JUUL and the Vaping Revolution (A)

Name: JUUL and the Vaping Revolution (A) (English version)
SKU: 619006

Toffel, Michael W.; Masko, John; Mehta, Sarah

Product #:619006

Supplier:Harvard Business Impact

Discipline:General Management

Setting:California;United States, 2018

Details:Case (PDF) • 30 pages • 2018-11-05 (Rev: 2025-11-14)

Subjects:

Advertising Branding Business law Corporate social responsibility Inventions Marketing communications Marketing strategy Social media Sales and marketing Brand management Business law and ethics Corporate governance Innovation Marketing Web-based technologies Leadership and managing people Management

Geography:

California United States North America

Your Price:

$11.64

Purchase this material with a free Educator Account and enjoy more benefits:

Free Educator Copy
Free Teaching Notes
Build your coursepack
Discounted academic price

In late 2019, San Francisco-based electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) maker JUUL Labs (pronounced "jewel") faced intense pressure. Sales of JUUL products exceeded $1 billion in 2018, dominating the e-cigarette category. While JUUL Labs' stated goal was to help current smokers switch from traditional cigarettes to e-cigarettes, the company's products had become popular with high school and even middle school students, among whom "vaping"-the use of e-cigarettes-was rapidly spreading. Some advocacy groups and policymakers speculated that JUUL Labs had purposefully marketed its products to minors, an allegation the company strongly denied. The debate over JUUL Labs' marketing and products had made 2019 a difficult year for the company, with a number of states and municipalities imposing bans on the sale of flavored e-liquids, and in some cases, on all e-cigarette products. Given that the company was ostensibly founded to reduce the harm of smoking, what more could JUUL Labs do to prevent misuse of its products, restore its reputation, and grow its business more successfully?

Learning Objectives

The learning objectives for this case include: Evaluate the responsibilities of a company to market and sell its product that can benefit some customers but harm others. Expose students to the challenges of developing a non-market strategy to respond to regulatory pressures Evaluate the entry strategy a relying on social media, which reduces advertising cost but is less controllable than traditional marketing