Caffeinated sachets: a rollout in Europe modeled on nicotine sachets

Under the guise of a "well-being" innovation, the FRISS brand, recently launched in Europe, introduces caffeine-based oral pouches, without nicotine or tobacco, but in the same format as nicotine pouches or pouches. Led by the Hungarian manufacturer Continental Tobacco Group, this initiative is part of a broader strategy to diversify the tobacco industry towards oral products with variable compositions, aimed at standardizing uses, circumventing current regulations and recruiting new audiences, particularly among young people.[1].

Whether they contain nicotine, its derivatives or a stimulant substance such as caffeine, these products rely on the same behavioral marketing logic and raise significant public health issues.

A new range of oral consumption supported by the tobacco industry

The FRISS brand, marketed since summer 2025, offers buccal pouches containing 50 mg of caffeine, a dose equivalent to a double espresso. Presented as vegan, sugar-free, and calorie-free, these products are manufactured in Denmark and initially distributed in Hungary, with a planned rollout in the United Kingdom and Germany. Their slim-fit packaging, to be placed under the lip, reproduces the characteristics of nicotine pouches marketed by major tobacco companies. Their appearance, use, and distribution channels (online sales, newsstands, gas stations) are in line with the nicotine products already available on the European market.

Behind the brand is Abel Santa, a neuroscience graduate from the University of Southern California and heir to the Continental Tobacco Group (CTG), one of the largest independent tobacco manufacturers in Central and Eastern Europe. Founded in 1996, the Hungarian family business produces and exports a wide range of cigarettes, cigarillos, rolling tobacco, and tubes to over 25 countries. The launch of FRISS is part of an explicit strategy to diversify its activities, investing in an emerging market with little regulatory oversight, while capitalizing on the industrial and commercial know-how acquired in the tobacco sector.

Seemingly distinct from nicotine-containing products, FRISS pouches actually extend a commercial dynamic aimed at maintaining a strong presence of the tobacco industry in oral consumption practices, by exploiting a regulatory vacuum and legitimizing uses close to those of addictive products.

A proliferation of new oral products with unclear positioning

The commercial success of oral pouches has led to a rapid proliferation of brands and formats available on the European market, whether or not they contain nicotine. Alongside traditional nicotine pouches, we are now seeing the emergence of products containing nicotine analogues, such as 6-methyl-nicotine.[2], whose pharmacological effects are similar but whose regulatory status remains uncertain in many countries. At the same time, other segments are emerging around alternative molecules such as caffeine, tea or certain so-called "energizing" extracts, promoted as solutions for cognitive or physical stimulation.

These products are part of a common commercial strategy: to broaden the consumer target as much as possible by adapting the marketing message to contemporary expectations in terms of well-being, performance or lifestyle. Some put forward arguments linked to sport, endurance or concentration; others focus on naturalness or health values, like FRISS, which claims a sugar-free, vegan and calorie-free formula. Behind this apparent diversity, the promotional techniques remain comparable to those historically used for tobacco and nicotine products: trivialization of the gesture, attractive formats, segmentation of audiences, and deliberate vagueness about the real effects and risks.

They contribute to confusing public health messages by establishing behavioral and symbolic continuity between products that are very heterogeneous in terms of composition, but similar in their mode of administration and their marketing presentation.

A worrying development calling for an appropriate regulatory response

The introduction of FRISS caffeine pouches represents a new step in the tobacco industry's adaptation strategy in the face of growing regulatory pressure. By entering a market segment not yet regulated by specific regulations—nicotine-free oral stimulants—traditional tobacco manufacturers, such as Continental Tobacco Group, intend to maintain their influence by expanding their product portfolio beyond tobacco and nicotine.

In this context, it appears essential that public authorities, both at national and European levels, anticipate current market developments. The current absence of a specific regulatory framework for these products, combined with the direct involvement of stakeholders from the tobacco industry, justifies increased vigilance. Regulatory reflection is necessary to prevent these products from becoming a vector for normalizing oral consumption and a lever for recruiting new users, particularly among younger generations. The challenge goes beyond the issue of caffeine alone: it is a matter of maintaining overall coherence in public health policies, the prevention of addictive behaviors, and consumer protection in the face of adaptation strategies from a sector historically marked by misinformation and the capture of vulnerabilities.

©Generation Without Tobacco

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[1] Tobacco-free generation, California-Born FRISS Debuts Nicotine-Free Caffeine Pouches in Europe, Radar, Published July 29, 2025, accessed July 31, 2025

[2] Tobacco-free generation, 6-Methyl-Nicotine: A synthetic molecule present in vaping products and oral pouches, Published March 31, 2025, accessed July 31, 2025