and will continue to add independent products not manufactured by the tobacco industry.

ZYNsurrection

The dominant force in the nicotine pouch market is ZYN. A product of Phillip Morris International, ZYN won a rare public relations victory against well-funded nicotine prohibitionist lobbyists and their political henchmen when conservative politicians rallied to humiliate Democrat Chuck Schumer and his evidence free demand for a ban on nic pouch flavors. It was referred to as the ZYNSurrection.

Declines in smoking rates have started to stall ; if we're going to help more adults quit combustible cigarettes we have to embrace harm reduction and offer adult smokers modified risk nicotine products that don't have same risks as combusting tobacco 1/2 https://t.co/l3a1zmffqc

— Scott Gottlieb, MD (@ScottGottliebMD) February 26, 2024

For too many years, adult nicotine users have been vilified and denied their flavor preferences, while the science behind alternative products is systemically suppressed, and false narratives generated by Bloomberg-funded, total-abstinence lobbyists like the Orwellian-named Truth Initiative have been allowed to dominate public health discourse.

What Are Nicotine Pouches?

We have plenty of resource pages here to answer every question you may have on nicotine pouches. Simply put, nicotine pouches contain synthetic nicotine and use widely available, shelf stable ingredients to create an oral delivery platform.

Compared to traditional tobacco products, they are more flavor forward, have controlled nicotine strength, and provide an effective nicotine experience for adult users who are seeking other alternatives.

• What is in a Nicotine Pouch?
• How to Use Nicotine Pouches?
• Nicotine Pouches versus Snus and Chewing Tobacco
• Advantages of Nicotine Pouches Over Vaping
• Who Makes Each Brand of Nicotine Pouch?

Tobacco Free and Big Tobacco Free

The appeal of smokeless and vaporless nicotine for adults who currently vape, or smoke is obvious, but it is natural that many of us would like to cut the cord with the tobacco industry as well.

Obviously, this freedom is not possible when their smoking combustible cigarettes. And vaping is not being made an easy transition endless efforts at lobbying and regulatory capture pose an existential threat to the independent vaping industry, as outlined in our feature The Big Lies of Big Tobacco.

At this time, the FDA has approved only seven obsolete e-cigarettes and even most popular products of Altria, NJOY and Phillip Morris cost many times more to operate than a disposable vape. 

If you are a current user of nicotine seeking an alternative to ZYN that is made by companies outside the tobacco industry there are many viable alternatives. This is the case because nicotine pouch technology is basic at its root and uses commercially available synthetic nicotine.

If you do not have time to read this entire feature, we have judged that the best ZYN alternative at this time is the  ZIMO Nicotine Pouch Collection.

Nicotine Pouch Brands

Despite some inherent similarities in nicotine pouch formulations, anyone who has used them will assure you that there are differences. There are many nicotine pouch brands on the market. Big Tobacco certainly has their share of entries. ZYN is the big dog, but British American Tobacco's Velo, Altria's On! , and Swisher's Rogue compete for shelf space. If you are an adult who currently consumes nicotine, this guide to ZYN alternatives will provide a useful lay of the land. 

Zimo Nicotine Pouches

While there is another great pouch with juice in its in name, juiciness seems to be the most common adjective when comparing Zimo to ZYN. Zimo actually has fewer flavors than ZYN, but they cover a wider range of flavor profiles. The Zimo brand does not currently offer coffee pouches but almost any personal preference of an adult pouch user is met by their six flavor options.

Best ZYN Alternatives

• Zimo Wintergreen
• Zimo Mint
• Zimo Cinnamon
• Zimo Mango
• ZImo Blueberry
• Zimo Grape

Zimo Pouches Flavors Product Pages

• Wintergreen Zimo Nicotine Pouches
• Mint Zimo Nicotine Pouches
• Cinnamon Zimo Nicotine Pouches
• Mango Zimo Nicotine Pouches
• Blueberry Zimo Nicotine Pouches
• Grape Zimo Nicotine Pouches

What sticks out about the Zimo Pouches collection is that they cover the flavors of the traditional tobacco products while reaching out to adult vapers being denied the flavors they prefer. It is a smokeless and vaporless product which is formulated to deliver the distinct impression of freshness.

By offering the flavors adult vapers prefer, as the FDA's own data shows on the table above, while also delivering the classic taste profiles that smokeless tobacco fans are used to, Zimo offers an alternative nicotine experience and the best alternative to ZYN.

Juice Head Pouches

Where Zimo managed to check the taste, boxes desired by typical oral tobacco product users seeking synthetic alternatives and meet the needs of adult vapers, the Juice Head Pouch Collection is laser focused on adult vapers with their fruit forward collection of flavors.

