Puff puff pass the $1 billion valuation because e-cigarette maker NJOY has raised $70 million from Brookside Capital and Morgan Stanley Investment Management, at least according to a NYT report. The company’s early investors included Sean Parker, Peter Thiel, and Douglas Teitelbaum.
Based in Scottsdale, Arizona, the company previously raised $75 million in June, 2013. NJOY’s products are now in over 90,000 retail locations.
The company offers the cigarettes, which are single-use, in packs of three. Users can return eight of the cigarettes (once they’re empty and uncharged) in exchange for one e-cig. According to PCMag they have a “chemical taste [and] aftertaste” but have the “highest nicotine content among eCigs tested.” The company also offers a rechargeable system but is pushing the single-use devices more actively.
Vaping has risen in popularity. Smokers are adopting e-cigarettes as a safe alternative to smoking (although the jury is still out on the safety of nicotine vapor) and companies like Blu, NJOY, and Thermovape are taking advantage of this perception. As the data rolls in we’ll see where well-funded companies like NJOY fall. Until then, e-smoke ’em if you e-got ’em.