Why Zyn is hard to find in America

According to many, we’re living through the “Zyndemic” or “The Great Zynpression.” America’s favorite nicotine pouch, Zyn, is experiencing a shortage, with no relief in sight for months.

What is Zyn? Zyn cans (or “tins” if you live in the Midwest) contain 15 flavored pouches, constructed from a material similar to a teabag and filled with cellulose, wood, nicotine, and flavoring. Users tuck them into their cheek. The company bills the pouches as an alternative to cigarettes; they’re comparable in risk to pharmaceutical products such as nicotine gums or patches, per public-health experts.

Demand is far outpacing supply. Zyn has been around since 2014. But like a TikTok star, sales unexpectedly took off over the past year and a half. Shipments to the US rose ~80% YOY during Q1 2024, reaching ~132 million cans.

And supply, much like anyone racing Dom Toretto, just couldn’t keep up. Zyn’s manufacturer, tobacco giant Philip Morris, only operates one US factory in Owensboro, Kentucky, and is currently working to add more on-site capacity – though it doesn’t expect supply to return back to normal until Q4.

The tobacco industry is betting on smokeless. Phillip Morris CEO Jacek Olczak has said cigarettes “belong in a museum,” and that he wants 50+% of the company’s revenue to be generated from other products by 2025 or 2026, before rising to 66+% by 2030. Altria Group and British American Tobacco have also pledged to sell fewer cigarettes.

+Dive deeper: The Facts About Zyn – the Nicotine Pouches Taking Over Your Social Media Feed