There is plenty of opportunity in the vaping industry, an industry which analysts predict will be worth an estimated $27 billion by 2022.
You don’t necessarily have to open a vape shop catering to those who are both beginners and enthusiasts to get involved. Choices abound for starting a business in the vape industry.
Here’s a little about what you can do and how you can do it.
A Brief History of The Vaping Industry
The patent for the first e-cigarette actually dates back to the 1960s, invented by a largely forgotten man named Herbert. A. Gilbert.
It didn’t quite catch on back then. It took until 2003 and a Chinese pharmacist who hated his smoking habit after watching his father die of lung cancer.
So, he invented the modern day vape mod, which was little more than a battery, a plastic cartridge that suspended a nicotine solution in propylene glycol, and an ultrasonic atomizer.
It caught on in U.S. markets in 2006 and by 2007, the modern vaping industry was born. By 2015, the vaping industry brought in $3.7 billion in the U.S. alone.
With reputable forecasters predicting that the market is likely only to grow, now may be the time to get on board, but don’t expect it to be entirely easy sailing.
Read also: Why Vaping is Healthier Than Smoking
The Challenges
For a time, vape mods, e-cigarettes, and its varying accessories were classified the same way as tobacco. In some jurisdictions, there are taxation laws to be concerned with as well as places where there still is not much community support for the industry.
On the other side of the coin, it is like any other industry that is hugely popular and gaining more enthusiasts each day – there is a lot of competition.
Having a solid business plan before you just jump right in is necessary.
The Opportunities
Whether you have a small nest egg you’re looking to invest in a hobby that you’re enthusiastic about or if you’re going to have to start even smaller, there are opportunities everywhere in the vaping industry.
From reviewing vape mods and e-juices to starting an online store, you can pretty much pick and choose what you wish to do.
Creating an Online Vape Shop
If you don’t have the capital, or the credit, to build a brick and mortar store, there is always the opportunity to build your own online vape shop.
E-commerce is booming but utilizing a free website building service won’t have you rolling in dough overnight.
You’ll also need to consider where you’ll get your stock, store it, and who you will use to ship it to customers.
Learn a thing or two about content marketing and social media promotion. Just putting up a site and hoping people find it and buy from you might be inviting failure.
Offering Vape Products, Components or Accessories
If you already have an existing business, such as a novelty shop, or more specifically, a “head shop” offering for sale things like glass pipes and bowls for the consumption of tobacco or cannabis, adding vaporizers or vape accessories to your business could increase your profitability.
Take the Volcano Vaporizer by Storz and Bickel, one of the most popular Portable Vaporizers for the past few years, popular among people who enjoy medical cannabis. Merely offering vape pens and mods in addition to common tobacco products could bring in new customers.
Creating your own line of E-liquids
If you have a palate for flavors and for mixing things, you might consider entering the highly lucrative, but highly competitive e-liquid market. However, you will need significant capital to get started and will also need knowledge of both local, regional, and perhaps international vaping regulations.
For example, some countries have banned e-juice containing nicotine. Texas recently passed legislation prohibiting the shipping of e-juice with nicotine without first obtaining picture identification.
That said, if you can clear the first initial hurdles, you could be looking at a very lucrative market, indeed.
Vape Kit Reviewer
This is probably one option that would require the least amount of capital to get started. All you really need is a passion for vaping, giving honest reviews, and a strong social media following.
You’ll need to put things like Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube to work for you and perhaps buy a few vape mods yourself and publish video reviews.
You can begin by offering your services for free stuff that will get the word out to thousands of potential customers. Once that following is established, you could potentially start earning cold, hard cash.
These are just some of the many ideas that await investiture in the vaping industry. One or a combination might just be right for you.
About The Author
Michael Jacobs is a marketing and creative content specialist at GotVape.com with a primary focus on customer satisfaction. Technology and fitness combined with healthy lifestyle obsession are his main talking points