Juul is now available for retailers to purchase from Bestway as part of the supplier’s plans to widen its distribution into the independent channel.

John Patterson, sales director at Juul Labs, said: “Independents and symbol retailers account for 45% of tobacco purchases, but less than 10% of overall vape sales, so the opportunity for the channel is huge and we estimate it could be worth an incremental £750m a year by 2020 if convenience gets its fair share.”

The deal will initially feature Juul Labs’ core range, including a starter kit and five Juulpod flavours (Golden Tobacco, Glacier Mint, Mango Nectar, Royal Creme and Apple Orchard) stocked in 10 selected Bestway and Batleys, with further depots joining once Juul’s age-verification process has been tested and verified.

Bestway customers who purchase Juul products will be required to agree to operate Challenge 25, Juul Labs’s mandatory age-verification requirement, in order to ensure prevention of access to the category by anyone under the legal purchasing age for vaping products.

The selected Bestway depots are Abbey Road, Hackney, Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, Brighton, Team Valley, Exeter and Batleys Leeds and Southampton depots.

Exclusive: RN sits down with Juul Labs to find out how retailers can gain a wider share of the vaping market