There is not a cinnamon or wintergreen pouch in sight. But this is no surprise as Juice Head is one of the most respected US-based vape juice brands. They are painfully aware of the millions of adult vapers who are being funneled back towards combustibles and Big Tobacco products by legally challenged FDA regulations.

Juice Head Pouch Flavors

• Juice Head Pouches Mango Strawberry Mint
• Juice Head Pouches Blueberry Lemon Mint
• Juice Head Pouches  Watermelon Strawberry Mint
• Raspberry Lemonade Mint
• Juice Head Pouches Peach Pineapple Mint

Juice Head has done a tremendous job of leveraging their knowledge on how to make a vape taste great and applying that to ZYN Alternatives. They also are a level up in terms of nicotine strength. Simply put, these pouches are seemingly designed for the current nic salt disposable vape users who are under siege by Big Tobacco. Each one of them blends the taste of fruit with a kick of cool mint.

ZYN Nicotine Pouches

For a tobacco-industry hellbent on banning the vape flavors that adults prefer and embracing the "kid friendly" rhetoric of total nicotine abstinence extremists, ZYN sure comes with a lot of flavor options.

This product of Phillip Morris International has even more flavor options outside the US market. Perhaps there are no teens over there? So, no Black Currant ZYN or Apple Mint ZYN just yet.

ZYN Pouches in the US market come in 3 and 6mg nicotine strength. Each tin contains 20 pouches. The typical user will go through a can every two days based on our research, regardless of strength selected. A ZYN pouch is designed to be held in your mouth for 30 minutes, at which point the flavor and nicotine should have been absorbed.

A bit of research online turns up that the common critique of the ZYN Nicotine Pouches is a dry mouth feel. The lack of higher nicotine strength options also sticks out, although it makes sense from a business perspective why PMI would not necessarily want a product potent enough to completely usurp the snus, chewing tobacco, and combustible cigarettes.

ZYN Pouch Flavors (US Market)

• ZYN Wintergreen
• ZYN Spearmint
• ZYN Cool Mint
• ZYN Citrus
• ZYN Peppermint
• ZYN Cinnamon
• ZYN Smooth
• ZYN Chill

On! Pouches

Admittedly, an Altria product does not make a very compelling ZYN alternative brand. At least if your goal is moving beyond the clutches of the tobacco industry. Their product in general has been buried by ZYN in sales and public awareness. On! pouches come in 4 and 8mg strength.

On! Pouch Flavors

 On! has a reasonable selection, including an unflavored nicotine pouch option. The classics, Cinnamon, Mint, and Wintergreen are all there. Nothing much to write home about but solid. They also have some fruit characterizing flavors (gasp!), and a Coffee. 

Velo Pouches

Probably most notable for their colorful Indy Car and Formula 1 liveries for the McLaren team, Velo is a product of British American Tobacco. As a brand, they are overshadowed by ZYN. Offering 4 and 6mg nicotine strength pouches, they pulled no punches when it comes to flavor options.

Velo Flavors

Velo has a somewhat more confusing line-up than their rivals. They have four mint flavors, which come in 2, 4 and 7mg strength. Velo also have four fruit flavors, available in lower nicotine strengths of 2 and 4mg. They really dove into the vape style flavors here, although these flavors are just as common in beverages. 

Cinnamon Velo and Coffee Velo round up their line-up. With major changes to their packaging, they are sold in both plastic cans and metal tins, Velo appears to be scrambling to compete in the US as an alternative to ZYN. But they do provide US adult customers with a more robust collection of flavor alternatives. 

Rogue Pouches

Rogue Pouches are available two nicotine strength options: 3 and 6mg. A subsidiary of the tobacco-giant Swisher, they are sold in ten flavors.

Rogue Pouch Flavors

Compared to the other Big Tobacco players, they have a similar assortment of multiple mint flavors, but their collection of fruit inspired flavors is a bit more aggressive than ZYN.

Rogue Wintergreen, Rogue Peppermint, Rogue Spearmint, Rogue Mango, Rogue Apple, Rogue Berry, Rogue Honey Lemon, Rogue Cinnamon, Rogue Tabac, Rogue Original

As the Rogue brand is tied to Swisher, they have a background with flavored products. While nothing they offer is too earth shattering or creative, there are gas station customers with limited selections who will consider this a great ZYN alternative.

FRĒ Pouches

If the goal is simply a pouch with as much nicotine as possible, FRĒ wins. They have a 15mg option. This is their primary brand identity as the lower strength options is still 9mg. In their defense, the four available flavors cover quite a bit of ground.

