Our Experts: Get to Know Gavin O'Dowd

You recognized the appeal of nicotine pouches early on. Can you tell us a bit more about that? 

“Sure. I was based in Sweden working for British American Tobacco back in 2016 and had a pretty unique perspective on the market as both a nicotine consumer and one of few non-Swedes in the team.  

Traditional tobacco snus was the 'big thing' at the time, and the fact that these products hadn’t really succeeded anywhere outside of Scandinavia wasn’t because of the pouch format or ritual of putting it under your lip as many people seemed to think. As far as I could tell, it came down to the strong tobacco taste, the risks of staining your teeth, and the nicotine release just not being fast enough. 

So, I came across a product that I thought addressed these issues and had huge potential. They were tobacco-free and available in multiple flavors; they didn’t impact your oral hygiene in the same way; and nicotine uptake was quicker. (Fun fact: This was a small company called Winnington that I bought for BAT, which today is known as VELO!). 

Not only did I love these products, but I’d bring a few cans with me whenever I was popping back home to Ireland, and my cigarette-smoking friends were trying them and asking me to bring even more next time. So, I could tell that people were very open to a smokeless alternative like this and felt perhaps the Swedes had been too conservative in their approach. 

The category clearly had huge potential and a few of us who shared this vision decided to set up an online store to really spearhead the smokeless movement and connect customers with the latest and greatest products. This began as Snusbolaget in Sweden and has grown to 11 different e-commerce brands serving more than a million customers under the Haypp Group umbrella.

Fast forward a few years, and what’s surprised me most is just how emphatically the US has embraced nicotine pouches. Everybody hoped the category would perform well when we acquired Nicokick in 2019, but I don't think anybody in their wildest dreams expected it to fly off the shelves the way that it has with literal shortages of some products in 2025.” 

Sweden is obviously a more mature market when it comes to nicotine pouches, but what are your thoughts in general on US adoption rates and how the category is developing here? 

“There’s no denying that the US leads the way in so many respects. I mean, culturally, this is where we see a lot of trends manifesting first. But when it comes to smokeless nicotine and pouches, the most advanced products are still in Europe—and it's not because the US consumer isn’t ready for them; it's because the US regulator is slowing them down.

We're all in agreement that this is an adult-only category, and it should be appropriately regulated. But that regulation also needs to acknowledge the broader public health impact that these products can have when it comes to tobacco harm reduction among the 21+ crowd.

Did you know that the number of cigarettes sold in the US and smoking rates in general have declined by almost 10% each year for the last 3 years? That's an astronomical pace, and I think it's time to stand back and recognize the driving force behind that and support it, rather than pumping the brakes of innovation.” 

So, what can American consumers expect this year in general then? 

"People often speak about different ‘consumer groups,’ but frankly I see the consumers across every market as quite similar—they all want the best product selection, right? So, as pouches continue to get better and better, it makes sense that they want access to the latest products.

It’s time for the US to start benefiting from what we’ve been doing in other markets like Sweden and the UK for years now. Of course, I’m talking about more than just introducing new brands too—but actual improvements in terms of pouch texture, flavor variety, and nicotine delivery.

When it comes to nicotine pouches, the FDA is still playing catch up, and I believe it won’t be a matter of if but when that tide of change comes. We’re seeing it with their fast-track review program that’s already authorized certain brands like on! Plus. At the same time, the public discourse is starting to shift as awareness of these products grows, and more scientists are speaking up about the relative risks of nicotine pouches compared to other forms of nicotine and tobacco.  

In many ways, 2025 was a turning point for nicotine pouches, and what I’m picking up on from my discussions with regulators and suppliers is that we’re going to see a sizable wave of new products entering the market in the not-too-distant future—which isn’t just good news for existing pouch users, but also for smokers who might be considering making the switch.

I fully expect that the nicotine pouches being used today will be even better by the end of this year and I'm confident that, with these changes, we’ll be able to contribute to lowering the smoking rate and incidence of smoking-related disease in this country even more.” 

As more products are potentially authorized for sale in the US, can you elaborate on how we’ll balance the need for both quality and quantity? 

