The Haypp Pitch: The Only Pure-Play Nicotine Pouch Stock
A small-cap e-commerce player that could reshape a $100B market
The global nicotine market is worth hundreds of billions of dollars. For decades, cigarettes dominated. But now a new product is reshaping the industry: nicotine pouches. They’re smokeless, discreet, and growing faster than almost any other consumer category in Europe and the U.S.
Most investors have never heard of them, let alone the company leading their online distribution. That company is Haypp Group; the only publicly listed pure-play on this trend. While the market focuses on tobacco giants like Philip Morris and BAT, Haypp has quietly built a business model that I believe could compound into a 10x investment.
This post has been a long time coming. I’ve followed Haypp for years, but to really see the shift I had to experience the nicotine market myself; getting hooked, then quitting. That’s when it became clear: this is one of the sexiest business models I’ve ever studied; capital-light, data-driven, and built for scale.
Chapter 1: The Opportunity
Let’s start at the root of this investment idea: nicotine pouches.
Cigarettes are in structural decline, and the world is searching for cleaner alternatives. Nicotine pouches offer exactly that; no smoke, no lingering smell, and no disruption to people around you. They’re cheaper, healthier compared to traditional tobacco, and they can be used indoors without issue. They’re also discreet, which makes them appealing to a broad base of consumers.
The most popular pouch brand in the U.S. today is Zyn, owned by Philip Morris, followed closely by BAT’s Velo. Both have gained massive traction in recent years. But this isn’t an American invention. Nicotine pouches were born in Sweden, where they’ve already reshaped consumer habits. Sweden today offers a glimpse of the future: smoking rates are among the lowest in Europe, largely thanks to smokeless alternatives like snus and, increasingly, nicotine pouches.
The global potential is enormous. If pouches take even a fraction of the market share once held by cigarettes, this will be a category worth hundreds of billions. In my view, the segment will likely see 20–30% CAGR for years to come as adoption spreads worldwide.
Which leads to the classic investor question: how do you actually invest in this trend?
The truth is, there aren’t many options. Most of the big brands sit inside diversified giants like Philip Morris, BAT, and Altria, where nicotine pouches make up only a fraction of their portfolios. If you want pure-play exposure, there’s really only one company that stands out: Haypp Group.
In this post, I’ll explain why I believe Haypp is set to become a major player in what could easily grow into a $100 billion+ global market.
Chapter 2: The Business Model
At first glance, Haypp might look like just another e-commerce site. They run online shops like Northerner, Nicokick, and Snusbolaget, selling nicotine pouches across Europe and the U.S. But don’t worry; this is far more exciting than a boring, undifferentiated web store.
Haypp doesn’t make its own products. Instead, it sells the most popular brands from the big tobacco companies; Zyn by Philip Morris, Velo by BAT, and many others. That makes Haypp the main digital shelf for nicotine pouches, much like Amazon became the online shelf for books in its early days.
On the B2C side, the customer is simple: everyday users who want nicotine pouches delivered quickly, cheaply, and with lots of choice. Haypp gives them exactly that; low prices, fast shipping from automated warehouses, and the widest selection online.
On the B2B side, Haypp’s customers are the suppliers themselves. Philip Morris, BAT, and smaller producers all depend on Haypp to launch new products, get shelf space online, and promote them through rankings and visibility. Even more valuable: they get real-time feedback on what sells and why. Haypp is not just a retailer; it’s a feedback loop and a marketing engine for the entire pouch industry.
There’s also a third customer group: regulators. While they don’t pay Haypp, they rely on it to make sure rules are followed. Haypp’s infrastructure and scale mean it can enforce age checks, labeling, and compliance across borders. Smaller rivals often can’t keep up, which turns regulation into a competitive moat for Haypp.
But the real secret sauce is the Media & Insights (M&I) business. Every purchase tells a story: which flavors convert, which brand designs get re-ordered, which price points move demand. Haypp sits on a treasure trove of this data; and monetizes it. For consumers, it means better recommendations. For suppliers, it means product insights they can’t get anywhere else. For regulators, it means transparency.
This is what elevates Haypp above “just e-commerce.” The M&I business makes Haypp part retailer, part research firm, and part media company. It creates a second revenue engine, strengthens supplier relationships, and compounds Haypp’s competitive edge with every new order.
And in the next chapter, we’ll dig into this engine in detail; because in many ways, the data side could end up being more valuable than the distribution business itself.
Chapter 3: Value Creation and Capture
For a company to thrive, it can’t just sell a product. It needs to both create value and capture value. Otherwise, it’s just a pass-through business with no real economics.
So how does Haypp do that?
This is where the model gets beautiful. On the surface, Haypp sells nicotine pouches online. But under the surface, it has built a second business that turns simple transactions into influence, data, and leverage.
