Scots vaping firm looks to light up global sales

A Leith-based designer of vaping products and e-cigarettes is in talks to distribute its wares in the US as it ramps up its international presence.

JAC Vapour was established in 2010 by Andrew Logan, the firm’s chief design officer, and now has tens of thousands of regular customers, with about 80 per cent of its business coming from the UK.

The company is unique in that it conducts all of its design work from its Scottish base to ensure quality and content. Although it has a small retail operation, the bulk of sales are generated online and via wholesale agreements.

Chief executive Neil McCallum said the business was growing at a rate of about 30 per cent a year – double what the market is doing.

“We decided very early on that we wanted to design something that was a bit different,” he told The Scotsman. “We buy components from all around the world and are completely in control of what we do.

“We travel all over to see what the best products are like. Over the past 18 months we have been building up the distribution model for the business. We have just signed a large distribution deal for Germany and France and are in negotiations for America.”

McCallum, who was speaking shortly after returning from China, said the business was likely to turn over between £5.5 million and £6m this year, with the £10m mark in sight.

“There are always new suppliers that we want to meet. We have been launching one product at a time but are doing seven this year.”

The firm said it had the potential to have its products in 5,500 retail locations in the UK by the end of this year.