FRĒ Pouches Flavors

FRĒ Mint, FRĒ Wintergreen, FRĒ Lush, FRĒ Sweet

FRĒ Lush is a tropical fruit flavor, with the name clearly inspired by popular Lush Ice vape products. FRĒ Sweet has simple kick of sugary sweetness rather than a more developed taste but is surprisingly alluring. FRĒ Mint and FRĒ Wintergreen are the obligatory flavor combinations that every brand but Juice Head offers and represent the best-selling nicotine pouch and pouch tobacco flavors.

Lucy Pouches

Lucy Pouches have two styles, multiple nicotine strengths, and several great flavors. This is a nic pouch brand that covers a lot of ground. Lucy Slim is their traditional nicotine pouch product. Then there is also Lucy Breakers.

Lucy Breakers

Long-time smokers and tobacco pouch users have encountered the liquid flavor capsule before. Often imbuing a stronger menthol punch and housed in either the filter or the center of the pouch, this interactive technology is purportedly designed to offer long-lasting flavor.

Lucy Pouches embrace this in their Lucy Breakers line-up. To use a Lucy Breaker, you unpark the nicotine pouch and gently chomp. It can then be returned to whence it came, generating additional flavor.

An added advantage of Lucy Breakers is that the capsule releases moisture. This makes it a great ZYN alternative. Much like Zimo, the dryness of the ZYN is a common critique, and this innovation gives the Lucy Brand an advantage over PMI’s staple nicotine pouch product.

Lucy Slim Pouches come in 4mg, 8mg, and 12mg strength. Lucy Breakers forego the lower strength option, offering only 8mg and 12mg strength.

Lucy Flavors

Lucy Breakers Apple Ice, Lucy Breakers Mint, Lucy Breakers Apple Cider, Lucy Breakers Berry Citrus, Lucy Breakers Espresso, Lucy Breakers Mango, Lucy Slim Pouches Mango, Lucy Slim Pouches Espresso, Lucy Slim Pouches Mint, Lucy Slim Pouches Wintergreen

The Lucy flavors are rock solid and there is a decent variety. They are covering every base, and rightly identified apple as a common flavor added to brands of chewing tobacco such as Skoal. The Lucy Breakers definitely outset the dryness while the Slim Pouches are perfectly serviceable and an excellent alternative to Zyn. 

Our Verdict

The ZYN alternatives market ranges from cookie cutter to creative, but at the end of the day it is flavor and user-experience that count most. Zimo Pouches may not have the elevated nicotine strengths of FRĒ Pouches, the flavor breakers found in Lucy, or the full array of mint-fruit fusion flavors of Juice Head, but they have turned out a totally balanced nicotine pouch product that simply works.

The combination of pH control, artificial flavors and sweeteners provides a juicy mouthfeel that is currently peerless. The balance of flavors is outstanding. And to top it off, they have the full array of minty flavors that current users of snus and similar products are likely to enjoy.

This allows Zimo Nicotine Pouches to appeal to current vapers, snus and tobacco users, and serve as the best ZYN alternative.  

Why Tobacco Free?

The practicality of tobacco-free nicotine pouches is straightforward. They contain no-tobacco and ZYN went to great lengths when launching their product to demonstrate that this means that these pouches are free from carcinogenic tobacco-specific nitrosamines.

The name of the is quite a mouthful but anyone currently using chewing tobacco should probably peruse this study published in the BMC Chemical Journal: Harmful and potentially harmful constituents (HPHCs) in two novel nicotine pouch products in comparison with regular smokeless tobacco products and pharmaceutical nicotine replacement therapy products (NRTs). While chewing tobacco is obviously not combusted, the process of curing and processing was found to impart many carcinogens.

THE FUTURE OF CIGARETTE SALES

Smoking rates have been declining for almost 60 years. This progress has been checked by FDA regulations. An FTC report in the October 2021 found cigarette sales increased for the first time in a quarter century. 

Even with this recent reversal of fortune, the erosion of the core cigarette business has been severe. As reported in the Wall Street Journal:

"According to data from Marlboro maker, cigarettes’ share of the U.S. nicotine industry fell to 60% last year, down from 80% in 2018. Smokers are switching to smoke-free products such as vapes in higher numbers than expected. If the trend continues, it will only take another three years for cigarettes’ share to slip below 50%."

The table below shows where this pressure has been coming from. The US adult population has grown by some 23 million since 2011. The total number of adult nicotine users, be it tobacco, vapes or pouches, has declined. 

But with vaping under attack in the US, although the National Health Service in the UK hosts the website Using Vaping to Quit Smoking, nicotine pouches are emerging as a go-to alternative to product. 

To date, this has played right into Big Tobacco's hands. But with alternative products made by independent companies like Zimo, is it possible that adult Americans are entering a world where they will have the freedom to choose alternative products and vote with their pocketbook against the tobacco industry?

Check out our interview with founder of Zimo for more information on the revolutionary world of nicotine pouches.