The Marketing Behind America’s Newest Addiction

For the past few years, the youth of America has been the target of new nicotine products, all meant to get kids hooked.

From nicotine patches and gum to flavored vapes, all aim to get the addiction rolling as quickly as possible.

Well, there is a new product gaining popularity, and it’s Zyn.

But what is Zyn? Well, they are little nicotine pouches meant to be put under the lip and against your gums.

People who use it claim that it helps them focus, while others say it’s to get rid of a smoking habit.

Most, however, say it’s for the rush.

But who cares what people take to curb their addictions? Anything to get people off smoking should be a net good invention, right?

Even though Zyn is still new in the market, with “fun” flavors like Wintergreen, Spearmint, Citrus, and Smooth, it’s hard not to see Zyn going down the same road vapes have gone.

Either way, what is making Zyn so successful? Well, most of it comes from viral marketing done by their devoted user base, or “Zynfluencers.”

These influencers frequently post themselves and others using Zyn, while usually hinting at their addictive nature.

From creating stacks upon stacks of Zyn tins to seeing how many they can take at once, the trend is popping off.

Most videos on TikTok get millions of views and hundreds of thousands of likes, which shows the clear interest the product is generating.

It goes beyond TikTok to celebrities as well, like Joe Rogan, who tried one on his podcast, the Joe Rogan Experience.

It's through this viral guerilla-style marketing of bombarding users with various funny clips, discussions, and more that Zyn has grown so much so quickly.

The problem is that it’s working for some of the wrong audiences. The New York Times reported how students in high school have quickly jumped on the trend, with one student saying, “Nobody had heard about Zyn until very early 2023, [Now a] lot of high schoolers have been using Zyn. It’s really taken off, at least in our community.”

The memeable nature of the brand and community has made it become immensely more popular, and with creators poking jokes about students needing to go to the bathroom to get a hit of nicotine only adds to the problem.

All the while, Zyn is sitting pretty, having spent absolutely nothing on advertising while allowing its incredibly addictive products to spread like wildfire.

So, what does this mean for Zyn in the future? For now, Zyn can continue doing nothing while still claiming their product is intended to stop people smoking; there have been calls in Congress from senators like Chuck Schumer to ban the product, saying:

"It's a pouch packed with problems - high levels of nicotine. So today, I'm delivering a warning to parents, because these nicotine pouches seem to lock their sights on young kids - teenagers, and even lower - and then use the social media to hook 'em.”

While Zyn’s fate is still in the air, its dedicated army of Zynfluencers continues to grow the brand and spread the grip of nicotine to millions more.

Dreyfuss, E. (2024, January 12). Our kids are living in a different Digital World. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/12/opinion/children-nicotine-zyn-social-media.html

Moniuszko, S. (2024, February 8). What is Zyn? doctors share health concerns of the popular and controversial nicotine pouch. CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/zyn-health-impacts-controversial-nicotine-pouch/

Perrone, M. (2024, March 1). Zyn nicotine pouches are all over TikTok, sparking debate among politicians and health experts. AP News. https://apnews.com/article/zyn-pouches-nicotine-smoking-tucker-carlson-026cc2789b48c10581a56242f4b23a4a

Zanger, J. (2024, January 24). Schumer calls for federal action on Zyn nicotine pouches. CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/schumer-calls-for-federal-action-on-zyn-nicotine-pouches/