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MILAN, Italy — A top executive of Philip Morris International (PMI) expressed optimism about the growth of smoke-free alternatives in the Philippines, saying the company sees strong potential despite being in the early stages of its market rollout.
“In the Philippines, we are still at the very early stages, but we have a lot of confidence in smoke-free products,” said Stefano Volpetti, president of the smoke-free products category and chief consumer officer at PMI, in an interview with Philippine media on the sidelines of the “Curious X: Sensorium Piazza” exhibit in Milan, Italy on April 7.
Volpetti said progress in Metro Manila is already showing promise, drawing parallels with the company’s initial launches in other countries.
"If you think about it, when we started in Italy and in Japan, we started from Milan and Nagoya. We are starting the same journey in the Philippines, starting from Metro Manila," he said.
The executive added that PMI is committed to making smoke-free alternatives accessible to Filipino smokers, particularly through education and proper explanation of the products.
“It is clear that when those smoke-free alternatives are well explained to Filipino smokers, there is clearly attraction to move from traditional cigarettes,” he said.
Volpetti acknowledged that the Philippines is still catching up compared to other countries where the company has already established a strong presence.
“But we are very confident, because this is a journey that we have done in more than 90 countries around the world. We know what is the recipe of this journey and the progress in Metro Manila is very powerful,” he said.
He noted that the company is drawing confidence from the reception in the capital region, which could pave the way for expansion across the country.
"It gives us confidence that we can, across the country [Philippines], we can be able to drive smoke-free alternatives for smokers in the Philippines," the PMI executive said.
Product affordability
When asked about the affordability of smoke-free products for Filipinos, Volpetti acknowledged the economic barriers but said PMI is working to provide more options.
"In general, we have two important aspects of this journey. The first aspect is to be sure that smokers understand the benefits of smoke-free alternatives. Because if you don't understand the benefits, if the benefits are not explained to you, it is very difficult to be able to appreciate that," he said.
Volpetti emphasized the need for a regulatory framework supporting consumer education and awareness while also highlighting the company’s ongoing efforts to diversify its product range.
"When you look 10 years ago, when we started here, we had one device and three consumables. Now when you look at our range across the world, we have multiple tiers of devices, multiple tiers of consumables," he said.
"We are able to design the consumables in a way that is more in tune with the experience of different consumers around the world. [What the consumers around] the world wants in terms of taste, flavor, in terms of pleasure, but also in terms of the budget they are ready to pay," the exec added.
Volpetti added that while the company’s portfolio is currently skewed toward the premium segment, more affordable options are on the horizon.
“In the coming future, you will see a portfolio that is more balanced between the premium segment and the medium segment. Our mission is to provide choices across all consumer categories,” he said."
"So our mission is to make sure that across the vertical portfolio, we have devices and consumables, so we are able to provide choices to consumers around the world," Volpetti added.
At present, PMI’s smoke-free offerings in the Philippines include IQOS devices, HEETS and TEREA sticks, the more affordable BONDS device, BLENDS consumables and the ZYN oral nicotine product.
The company has made significant investments in the Philippines, including a P8.8 billion expansion of its local manufacturing facility to support the production of heated tobacco sticks and to incorporate locally grown tobacco into its products.
RELATED: PMI invests €700M in Greek factory to boost smoke-free supply chain
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Editor's note: The trip to Milan, Italy was hosted by PMFTC. At no stage does the host organization have a say on the stories generated from the coverage, interviews conducted, publication date and story treatment. Content is produced solely by Philstar.com following editorial guidelines.
