October 2026: Imperial Brands Expands Paramount Range with Paramount Red Superkings Launch
Imperial Brands has expanded its Paramount cigarette line in the UK with the release of Paramount Red Superkings. Featuring an American tobacco blend, the new full-strength offering is available through independent and wholesale outlets at a recommended retail price (RRP) of £14.80. The launch aims to broaden product options for price-sensitive adult smokers as lower-cost tobacco segments continue to expand. Overall value price segments currently account for a 17% share of the total UK tobacco market.
Industry data shows that the value cigarette category grew by 2% over the past year, now representing 38% of total UK cigarette sales. Paramount Red Superkings joins the brand’s lineup following Paramount’s initial market entry in late 2024.
August 2026: Imperial Brands Expands Players Range with Launch of Players Classic
Imperial Brands has expanded its Players cigarette portfolio with the introduction of Players Classic, a new full-strength value cigarette aimed at budget-conscious adult smokers. Available in both King Size and Super Kings formats, the range carries a recommended retail price (RRP) of £14.60 per pack.
The product features a mixed-leaf blend combining Virginia, Burley, and Oriental tobaccos designed to deliver a smooth yet strong taste profile. Additionally, a higher moisture content provides a slower burn for a longer-lasting experience. Positioned specifically for smokers looking for quality at an accessible price point, the launch aims to drive sales in the value tobacco segment.
February 2026: Paramount Emerges as Fastest-Growing Cigarette Brand in the UK
Imperial Brands reported strong momentum for its value cigarette brand Paramount following its launch across England, Scotland and Wales in October 2024. The company indicates that Paramount has become the fastest-growing brand in the UK cigarette category. Since its introduction, the brand has rapidly gained market share, surpassing 5% nationally, with particularly strong performance in independent retail channels.
Paramount is positioned as a value offering while maintaining product quality, featuring full-flavour Virginia sun-ripened tobacco. The blend aligns with prevailing consumer preferences in the UK market, where Virginia-style cigarettes dominate. The brand’s growth reflects broader structural trends within the UK tobacco market. The value segment now accounts for nearly 37% of total cigarette sales, underlining sustained demand for competitively priced products amid ongoing pricing pressures across the category.
Available in king-size and super king-size formats, Paramount is positioned as Imperial Brands’ most affordable cigarette proposition, with a recommended retail price of £12.50. This pricing places it at the lower end of the UK cigarette spectrum, supporting its appeal among price-sensitive adult smokers while maintaining retailer margins. Prior to its UK rollout, Paramount was introduced in several European markets. In Germany, the brand recorded a particularly strong market entry in 2023, becoming the fastest-growing cigarette product following its launch.
November 2025: Paramount reaches more than 5% share in independents
Value cigarette brand of Imperial Brands, Paramount is now the UK’s fastest-growing in the cigarette category following a launch in England, Scotland and Wales in October 2024. Featuring full-flavour, sun-ripened Virginia blend, Paramount reached more than 5% share in independent retailers. Available in king-size and super king-size formats, Paramount retails at £12.50 (Recommended Retail Selling Price). The brand’s success reflects growing demand for value options, with the value sector now representing c.37% of the UK cigarette market. Paramount was previously launched in Europe and became the fastest-growing cigarette brand in Germany in 2023.
November 2025: Cigarette and rolling tobacco sales continue to decline in the UK
Units sold in tracked retail channels for cigarettes and rolling tobacco are down 36% in three years, with the rate of decline marginally worse in convenience stores (down 37%) compared with groceries / supermarkets (down 33%). Conversely, nicotine pouch sales have almost doubled since 2024 with convenience stores commanding 88% share in the category sales. Meanhile, vape category sales volume is up 35%, but sales value is down 25% in convenience stores year-on-year basis.
According to the Association of Convenience Stores, more than 20% of convenience store sales come from tobacco and nicotine products.
October 2025: Paramout becomes available in Northern Ireland
Launched in England, Scotland and Wales in 2024, Imperial Brands rolls out Paramount to retailers in Northern Ireland. Available in both king-size and super king-size format and featuring full-flavour Virginia sun-ripened tobacco, Paramount comes at a Recommended Retail Price (RRP) of £12.50. Imperial Brands claim that low-priced Paramount is the fastest-growing cigarette brand in the UK in 2025
Value cigarette segment continues to grow in the UK, reaching a 37% share in the market. In Northern Ireland, the value segment has grown by 18% in 2024.