Every purchase generates a data point: which brand won, which flavor converted, which design was reordered. Multiply that across millions of customers, dozens of markets, and thousands of SKUs, and you have something no competitor can replicate: a real-time insight engine into the fastest-growing nicotine category in the world.
This is Haypp’s Media & Insights (M&I) business. And while it may not be obvious from the outside, it already accounts for a high single-digit share of revenue; and I wouldn’t be surprised if it grows well beyond that soon. Crucially, it’s also highly profitable. That profitability means Haypp can afford to sell nicotine pouches structurally ~5% cheaper than rivals just from the M&I side alone; before you even factor in scale efficiencies, which widen the gap further.
The result is a structural price advantage that makes competition nearly impossible. Smaller rivals can discount for a while, but Haypp can discount forever. This isn’t just an e-commerce company; it’s an online monopoly in nicotine pouches.
And the scale advantage runs deeper than just data. Haypp is already far larger than its competitors, which means it can invest in more efficient warehouses, automation, and logistics. That further lowers costs, enabling lower prices, which then fuel even more scale.
The moat is recursive:
More scale → more data → better targeting → higher supplier dependence → lower prices → more customers → more data.
It’s a flywheel that tightens with every loop, leaving competitors stuck in a death spiral of higher costs and thinner margins.
This is why I think Haypp’s business model is one of the most elegant I’ve ever studied. It isn’t just retail; it’s retail plus media, plus data, plus regulatory credibility, all compounding together.
Chapter 4: Risk
With great opportunity comes great uncertainty. Haypp may be a structurally advantaged business, but it isn’t without risks. For investors, it’s critical to understand the main challenges that could derail the story; and why I believe most of them are more manageable than they appear.
1. Regulation
The biggest risk is regulation, particularly in Europe. A ban on online sales would be the most damaging scenario, as Haypp’s model is entirely digital. So far, regulators have mostly focused on youth access and flavor restrictions, not on banning the category outright. In fact, many governments (Sweden being the prime example) see nicotine pouches as a reduced-risk product that helps lower smoking rates.
Even stricter rules could work in Haypp’s favor. Because of its scale, systems, and age verification processes, Haypp can comply where smaller players cannot. Regulation becomes a moat rather than a threat.
2. EU Legislation
The EU has been moving towards harmonized rules on nicotine pouches, which could introduce caps on nicotine strength or tighter advertising restrictions. This is a real risk, but in my view, it doesn’t break the model. Demand for pouches is sticky; users won’t suddenly switch back to cigarettes because of slightly weaker products. And whatever rules emerge, Haypp will be among the best positioned to adapt.
3. Competition
Another obvious risk is competition from rivals like Prilla or future entrants. But Haypp is already multiple times larger than any competitor, which means lower unit costs, better warehouses, faster shipping, and more data. That scale advantage compounds over time. Competing head-to-head on price or service is next to impossible.
4. Suppliers Going Direct
Could suppliers like Philip Morris or BAT cut Haypp out and go direct-to-consumer? Theoretically yes, but strategically unlikely. These companies rely on Haypp for two things: volume and insights. Going direct would mean cannibalizing their high-margin retail distribution and investing heavily in e-commerce infrastructure they don’t currently have. It’s easier and more profitable to let Haypp do it. In many ways, Haypp is their outsourced growth and research arm.
Summary
Nicotine pouches are one of the fastest-growing consumer categories in the world, with the potential to take hundreds of billions in market share from traditional tobacco. Sweden shows us the future, and adoption in the U.S. and Europe is accelerating fast.
Haypp is the only publicly traded pure-play on this trend. Its model is capital-light, scalable, and structurally advantaged. On the surface, it looks like an e-commerce retailer. Underneath, it’s also a media and insights company, a regulatory partner, and the dominant online platform for nicotine pouches.
The result is a flywheel that feeds on itself: more customers → more data → more leverage → lower prices → more customers. With every loop, Haypp widens its lead. Competitors can’t match its scale, suppliers depend on it, and regulators trust it.
Yes, there are risks; particularly regulation in the EU, online sales restrictions, and potential competition. But in most cases, Haypp’s scale, infrastructure, and insight engine make these risks barriers for others rather than existential threats.
That’s why I believe Haypp has the potential to be a 10x investment. It’s an overlooked company sitting at the center of a global shift, with one of the most attractive business models I’ve ever studied.
Endnote
This post is just the tip of the iceberg. I plan to follow up with a full deep dive on Haypp, where I’ll break down the business in even greater detail. In addition, I’ll be publishing regular updates; monthly or event-based; so readers can track how the thesis develops in real time.
As a disclaimer: I am long $HAYPP.