Niko Liquids
| Niko Liquids group of companies | |
|---|---|
| legal form | Company with limited liability |
| founding | 2011 |
| Seat | Essen , Germany |
| Number of employees | 240 |
| Branch | E-cigarettes |
| Website | www.nikoliquids.de |
| Status: 2019 | |
Niko Liquids , based in Essen, is an international group of companies in the e-cigarette industry. With a production capacity of 300,000 bottles per day on two fully automatic filling systems, Niko Liquids GmbH is one of the largest producers of liquids and other liquids for e-cigarettes (bases, flavors) in Europe. In addition, the group of companies imports, registers and sells e-cigarette hardware and accessories as a wholesaler to German and European retailers.
history
Niko Liquids was founded in 2011 by a chemist and an investor in response to the growing demand for first generation e-cigarettes . At that time, most liquids - like e-cigarettes - came from Chinese production and did not meet the demands of many German e-cigarette users in terms of taste and the quality of the ingredients.
The start as a manufactory supplying regional dealers was successful. When the North Rhine-Westphalian state health minister Barbara Steffens ( Bündnis 90 / Grüne ) wanted to classify liquids as pharmaceuticals because of the nicotine they contain and to restrict sales to pharmacies in 2012, the company adjusted production to pharmaceutical standards as a precautionary measure ( clean room production processes and raw materials used European Pharmacopoeia Ph.Eur). Although the minister ultimately failed with her project before the Higher Administrative Court in Münster, Niko Liquids has continued to produce according to pharmaceutical standards with extensive analytical controls by specialist chemists in their own laboratory .
In the years that followed, sales were expanded to all of Germany and other European countries. In this way, the company was able to win over all major tobacco retail chains as well as numerous other retailers as sales outlets. The grocery trade and petrol station chains are now also among the customers. In Germany, Niko Liquids products are currently (March 2019) available at more than 20,000 sales outlets.
In 2013, the tobacco company Philip Morris took action against Niko Liquids in vain because it saw a risk of confusion with its “Marlboro” cigarette brand in the “Marbo Red” liquid variety.
The subsidiary VapeBase GmbH has been producing flavors, bases and e-liquids for advanced e-cigarette users since 2015.
In 2018 the e-cigarette retail chain "Dampffuchs" joined the group of companies with concept M Medizin + Medien GmbH (based in Monheim am Rhein).
In the same year, the product portfolio was also expanded to include liquids with nicotine salt and cannabidiol (CBD).
structure
The company is family owned. It produces nicotine-free and nicotine-containing liquids for e-cigarettes and sells all products related to e-cigarettes. The group includes the following companies:
- Niko Liquids GmbH (production of liquids for e-cigarettes)
- Niko Liquids Trading GmbH (distribution of liquids for e-cigarettes, hardware import and wholesale)
- VapeBase GmbH (production of liquids for advanced e-cigarette users)
- concept M Medizin + Medien GmbH (Dampffuchs chain of branches)
- Holywood StoreConcept GmbH (shop and exhibition stand construction)
The Niko Liquids Group has a total of around 240 employees (as of March 2019).