Philip Morris Worldwide has chosen Aurora for a brand new manufacturing plant to make its widespread ZYN nicotine pouches, a product marketed to individuals eager to give up smoking or chewing tobacco.
PMI plans to speculate $600 million in a brand new facility on empty land at forty eighth Avenue and Harvest Highway. When it’s up and operating, the plant will make use of 500 staff making a median annual wage of $90,000, in keeping with the corporate.
“These 500 jobs are good jobs,” stated Stacey Kennedy, CEO of PMI’s U.S. operations based mostly in Stamford, Conn., at a information convention held Tuesday morning on the Colorado Freedom Memorial in Aurora.
Groundbreaking ought to occur later this 12 months, with completion by late subsequent 12 months and manufacturing beginning in early 2026. The corporate already has a number of jobs posted on-line for the Aurora facility with extra accessible as building nears completion subsequent 12 months.
“This venture marks a major funding in PMI’s imaginative and prescient for a smoke-free future,” Kennedy stated.
Given the recognition of the pouches, the five hundred jobs might signify a place to begin, and Kennedy stated the funding ought to present $550 million in ongoing advantages to the world economic system.
“PMI is making a major funding in our neighborhood in a wide range of methods,” Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman stated on the convention.
ZYN is an oral pouch that incorporates nicotine salts with totally different flavors like citrus, espresso and spearmint. Whereas not a tobacco product per say, U.S. regulators supervise it and are involved that youngsters and youngsters would possibly use nicotine pouches, which have turn out to be widespread amongst Era Z, and develop an dependancy.
PMI stated it strictly limits gross sales to these 21 or older and doesn’t use social media influencers to advertise its product or function individuals below age 35 in its advertising and marketing supplies within the U.S. Distributors should use unbiased age-verification methods like “Double Confirm.”
The U.S. has about 30 million people who smoke and the pouches have turn out to be widespread with these making an attempt to wean themselves off tobacco, a lot so {that a} ZYN plant in Owensboro, Ky., has struggled to maintain up with demand. Swedish Match, which PMI acquired in 2022, constructed that plant in 2016.
Kennedy stated Colorado was one among seven states the corporate thought of for its enlargement. It rose to the highest based mostly on the financial alternative it supplied and its management in public well being.
PMI spun off from Philip Morris USA and its mum or dad Altria in 2008 and claims to have by no means bought a cigarette in the US, though it does promote them in 180 international locations and controls the Marlboro model overseas. Domestically, PMI has targeted on smoking cessation merchandise and is rolling out its newest model of the IQOS electronically heated tobacco gadgets within the U.S., producing criticism from well being advocates.
