Exclusive Interview with UK Brand PIXL: Disposable Ban Sparks “Pod System Opportunity” — High-Puff Refillable Vapes Become the New Must-Have

【By 2firsts】At the e-cigarette exhibition in Dubai, there were not only numerous Chinese brands and manufacturers, but also e-cigarette brands from European and American countries. One such brand, PIXL, which is under the British company Idea Flavour, also participated in the Dubai e-cigarette exhibition.

The UK ban on disposable e-cigarettes has been officially in effect for nearly a month, marking a significant shift in the industry that is now moving from legislation to reality, profoundly impacting the market landscape. In this new era post-disposable, which brands are emerging as leaders on the compliant track? What new dynamics are unfolding in the UK market?

At the exhibition, PIXL representative Emaar shared her latest insights on the UK market after the ban took effect during an interview with 2Firsts, and elaborated on PIXL's product features and brand philosophy.

Compliance-driven new brand

In January 2024, then British Prime Minister Sunak announced a ban on disposable e-cigarettes in response to the ongoing increase in youth vaping rates. The policy sparked immediate strong reactions within the industry. As disposable e-cigarettes were dominating the e-cigarette market in the UK at the time, this move was expected to have a significant impact on brands that relied on these products.

Against the backdrop of increasingly strict policies, some emerging brands are choosing to proactively embrace regulatory frameworks, opting for compliance-oriented layouts from the start. According to Emaar, the PIXL brand was born out of this approach. In May 2024, PIXL made its first appearance at an e-cigarette exhibition in Birmingham, UK, and officially launched its first product on the market in June of the same year.

PIXL's first product is the PIXL 6000 series, which is a "2+10ml" large capacity solution developed specifically for the UK and European TPD regulations. This solution utilizes a device body with a built-in 2ml oil tank, combined with a separate 10ml oil tank, to achieve an extended product battery life within the regulatory framework.

"When the concept of 2+10ml was first introduced, most products on the market required users to manually press or invert them in order to complete the refueling process." explained Emaar.

She pointed out that the primary goal of PIXL is to optimize the user experience. The PIXL 6000 series features a structural design based on the "U-shaped connecting gas principle". This design allows the e-liquid in the 10ml oil tank to flow smoothly and automatically into the 2ml atomizing tank, relying on gravity and pressure differentials. Users do not need to perform any additional operations throughout the entire usage process.

"Our product manager's design philosophy is to make technology serve users, rather than burdening users with additional operations." Emaar stated.

Market Positioning: Modular Compliance Large Volume Products

Building upon the success of the PIXL 6000 series, the brand has introduced the follow-up iteration product PIXL DUO 12. Emaar stated that this upgrade was primarily based on user feedback.

The PIXL DUO 12 is a dual-flavor pod system, allowing users to physically switch between flavors by rotating the top mouthpiece. The device comes with two pre-filled pods containing 1ml of e-liquid each, along with two 5ml e-liquid reservoirs, resulting in a total capacity of 12ml of e-liquid.

In addition to a change in design, PIXL's latest product, the PIXL 8000, showcases the brand's continued exploration towards modularity and playability.

·Modular combination: assembly is required for the e-liquid section at the top, allowing for the free combination of pods and bodies in different colors. 

·Interactive design: the pod connects to the body through magnetic attraction, but can easily be detached with a certain degree of pressure. 

·Functionality: the product is equipped with child lock function and two suction modes (Boost/Normal).

The literal meaning of PIXL is 'pixel' in English. Design language, such as pointillist textures on products, is derived from this, with the hope of bringing users a retro and fun feeling," she explained.

Emaar believes that from the all-in-one "2+10ml" device to the PIXL 8000 with interchangeable pods, the products launched by PIXL in the UK all have a e-liquid capacity of 12ml for their refillable pods. Compliant refillable products serve as the most stable base for the brand.

On the Same Starting Line as Major Brands

The ban on disposable e-cigarettes in the UK will officially take effect on June 1, 2025. Emaar believes that the most immediate result of the ban is the creation of a huge demand vacuum in the UK market, forcing disposable e-cigarette users to seek out new types of e-cigarettes.

"The ban is a good thing for us, as we specialize in compliant products, providing market opportunities for brands like PIXL that focus on compliant large-scale solutions." she said.

Furthermore, she believes that the implementation of the ban on disposable e-cigarettes will reshape the competition rules of the entire market. Previously, top brands such as ELFBAR and LOST MARY had dominated the market with their influence and channel advantages in the disposable product field. However, after the ban takes effect, they will also need to shift towards new compliant product forms.

"After the ban officially takes effect, we are all starting from the same starting line," she explained, "All brands, regardless of their age or size, must compete again on this new track of 'compliance numbers'.

In the long term, Emaar believes that the ban in the UK is beneficial for the industry's healthy development. "It will force all industry practitioners to focus on technology research and development and product quality, rather than simply engaging in low-cost replication.

A Large Amount of Bullet Trading has Turned Into "Hard Currency" in the UK Market

Emaar pointed out that the most significant feature of the current UK market is the extreme scarcity of compliant bulk products in anticipation of the disposable ban, making them highly sought after commodities. The market is in a frenzy of hoarding and rushing to order products.

She believes that "chasing large numbers is the overall trend in the e-cigarette market," but the compliant form in the UK is the '2+10ml' scheme.

Emaar described the current imbalance in supply and demand in the UK market, with both traditional small capacity refill products and emerging "2+10ml" large capacity refill products facing serious stock shortages. Despite the impact of larger capacity products, traditional small capacity refills (2ml) still have a large user base.

Emaar pointed out, "Many shelves of small-caliber ammunition are also sold out. In this niche market, SKE Bar is showing the strongest performance.

The Big Swap (2+10ml) product has garnered more attention from consumers, with reports of it selling out as soon as it hits the shelves. This has led to intense competition in the big swap product market since 2024. Emaar has stated that PIXL is now among the top three compliant big swap products in the UK.

"As of 2025, there are essentially no new brands emerging in the niche market sector, as the market environment is relatively stable," she explained. "However, the situation is different in the mass market sector, as this is where all brands are competing for attention.

New Regulations Create Opportunities for "Baggage-Free" Brands

In the interview, Emaar stated that for new brands like PIXL, the opportunity lies in their lack of historical baggage and being born for new regulations from the beginning. If they can offer more attractive compliant products than established giants, there is a possibility of quickly capturing market share in this transformation.

From the current trend, it is apparent that consumers are facing increased usage costs. In the past, disposable products could simply be opened and used, but now users need to understand the advantages and disadvantages of different compliance solutions, such as how oil tanks work and how flavors can be switched. Therefore, brands designing such products are focusing on making the usage process more intuitive and providing users with a similar experience to disposable products.

As a young brand established in 2024, Emaar stated that while PIXL products have already been launched in some EU countries, they do not have plans to expand to other countries at the moment.

She said that the purpose of participating in the Dubai exhibition this time is to establish contacts with customers from around the world, including potential partners from the Middle East, South America, North America, and other regions in Europe.

"We are a British brand, so the UK market is the first place we must focus on," Emaar said. "But we are also very aware that the future of the market is global."