August 2026: KT&G’s Esse Brand Surpasses ₩2 Trillion in Sales on Strong Overseas Demand
Annual sales for KT&G’s ultra-slim cigarette brand, Esse, surpassed ₩2 trillion last year, driven primarily by expanding international markets. Overseas sales reached ₩1.11 trillion, exceeding domestic revenue for the first time and leading the company to raise its annual earnings forecast. Esse is currently distributed in more than 90 countries and accounts for approximately one-third of global sales in the ultra-slim cigarette category, holding the top market share in that segment for 11 consecutive years. Growth has been bolstered by market-specific localization strategies. In Indonesia, where KT&G introduced variants blended with local cloves, annual sales exceeded 9 billion cigarettes last year. In Mongolia, rising Esse adoption helped push KT&G’s total local market share past 50%. KT&G plans to maintain its focus on international expansion, utilizing product updates and tailored market strategies to sustain global sales growth.
First launched in 1996, Esse has maintained the top market share in South Korea’s domestic market for 23 consecutive years since 2004. The domestic lineup comprises roughly 30 variants, featuring technological additions over time such as capsule filters in 2013 (‘Esse Change’), reduced-odor paper in 2019 (‘Esse Himalaya’), and black cigarette paper in recent releases (‘Esse Noir’).
The brand’s international momentum contributed to strong second-quarter performance for KT&G. Overseas cigarette sales rose 18.9% year-over-year to ₩557.7 billion, while operating profit for the segment surged 45.6%, aided by higher sales volumes and price adjustments. Across the entire tobacco business division, second-quarter sales increased 11.7% to ₩1.22 trillion won, with operating profit rising 18.8% to ₩383 billion won.
April 2026: KT&G ESSE’s Annual Overseas Revenue Exceeds USD 700 Million
KT&G’s superslim cigarette brand ESSE generated US$770 million in overseas revenue (excluding Korea) in 2025. In the same year, the brand surpassed cumulative global sales of 1 trillion sticks across Korea and international markets, coinciding with its 30th anniversary. Sold in around 90 countries, ESSE accounts for roughly one-third of global superslim cigarette sales. Supported by ESSE’s strong international performance, KT&G’s total revenue outside Korea reached US$1.3 billion in 2025, representing 29.4% year-on-year growth. Notably, 2025 marked the first year in which KT&G’s overseas cigarette revenue exceeded its domestic cigarette revenue.
Few Korean consumer brands in sectors such as food or beauty have exceeded the ₩1 trillion mark in overseas revenue alone, underscoring ESSE’s growing competitiveness as global demand for superslim cigarettes increases. The brand continues to strengthen its international market position, with particularly strong growth in Asia and Eurasia. ESSE has become a major superslim brand in Indonesia and has reinforced its dominant position in Mongolia, where it holds more than 50% market share through localized strategies. In Eurasian markets such as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan, tailored brand strategies have further strengthened its presence.
ESSE’s growth has been supported by a systematic global brand strategy and continuous product innovation. When first launched, the brand created new demand with its superslim design, differentiating it from traditional cigarette formats, alongside locally tailored, technology-driven product development. Today, ESSE is firmly established as a leading global brand in the superslim category.
KT&G, the manufacturer of ESSE, remains the leading tobacco company in Korea, holding the top position across combustible cigarettes and next-generation products. As of 2025, KT&G maintained a 67.3% share of the domestic cigarette market, continuing its long-standing leadership.
March 2026: Esse – The Global Growth Engine Behind KT&G’s Overseas Expansion
KT&G’s superslim cigarette brand ESSE has become one of the most successful global cigarette brands originating from Asia, and it now sits at the center of the company’s international growth strategy. Over the past decade, and especially in recent years, ESSE has driven KT&G’s expansion across Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and emerging markets, transforming the company from a domestic tobacco company into an export-driven global player.
A key indicator of this shift is the growing importance of overseas markets in KT&G’s overall business. In 2025, overseas cigarette revenue reached ₩1.88 trillion and accounted for 54.1% of total cigarette revenue, meaning international sales exceeded domestic sales for the first time in the company’s history. This milestone reflects KT&G’s transition toward a global business structure built around overseas production, distribution, and localized product strategies.
ESSE has been the main driver of this global expansion. The ESSE brand generated more than ₩1 trillion in overseas sales, highlighting its role as KT&G’s flagship international product. The brand’s slim design and premium positioning have allowed it to build strong consumer appeal across multiple markets, particularly in Asia and emerging markets.
