In China, the number of smokers—350 million—has exceeded the total population of the United States, the birthplace of tobacco. This contradictory and unique group consumes approximately 1.7 trillion cigarettes annually, and they are always ready to pay for their own health. On the other hand, this group also supports the pillar industries that generate national and local fiscal revenue, contributing over 100 billion yuan in taxes each year, accounting for about 10% of the country’s total tax revenue. With such a massive group, apart from the reminder that “smoking is harmful to health,” few have made it their mission to address their well-being.
Yet, there is one person who has made “improving smokers’ health” the goal of his entrepreneurship. After thorough preparation, he got started.
After nine months of incubation, “Blue & White”—a shining new star born in the e-cigarette market—has been making rapid strides since September. Following extensive media exposure, it has quickly captured widespread attention.
Testing It Yourself: How Can Users Trust a Product You Don’t Use?
Zhang Shengqiang, a former China head at Durex who contributed significantly to the brand’s marketing success in China, witnessed the marketing myth Durex created in the country. Yet, he turned away from all that glory. He chose to stand on his own side, made a new choice, gave up his high-paying executive position at a multinational corporation, picked up the cigarettes he had quit for three years, and started a business.
The Blue & White e-cigarette was not a spur-of-the-moment idea for Zhang Shengqiang but the result of careful consideration and market research.
“Blue & White shares similarities with Durex—they are both products that can improve people’s quality of life and health.” While serving as the China head at Durex, Zhang Shengqiang realized that apart from product quality, user experience and sales channels are crucial to a company’s development.
Before producing e-cigarettes, Zhang Shengqiang conducted market research and personally participated in it, determining the direction of the Blue & White e-cigarette based on Chinese smokers’ opinions and experiences with e-cigarettes. He worked with invited smokers to participate in test puffs, sample comparisons, surveys, and discussions, deeply understanding the needs of smokers.
“First is the taste—it must achieve a similarity of 90% to traditional cigarettes. Second, the pricing cannot be higher than that of regular cigarettes. Pricing can be managed through the supply chain, keeping gross margins as low as possible.
Zhang Shengqiang had years of experience in sales channels and branding but lacked expertise in technology and supply chains. In January 2015, at a friend’s gallery in Beijing’s 798 Art District, Zhang Shengqiang met Ju Nianfeng. Ju Nianfeng, chairman of Porton Pharma Solutions (a ChiNext-listed company with a market value of nearly 10 billion yuan), shared Zhang’s optimism about the growth of health-focused businesses. At the time, Porton had a research and development team with EU-certified nicotine purification technology (one of only three in the world) and was also exploring the e-cigarette business.
The opportunity came so perfectly and timely that the two hit it off immediately. Porton’s affiliate, Juxin Capital, made an initial investment of 10 million yuan and provided Zhang with a dozen tobacco flavoring technicians to help him establish the “Blue & White” brand.
“This team has over a decade of experience in traditional tobacco flavoring and has also experimented with e-cigarettes and new tobacco products for more than three years.” Leading the team, Zhang Shengqiang embarked on a nine-month-long R&D journey, ultimately achieving a taste that is 90% similar to roasted tobacco. Now, he has completely replaced traditional cigarettes with the Blue & White e-cigarette and has become a loyal user of his own product.
The Story Behind: Dedicated to “Improving Smokers’ Health”
Zhang Shengqiang is a long-time smoker who has personally experienced the pain of quitting.
One late night in 2012, a phone call woke the sleeping Zhang Shengqiang.
The call informed him that his mother had fallen from a building, suffering severe brainstem damage. For six months, to take care of his mother wholeheartedly, Zhang Shengqiang set aside all his work. Fortunately, his mother eventually regained consciousness and mobility.
However, the patient in the neighboring bed was not as lucky. This patient, in his 50s, suffered from lung function failure due to long-term smoking. Despite constant turning and back patting, nothing helped. The doctors had no choice but to perform a tracheotomy, cutting open the trachea about twenty centimeters down the throat—a blackened area resembling “an old chimney on a northeastern house.” Despite multiple resuscitation efforts, the elderly man unfortunately passed away.
Witnessing this scene, Zhang Shengqiang shivered—it was early winter, yet the shirt under his clothes was soaked with cold sweat. “Making several million yuan a year means nothing in the hospital; money doesn’t help. I need to quit smoking.”