March 2025: The lowest pricing tiers now represent 72% of cigarettes sales in the UK
The UK’s second largest tobacco company, Imperial Brands, introduces Paramount brand to capture smokers shifting towards lower-priced cigarettes. Value sector grew by 5% in the last 12 months in a fast-shrinking cigarette market and the lowest pricing tiers (economy & value) now represent 72% of cigarettes sales in the UK.
Imperial Brands states that Paramount is made from sun-ripened, full-flavour Virginia tobacco and, at £12.5 per pack price, offers great value without compromising on the quality. Paramount has been launched in a number of other European markets and is the fastest-growing tobacco brand in both the UK and Germany.
Imperial Brands also launched Players Max range in late-2023. Players Max features cigarette sticks which are 12% longer in size and contains an intense blend for a full-strength tobacco taste. Players Max retails at £14 per pack.
March 2025: Ready-made cigarettes account for 70% of tobacco sales in independents in 2024
Despite a sharp decline in sales volume, ready-made cigarettes still generated 70.5% of the £6.1 billion tobacco sales in the independent convenience stores in the UK in 2024. Moreover, tobacco continues to be a major driver of footfall and repeat business from regular customers; 70% of shoppers who purchase tobacco say it’s their main reason for visiting a convenience store.
Meanhwile, Ultra Value continues to be the fastest growing segment in the tobacco category and reaches 16.8% share in the combined tobacco market. As the cigarette prices raise above the general inflation and cost-of-living pressures persist, consumers increasingly shift towards more cost-effective options. In order to meet the needs of budget-conscious smokers and tap into this high-growth segment, tobacco companies craft value-driven offers; for instance, UK’s #1, Japan Tobacco dropped the price of Mayfair Gold by 80p to £12.50 for a pack of 20 in January 2025.
January 2025: Japan Tobacco cut Mayfair Gold price by 80p
Japan Tobacco reduced the recommended retail price (RRP) of Mayfair Gold ready-made cigarettes by 80p from £13.30 to £12.50 for a pack of 20. The price adjustment makes Mayfair Gold as Japan Tobacco’s most affordable (lowest priced) ready-made cigarette and positions the brand as a “trusted, premium Virginia blend tobacco brand at a competitive price”. Since its launch in October 2023, Mayfair Gold became the fastest growing brand in the UK – generating close to £100 million in retail sales in 2024. Ultra Value segment continues to expand fast in the UK and now comprises 17.9% of the total tobacco market.
The United Kingdom: Cigarette Market Landscape
The UK is one of the biggest and most profitable tobacco markets in the world with close to £30 billion (US$38 billion) annual retail turnover. Despite experiencing a jaw-dropping volume decline of 17% per annum (2021-24), machine-made cigarettes (or “fags”, as a British would call them) still has a 64% weight in tobacco (nicotine) sales. However, the lowest-priced products (“economy/value segment”), including brands such as Sterling, Mayfair and JPS, now account for 72% of ready-made cigarette sales. Demand for value and ultra-value cigarettes show strong growth in the UK with the cigarette prices rising quickly and the cost-of-living crisis continuing to put pressure on consumer spending. As smokers increasing look for products that offer premium quality at an ultra-value or value price-point, tobacco companies launch new products from their core brands to meet the demand.
The UK cigarette market, including both machine-made cigarettes and loose tobacco, is a quasi-duopoly with two companies, Japan Tobacco and Imperial Brands, owning more than 80% market share, collectively. British American Tobacco and Philip Morris International (PMI) are the other players in the market.
Japan Tobacco became the market leader in the UK after acquiring Weybridge-based Gallaher Group for £7.5 billion in cash (£9.75 billion including debt; US$15 billion at the time) in April 2007. This deal marked the biggest-ever foreign acquisition made by a Japanese company. To date, Japan Tobacco still maintains its leadership in the UK cigarette market with 43% share and owns 4 brands in the Top-10: Benson & Hedges, Sterling, Sovereign and Mayfair.