“Irrespective of any new legal requirements that are introduced, we hold ourselves to the very highest standards and won't stock just any old pouch. Our customers need to know that when they’re shopping with us, they're always getting the real deal and products they can trust. 

Just to contextualize things a bit: Everyone knows we have the widest variety of pouches in the market, with over 300 different products on Nicokick last time I checked, and as one of the biggest online retailers in this category—globally, not just in the US—many people might assume we carry everything. But that’s not the case.  

Last year alone, we rejected more than 94% of products wanting to be sold on our platform because they didn’t meet our testing standards. In some cases, suppliers even made changes to the pouch composition or packaging of certain products to be more compliant before we agreed to stock them. 

I’m proud of the fact that we send everything off for lab testing and independently verify that the pouches not only contain the ingredients they claim to, but that everything’s within reasonable limits and there’s nothing else in there that shouldn't be. 

We cap nicotine at 20mg per pouch, for instance, which is considered equivalent to a cigarette. The pH limit is also important—too high, and it could damage your lip membrane; too low, and it might affect your tooth enamel—so it needs to be within a pre-approved range. 

On top of these scientific factors, we take some broader social questions into consideration too. Like, I can say firmly that we will never stock a pouch that targets youth (think: candy flavors or cartoon-ish branding). That’s just a no-go for Nicokick or any of our sites, for that matter.
 

With a lot of growth expected in the smokeless category and new products starting to pop up, we’ll maintain these checks and balances because we want to set a responsible, regulated playing field that protects the consumer and our business, long-term.” 

As more products are potentially authorized for sale in the US, can you elaborate on how we’ll balance the need for both quality and quantity?

“One thing that needs to be done properly for the nicotine pouch category (which wasn’t done properly for vapes), is to safeguard it and keep these products out of kids’ hands.  

Age verification has to be a robust, digital process that’s the same for every single customer, every single time, with no shortcuts or loopholes. It shouldn’t be left to someone in a store to make a judgement call about whether or not to check ID based on how old a person looks. 

The way our age verification is set up is worldclass, and we dedicate a huge amount of time and resources to testing and maintaining that system, with an extra layer of protection enforcing state-specific laws around Adult Signature Requirements too. 

Shopping on Nicokick, everybody goes through the same steps, and we’re happy to open up and share that data with any regulator who may ask. Not only can we guarantee that every customer is over 21, we’re able to tell you with a high degree of specificity and certainty that a particular customer was 21 years, 4 months, and 3 days when they placed an order, for instance. This really is the safest way for nicotine pouches to be sold.”

After almost a decade at Haypp Group, what would you say is your proudest achievement?

“What I think about every day is the real-life gains to be made when people quit smoking. Common estimates suggest that quitting at age 30 can add almost 10 years to your life expectancy; an extra 7 years at 40; and an extra 6 years at 50.

If I look at the number of consumers we serve across 6 countries and think about the possibility that the nicotine pouches we sell may have helped some of them move away from smoking altogether, applying those estimates at scale, it starts to add up quickly. It's somewhere in the order of 7 million years saved. 

Now that’s a remarkable figure to reflect on. For me, it’s a reminder that the work we do matters on a very tangible, human level, and that’s something I’m immensely proud to be a part of.” 

Finally, we’ve got to ask, what are your favorite nicotine pouches at the moment? 

“To be honest, I don’t think there’s a product in the US that’s good enough just yet to be my ‘default.’ What I can say is that I’m drawn to different coffee-inspired flavors—especially first thing in the morning or after a long Sunday lunch—and I’m also pleased to see the development of some spicy flavors like VELO Tropical Heat, which adds a twist to my regular nicotine routine.  

There’s actually no product that we sell in any of our markets that I haven’t tried a full can of. I typically use whatever I like on the weekends, but the team that’s responsible for curating Haypp's product assortment will let me know during the week which pouches I need to use based on what’s coming soon, and, that way, I can really vouch for everything we sell. 

I think it’s clear we’re only just starting to see what the nicotine pouch market is capable of here in the States, and I’m very excited to see how the user experience will continue to improve over the next 12 months. Ask me again in December and I’m sure one of my favorite pouches will be American-made."