The 'Zyn-ematic' universe

Cigarettes are no longer vogue (sorry Lana.)

Vaping is now cringe (thank God).

When a new supreme rises, the old one fades away.

So, what is a Zyn (and why the hell does it have its own language)?

Zyn are smokeless nicotine pouches.

You heard that right.

Society has progressed past the need for smoking, apparently. But not the need for nicotine, though.

Zyn is a tiny white pouch, roughly the size and shape of a piece of gum that nestles neatly between your gum and lip. It's made of a permeable wrapper and stuffed full of nicotine powder, which slowly releases out of the wrapper, giving you a 'hit.'

Think, snuff, but without the tobacco, or the need to periodically, obnoxiously spit.

Zyn's sold in circular tins containing 15-20 pouches, each of which contains anywhere from 1.5mg to 9mg of nicotine.

(By comparison, an average cigarette contains anywhere between 8mg and 20mg, but only 1-2mg is actually absorbed when smoking.)

Originally produced in Stockholm, the brand was sold to the American multinational Philip Morris International (PMI) for $16B in 2022.

And the internet, particularly the boys, love Zyn-ning.

David Dobbs, a 21-year-old student living in California broke it down for us ancients in an interview with The Guardian.

He cited all the reasons he loves Zyn, from the relatively low price to the range of flavours. 'If I start talking about Zyns, I sound like I’m a rep for them,' he laughs.

This is where things get Zynteresting.

The 'lip cushies,' as David calls them, have all kinds of slang, so buckle up.

Popping one feels amaZyn, even Zynful. Smack a BenjaZyn and take a trip to Zyn-babwe.

Then there’s 'upper decking' and 'lower decking', depending on where in your mouth you place the pouch.

The enthusiasts will stop at no badly worded pun or reference.

Zyns are a meme, a language, a mindset. They’re not just a product. They’re an entire subculture.

Blame the Zynfluencers.

As with any tobacco or nicotine product, lawmakers and parents sound the alarm bells when the popularity of such products spikes among teens. The case with Zyn has been no different.

On TikTok, enthusiasts, often young men, talk about what Zyn flavour is their fave. They love to see how many pouches they can stuff into their mouths at once (not recommended use, obvs.)

There are currently just shy of 50,000 videos on the app under the hashtag #zyn.

Political commentator Tucker Carlson has called them a 'powerful work enhancer.' Joe Rogan discussed them on JRE. And viral Youtubers, the Nelk Boys, have promoted them. All this promotion has probably largely contributed to the majority male market that’s adopted this product.

If you looked online, you’d think they were exclusively marketed to young, conservative men. Beyond the podcasters of the manosphere raving about Zyn, there are videos of users trying to get Former President Donald Trump’s son Don Jr, and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to sign their Zyn cans.

Is the nicotine product the new symbol of MascuZynity?

Sometimes I feel like the world we live in is not real.

Anyway, this has clearly led to ongoing concerns about the marketing of such products and who they’re targeting. But Philip Morris International spokesperson Corey Henry denies any funding in social media activity or underwriting any Zynfluencers for promotion.

'We don’t have any kind of promotional relations or contracts with anyone doing this online,' he says. 'We do get requests for partnership. We deny every single one of them.'

Ethical or not, one cannot deny the explosive growth the product has seen in the last two years.

Zyn’s rise in popularity in the US marked a significant sales volume growth in this time. And it also highlights the shifting landscape of nicotine consumption.

Within this landscape, Zyn has dominated the market. The brand has captured 76% of the retail share in the US nicotine pouch segment, according to Quartr. In the last six years, Zyn’s shipments have surged from 1 million to 334 million, corresponding to 119% annualized growth.

There are few products that can boast those numbers globally in such a short space of time.

I’ve tried Zyns, and I think they’re f***ing gross.

They give you a weird feeling in your throat and don’t taste anything like the flavours they claim to be. This had me wondering, how does the brand have such a presence?

The answer is that Zyn didn’t ride the wave of a trend or piggyback off a pre-existing culture.

It created its own. A marketing trend I’m seeing more and more of in successful campaigns these days.

To be truly a part of the conversation, you have to be the one driving it.

Zyn successfully did this by creating a language, and therefore a subculture.

When brands attempt to feebly capitalise on a trend, the moment is fleeting, and therefore so is the staying power and impact of that campaign.

Being the trend, the lifestyle, the cultural moment, is much more significant.

-Sophie, Writer