At the time, Zhang Shengqiang was a 15-year smoker, and smoking one and a half packs a day was normal. Quitting was an extremely painful process. He began challenging himself, “When my mother was discharged from the hospital, I told myself that I could definitely quit.”
Anxiety, loneliness, boredom.
To shake off these negative feelings from quitting, Zhang Shengqiang felt he needed to do something to divert the impact caused by smoking.
From then on, Zhang Shengqiang’s desk was always piled high with sunflower seed shells, he chewed gum when going out, and would unconsciously bite his pen while reading or working. “I absolutely cannot hang out with smokers. Once you approach them, they’ll definitely offer you a cigarette, and you’ll uncontrollably want to smoke. Whenever I see a group of people smoking, I run far away.”
Through extraordinary willpower and every possible method, Zhang Shengqiang finally overcame his addiction.
The pain of quitting made a deep impression on Zhang Shengqiang, and it was also during this time that he conceived the idea of creating an e-cigarette. Through research, Zhang Shengqiang found that “the harm of e-cigarettes is only 5% compared to traditional cigarettes, but 80% of smokers who have tried e-cigarettes are dissatisfied—either due to poor taste or high price.”
To truly win over this massive group of smokers, persuasion and so-called health campaigns have proven largely ineffective, as the number of smokers continues to rise year by year. If an e-cigarette that closely resembles the taste of traditional cigarettes can be introduced, then achieving “improved smokers’ health” is only a matter of time.
Redefining: Blue & White Hides No Flaws
To claim that e-cigarettes are entirely harmless is something none of the Blue & White team would agree with. And no product in this world is completely harmless.
In 2007, when Zhang Shengqiang first entered the Chinese market for Durex, he faced numerous obstacles in breaking into the convenience store sales channel and was even kicked out of stores. But his conscientious and responsible nature drove his persistence. “Since I had prepared well and had a well-thought-out plan, I was determined to succeed.” This persistence eventually led to the recognition of Durex’s promotion in convenience stores in major cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou.
Similarly, at Lanbai, Zhang Shengqiang holds every member of his team to the same standards, approaching product development with an almost uncompromising rigor. Whether in product R&D, brand promotion, or after-sales service, he allows no false information in marketing materials. For the company, genuinely prioritizing users ensures they experience quality products, and it is this user support and trust that form the cornerstone of Lanbai’s sustainable growth.
On Lanbai’s official website, there is a science education section that not only investigates the truths about e-cigarettes but also provides knowledge about traditional cigarettes—topics that are of utmost concern to users. As a profit-driven enterprise, this approach not only redefines the business model of the e-cigarette market but also wins over users with sincerity.
According to authoritative research from Australia’s Catholic University, nicotine-containing e-cigarettes are currently more effective than non-nicotine ones in helping people quit smoking. Lanbai e-cigarettes are the only brand in China certified with the EU CEP (Certificate of Suitability to the Monographs of the European Pharmacopoeia). Therefore, Zhang Shengqiang is fully confident in promoting them to smokers, as the health risks of e-cigarettes are far lower than those of traditional cigarettes—the harm caused by ten e-cigarettes is equivalent to just one cup of coffee.
Compared to traditional cigarettes, which produce tar, secondhand smoke, and ash due to incomplete combustion, e-cigarettes minimize health risks. Moreover, as the anti-smoking movement intensifies, e-cigarettes serve as a considerate alternative that benefits both users and those around them. The slogan “Smoke Lanbai in no-smoking zones” has become Lanbai’s standout selling point.
“When I was at Durex, I learned that product quality and user experience are essential to a company’s success. With funding secured, my biggest investment is in the product.”
In 2013, the total sales of e-cigarettes in the United States exceeded $1 billion, with an annual growth rate of over 40%. There are approximately 53.01 million smokers in the U.S. and 350 million in China. Zhang Shengqiang has strong confidence in both Lanbai e-cigarettes and the Chinese e-cigarette market: “As living standards improve and people pay more attention to health, my investors and I believe the Chinese e-cigarette market will thrive.”
For Zhang Shengqiang, “Lanbai” is not just a startup, but also a pursuit of his personal life values. “Although I enjoy a simple and peaceful life, I also want to do something meaningful for society during my lifetime.”