17. an oxygen eater on the inside, meaning it is free from the odours that most pocket ashtrays emit! What’s more, it comes in an array of attractive colours and styles, and can even carry advertising messages and branding, making it an essential accessory to a busy smoker’s life. “It’s also about empowering smokers around the world and embracing them in the modern movement of Enjoy & Care,” elaborates Alice. “Why not do your part to save the planet?” Much research has been conducted by Alice and her team at Nano-bin and the findings were not surprising. In a survey of 5000 smokers around Europe, 74% are happy to pay for a convenient pocket ashtray, costing approximately £1, or €1. This led to Alice’s idea of selling the Nano-bin as an add-on accessory to a packet of cigarettes. “If the cost for a packaged cigarette is €5.25, we found that consumers were happy to pay €6 if a pocket ashtray was included. This is now being pushed to the tobacco companies to provide smokers with a pocket ashtray.” In 2020, off the back of these findings, Alice had a large tobacco company get in touch as it wanted to test Nano-bin with its consumers. The company initially ordered 10,000 items and put them in 100 shops all over Sweden. The plan was to find out if the smokers wanted to use Nano-bin and the prediction was that the 10,000 units would take around a week, or possibly more, to sell out. Instead, Nano-bin sold out in a few hours prompting the company to place a further order for 40,000 units! Alice tells us, “We are now talking to the next big tobacco company who is ordering 100,000 a week. This is just for the Nordic markets.” Currently, Nano-bin is available from retail shops, kiosks, petrol stations, pubs, and restaurants – in fact, anywhere that sells cigarettes usually has Nano-bin on its shelves alongside. Nano-bin recently gained recognition in the Scandinavian Enterprise Awards 2022 for its ingenuity and innovation, being bestowed with the title of Best Eco-Friendly Ashtray Company 2022. This award is testament to the dedication and hard work of Alice and the talented team who helped to bring Nano-bin into fruition. Right now, it seems that Nano-bin has conquered Europe, but it is certainly on the cards for it to take the world by storm and Alice is already in talks with several companies who want to start stocking the item in their own countries. “We had a breakthrough in the US market,” she tells us. “A sales and distribution company has contacted us and wants to put Nanobin on the US market. It is one of the big retail companies that is asking for the product all over the continent. We have, after careful consideration, found a production company that can produce the quantities that are requested. The next step is to seek an investor who can help us with cash flow. It is an exciting step forward!”
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