KT&G’s international cigarette business has grown rapidly in recent years. International cigarette revenue increased from ₩1.01 trillion in 2022 to ₩1.88 trillion in 2025, representing a cumulative annual growth rate of 23%. This growth was largely driven by strong export performance of Esse and expansion into new markets. Indonesia has become the most important overseas market for KT&G and a major growth engine for the ESSE brand. The country accounts for over 20% of KT&G’s global tobacco sales, and KT&G has tailored ESSE products to local preferences, including clove cigarette variants such as ESSE Berry Pop. KT&G sold close to 12 billion cigarettes in Indonesia in 2025, and the country now represents the company’s largest overseas market by volume. KT&G is currently the fourth-largest tobacco company in Indonesia with approximately 4.4% market share.
Other markets have also delivered strong results. KT&G has achieved market dominance in Mongolia and Tajikistan, while ESSE has gained traction in Southeast Asian markets such as Taiwan. In Mongolia, the company’s market share exceeded 50%, and annual sales increased significantly over time as the brand became established.
KT&G’s global expansion strategy has been supported by investments in overseas production and distribution infrastructure. The company operates multiple manufacturing plants outside Korea, including facilities in Indonesia, Russia, Turkey, and Kazakhstan, with additional capacity expansion underway. These overseas plants allow KT&G to localize production, reduce costs, and respond more effectively to regional consumer preferences.
The company’s global footprint is now extensive. KT&G exports cigarettes and next-generation products to more than 140 countries and sells hundreds of product variants worldwide. The company has also expanded into duty-free channels and entered new markets in Europe and the Middle East as part of its strategy to position ESSE as a global premium slim cigarette brand.
Strategically, KT&G’s international growth is built around localization rather than simple exports. The company has adopted a “fully localized global value chain” approach, including local production, local product development, and regional distribution networks. This strategy has helped KT&G compete against major multinational tobacco companies in emerging markets where price positioning, product customization, and distribution networks are critical.
Overall, the success of the ESSE brand has played a central role in KT&G’s transformation into a global tobacco company. Overseas cigarette sales now exceed domestic sales, international revenue continues to grow at double-digit rates, and key markets such as Indonesia, Central Asia, and the Middle East are driving volume growth. With continued investment in overseas manufacturing and expansion into new markets, ESSE is expected to remain the core growth engine of KT&G’s international tobacco business in the coming years.
July 2025: KT&G Launches ESSE in Germany
KT&G launched ESSE Blue and ESSE Red in Gemany, the largest cigarette market in the European Union and a major battleground for global brands, in order to capitalize on the growing demand for superslim cigarettes. Starting with this launch, KT&G plans to expand market share and brand recognition in Europe.
The ESSE brand, first born in South Korea in 1996, started global expansion with Middle Eastern countries and Russia in 2001. Since then, the list of export destinations has continuously grown to around 90 global markets, including Indonesia, Latin America, and Africa. Since its launch, ESSE’s cumulative sales volume has reached 430 billion sticks and, as of 2024, EESE owns around a third of the global superslim market. KT&G, the manufacturer of ESSE, sells 870 products across 148 countries.
June 2025: ESSE Continues to be the Global Leader in Super-slim Cigarette Segment
KT&G’s ESSE holds on to the global #1 spot in superslim cigarette segment in 2024 as the international expansion accelerates. ESSE has maintained the top spot in South Korea for over 20 years, with 33.2% market share in 2024, and initiated full-scale exports in 2001, starting with Russia and the Middle East. As of 2024, ESSE is available in about 90 countries around the world. Among them, Indonesia is the most notable market where ESSE recorded a sales volume of 9.6 billion sticks in 2024. As Indonesia is a market with deep-rooted traditional Kretek cigarette culture, KT&G developed a special ESSE product using cloves to reflect local tradition and popularized the brand through a localization strategy.
In Mongolia, ESSE continues to lead the market with more than 50% share since 2020 and KT&G hopes to see a spillover effect to neighboring countries in the future. KT&G established a corporation in Uzbekistan in January 2025 and plans to foster ESSE as a representative brand in the Uzbekistan market, where the sales of ultra-slim cigarettes is steadily increasing. KT&G plans to more than quadruple the size of its local workforce and expand distribution coverage to strengthen its position in the market.
ESSE aims to continue to pioneer the global ultra-slim market based on the three axes of technology, design, and consumer trends. As part of these effeort, KT&G evolves the ESSE brand through technological innovation. In 2013, KT&G introduced ESSE Change, the world’s first superslim capsule product that changes flavor by crushing a flavor capsule in the filter. In 2017, KT&G launched ESSE Change Slim, which is 0.7mm thinner than existing slim products. Launched in 2019, ESSE Himalaya is a product with odor reduction technology, developed by applying the proprietary Triple Care System. In 2024, ESSE Noir, featuring black cigarette paper, was launched to strengthen the brand’s premium image.
