Tatsuya Shiga, who heads Japan Tobacco's (JT) Kansai factory in Kyoto, just a few weeks ago visited the cigarette giant's manufacturing plant in the Philippines.
Speaking to Manila Bulletin after a media tour of the Kansai facility on Nov. 27, Tatsuya-san noted that the factory in Malvar, Batangas, which churns out traditional cigarettes, is relatively newer, hence has modern equipment and capabilities.
The 42-year-old Kansai factory that Tatsuya-san leads produces not only combustibles but also 18 types of refills of their top-selling Ploom X—making it the lone facility out of JT's three Japan factories that manufactures sticks of their innovative heated-tobacco product exclusively for the domestic market.
"Do you think there's any chance that JT could also produce Ploom tobacco sticks in the Philippines in the future?" Manila Bulletin asked Tatsuya-san.
"Perhaps, if your country will have a big Ploom sales volume," he replied.
While Ploom X was officially launched here in the country only last November, JT International (JTI) wants to replicate its massive success in the Japan market, where it's now the No. 1 brand a decade since the introduction of the Japanese parent-firm's first heated-tobacco product.
Leveraging from their position of being the country's fastest-growing tobacco firm, JTI Philippines general manager John Freda said in a Nov. 4 statement that "with the introduction of Ploom, it is another remarkable milestone as we are proud to be the first in Asia, outside of Japan, to launch the brand—a sign of our commitment to continue building on our expanding market presence."
"At JTI, we operate with the consumer at the heart of everything we do. Ploom is designed to meet the evolving needs and demands of today's adult smokers, catering to a broader consumer base," Freda said.
"With Ploom, we are introducing Filipino consumers to a truly unique experience, giving them the best of our cutting-edge heated-tobacco technology," he added.
In particular, JTI Philippines is now selling locally—online and at selected retail stores located in Metro Manila—the device's latest version, dubbed Ploom X Advanced, which the company said employs Japanese HeatFlow technology.
JTI Philippines claimed that this technological breakthrough provides users with a "true tobacco taste" sans ash or smoke, as well as minimizes the smell of tobacco.
"Ploom is flourishing in markets where it is present, and we are eager to grow the brand here in the Philippines," said JTI Philippines marketing director Erika Viveiros.
She said JTI Philippines recognizes the "significance" of the expanding heated-tobacco product category in the country, which Ploom X Advanced aims to satisfy.
In Japan, JT's Ploom heated-tobacco line-up has become the company's top draw in its reduced-risk products (RRPs) portfolio, which also includes Logic e-cigarettes, Nordic Spirit nicotine pouches, as well as With infused tobacco capsules and devices.
"RRPs are a growing area in the industry, as they reduce the health risk associated with smoking," JT RRP director Akira Yamaguchi told a press briefing held at the global tobacco giant's Tokyo headquarters on Nov. 26.
Even as its traditional combustible cigarettes continue to drive profits and despite "tremendous challenges" to the tobacco industry as a whole, Yamaguchi said JT is investing about 450 billion Japanese yen (around $3 billion) in RRPs from 2024 to 2026, specifically to further grow the heated-tobacco business bolstered by Ploom, while also exploring other RRP segments.
This massive investment—of which four-fifths would be spent on marketing efforts and the remainder split into capital expenditures (capex) as well as research and development (R&D)—is expected to be recouped by 2028, by making JT's RRP business segment profitable.
Globally, JT's ambition is to widen Ploom X's reach to over 40 markets by 2026, from the current 24, including the Philippines, where the product has been "well-received" by customers due to its quality.
Referring to their Ploom X market-expansion target for 2026, Yamaguchi said the company is "on track to achieve this milestone."
However, at the moment, JT has no plan to produce Ploom X's tobacco sticks in any new location besides the existing factories in Japan and Poland. At present, refills sold outside the Japanese market are all supplied from the European country.
Still, JT is not closing its doors on further Ploom X manufacturing expansion in the future, especially with a rosier outlook for heated-tobacco than combustibles.
Based on JT's midterm growth projections, heated-tobacco products like Ploom X would have bigger sales than traditional cigarettes by 2035.
The global tobacco industry's overall sales volume is seen declining by an average of one percent yearly during the period 2022 to 2035, as combustibles would drop by a faster 2.5 percent.
RRPs and the heated-tobacco segment, in particular, will nonetheless keep the industry afloat by an expected about eight-percent annual growth in the same period, based on JT estimates.
For its part, while JTI Philippines did not disclose any local sales target for Ploom X, it said last month's launch reflects their "continued commitment to building a business for the long term in the Philippines."
For instance, JTI Philippines' "state-of-the-art" and "world-class" Batangas manufacturing facility since 2017 has been expanding to serve both the domestic and Asia-Pacific export markets.