Founded in 1901, Imperial Tobacco (later re-branded as Imperial Brands) is the close #2 in the UK market (with 38% restated share) and represents the long-standing British tobacco heritage. Imperial owns 3 brands in the Top-10: Lambert & Butler, Players and Richmond.
Imperial is also the former parent company of BAT – which is established as a JV with American Tobacco Company to operate outside the US and UK. The historical exclusion from the UK market resulted in London-based, BAT to own only a single-digit market share on its home turf. Only Rothmans from BAT’s versatile brand portfolio makes it to the Top-10 in the UK.
The world’s largest publicly traded tobacco company, PMI, also holds a single-digit market share in the UK as its predominantly “American Blend” portfolio (a mixture of roughly 4/8 Virginia, 3/8 Burley and 1/8 Oriental tobacco) does not cater well with the established tobacco taste preference among the British smokers. The world’s best-selling international cigarette, Marlboro, and Chesterfield are the two PMI brands in the UK Top-10.
In the UK, more than 90% of cigarettes sold have Virginia blends and 83% have full-flavour taste profile. The Top-10 cigarette brands in the UK by retail turnover are:
| Rank | Brand | Manufacturer | Market Share |
| 1 | Benson & Hedges | Japan Tobacco | 19.4% |
| 2 | Lambert & Butler | Imperial Brands | 11.0% |
| 3 | Players | Imperial Brands | 9.9% |
| 4 | Sterling | Japan Tobacco | 8.4% |
| 5 | Marlboro | PMI | 6.0% |
| 6 | Sovereign | Japan Tobacco | 6.0% |
| 7 | Richmond | Imperial Brands | 5.5% |
| 8 | Mayfair | Japan Tobacco | 4.3% |
| 9 | Rothmans | BAT | 3.9% |
| 10 | Chesterfield | PMI | 3.0% |
Loose tobacco (make-your-own, roll-your-own) makes up 21% of the total tobacco sales and there are 4.5 million roll-your-own (RYO) smokers in the UK. When it comes to “rolling a fag”, Japan Tobacco’s Amber Leaf leads the (loose tobacco) market, ahead of its fellow company brand, Sterling, and Imperial’s Golden Virginia Original. Imperial’s JPS Gold Leaf, Riverstone and Embassy Signature as well as BAT’s Cutters Choice are the other significant brands in the category.
In the roll-your-own (RYO) segment, 30 gram packs of tobacco are now the most popular, making up 69% of all RYO sales. Value segment in RYO is also growing fast (8% year-on-year growth) and accounts for almost a quarter (24%) of the category. Products in the value and economy price tiers together make up more than half of the RYO sales. A reflection of this trend is JTI UK’s recent launch of ultra-value Mayfair Gold Rolling Tobacco 30g.
Tobacco accessories generate over £450 million in retail value, growing at 14.6% p.a. rate. Convenience stores account for more than half of all tobacco accessories sales with £251 million retail value. Sales in both c-store and grocery channel are growing at a similar rate to the overall category. In terms of sub-categories, rolling papers and filters gross £126 million and £78 million in retail, respectively. Imperial Brands’ Rizla range continues to dominate the accessories category, with one in two papers sold in the UK being Rizla Green.
New nicotine products (vapes, heated tobacco & nicotine pouches) makes up the remaining 15% of the total tobacco (nicotine) sales. In new nicotine products, three Chinese vape brands – SKE Crystal Bar, ElfBar and Lost Mary – makes up just more than 50% of the category. PMI’s heated tobacco product, IQOS, and BAT’s VUSE capture around 6% of the category, each. Albeit still small in size, two nicotine pouch brands, BAT’s VELO and Japan Tobacco’s Nordic Spirit, are the fastest growing nicotine products in the market with their retail sales almost doubling over the past 12 months.
Heated tobacco sales grew +26% to £105 million in 2024 of 26%. Seven out of 10 heated tobacco consumers are switching from value tobacco products; heated tobacco offer major cost savings to smokers as the Recommended Retail Price (RRP) for PMI’s HEETS heated tobacco sticks is only £5.50 per pack (i.e. roughly one third of PMI’s Marlboro). In terms of flavor mix, tobacco-flavored and menthol-flavored variants account for 50% and 38% of the heated tobacco sales in traditional retail, respectively.
