The company intends to introduce its pocket lighters to marijuana-smoking Americans, whose numbers are steadily growing.
“I am from Amsterdam, but I can say that marijuana use in the US is spreading much faster than ever in the Netherlands,” said the company’s CEO Rob Versloot during a strategy presentation to analysts in Paris. “It is a huge market that needs to be conquered.”
R. Versloot was hired a little over a year ago to improve BIC, whose sales have been declining in recent years.
Read more SAM: state-funded flu vaccines for risk groups will arrive in Lithuania in November
Although smoking cannabis is still illegal at the federal level in the US, most states allow cannabis use for medical purposes, and more than 20 states have legalized its recreational use. BIC sees an opportunity to capitalize on this and has included marijuana-using celebrities such as Willie Nelson, Snoop Dogg, and Martha Stewart in its advertising campaigns.
In the first half of this year, lighters accounted for about one-third of BIC’s total sales, which decreased by 3.5% during this period to just over one billion euros.
Read more Due to the drought caused by «El Nino,» the Panama Canal is considering further restricting shipping