April 2025: ESSE Cigarettes Power KT&G’s Global Push
KT&G’s ultra-slim cigarette brand, ESSE meets strong and steady demand in the Middle East and Central Asia and emerges as one of South Korea’s fastest-growing exports in the processed food category in Q1 2025. According to data released by the Ministry of Agriculture, KT&G’s cigarette exports rose 14.5% in the quarter year-on-year basis. KT&G reported a significant rise in demand across key markets such as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), including Russia and Mongolia. KT&G’s cigarette exports to GCC increased 84% and to CIS doubled in the same period.
In Mongolia, KT&G captured a market-leading share of over 50% (- dethroning the previous market leader, Japon Tobacco). Central Asian countries, such as Uzbekistan, are rapidly emerging as key growth markets. K&G also secured the top market share in Tajikistan and a third place in Kazakhstan.
To meet growing global demand, KT&G is building new manufacturing facilities in Kazakhstan and Indonesia (i.e. KT&G’s largest export destination), set to be completed by 2026. Once operational, these sites will serve as the backbone of a localized value chain.
April 2025: KT&G Launches ESSE in Tokyo Downtown Duty-free
Six ESSE variants, including ESSE Change, ESSE Change Himalaya, ESSE Double Shot and ESSE Blue, are launched in Lotte Duty Free Tokyo Ginza Store as part of the global expansion of the ESSE brand. KT&G aims to offer ESSE products to global consumers in Tokyo, a travel hub, and reinforce its position as a global brand. KT&G also plans to continuously expand its global duty-free operations through product launches in major duty-free stores in global locations.
KT&G previously launched various brands in the domestic Japanese market, including Black Jack Supasawa and Bohem, and is reinforcing the local distribution network centered around Tokyo and Osaka regions.
May 2024: KT&G Launches “ESSE Himalaya Winter“
KT&G launches its new ultra-slim cigarette product, “ESSE Himalaya Winter”, in South Korea. “ESSE Himalayan Winter” is characterized by the use of Himalayan tobacco leaves and advanced odor reduction technology which reduces the unpleasant smell left in the mouth after smoking.
The package design emphasizes the unique taste and aroma of “ESSE Himalaya Winter’ with the image of the Himalayan Mountains on a black & navy background. “ESSE Himalaya Winter” is a 1.0mg tar – 0.10mg nicotine product and will retail at ₩4,500 (US$3.3) per pack.
“ESSE Himalaya” is the first product line to which KT&G applied its proprietary odor reduction technology. “ESSE Himalaya”, launched in South Korea in 2019, became an instant success by selling more than 10 million packs in just 4 months and pioneered the trend of odor reduction in cigarettes. “Esse Himalayan Winter” extends the “ESSE Himalaya” line-up by using Himalayan tobacco leaves from clean regions.
February 2024: “ESSE – World’s #1 Ultra-slim Cigarette Brand”
Launched in November 1996, ESSE sold 50.8Bn sticks in 2023: 21.9Bn sticks in Korea and 28.9Bn sticks abroad in 2023 – making it the largest ultra-slim cigarette brand in the world1. ESSE’s total global sales topped 900Bn sticks (496.5Bn domestic plus 405.1Bn overseas) since the launch and its annual overseas sales exceeding its domestic sales since 2015.
ESSE differentiates itself with a slim design, low-tar profile (1mg), application of innovative technologies (such as odor reduction) and steady expansion in taste dimensions. ESSE maintains its leadership the overall Korean market since 2004 (i.e. ~35% SoM in 2023). KT&G started exporting ESSE to the Middle East and Russia in 2001 and the brand is now sold in more than 90 countries. ESSE currently makes about one-third of global ultra-slim cigarette sales.
April 2021: ESSE is Preferred by One out of Three Ultra-slim Cigarette Smokers Around the World
Preferred by one out of three ultra-slim cigarette smokers around the world, the global ultra-slim segment leader, ESSE is increasing its number of export markets to about 70, including Latin American and African countries, in addition to the existing export markets of Indonesia, Russia, and the Middle East. Since 2004, ESSE has maintained its undisputed leadership in the South Korean domestic market. As of 2020, ESSE held about 30% of the domestic cigarette market share and about 80% of the domestic ultra-slim cigarette market.
ESSE is also expanding its product line. “ESSE Change 1mg”, the world’s first ultra-slim product with capsules, was launched in 2013. Subsequently, “ESSE Change 4mg”, “ESSE Change W”, and “ESSE Change UP” were introduced. “ESSE Change Lean”, a micro-slim cigarette that is thinner than the existing ultra-slim line, hit the market in 2017. Most recently, in 2019, KT&G launched “ESSE Change Himalayas”, which uses capsules to reduce cigarette odor in smokers’ breath.
