July 27 (Reuters) - Philip Morris International said on Monday it had doubled its planned investment in its Colorado manufacturing campus to about $1.2 billion through 2028, as it expands production capacity for the Zyn nicotine pouch business.
The company in 2024 had initially announced a $600 million investment to build a manufacturing facility for Zyn nicotine pouches in Aurora, which opened on Monday.
• The company said the facility produces Zyn nicotine pouches and will support exports to markets
across Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean.
• Once fully operational, the facility is expected to generate approximately $550 million in annual economic impact and support 1,000 indirect jobs, the company said.
• The Marlboro maker added that the Aurora campus joins the company's existing modern nicotine manufacturing operations in Owensboro, Kentucky, and Wilson, North Carolina.
• Nicotine pouches are the fastest-growing nicotine product in the U.S., with millions of users, driving sales for Philip Morris and helping fuel the company's growth across smoke-free products including heated tobacco device IQOS and vapes.
• The investment comes weeks after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized 20 Zyn nicotine pouches as less harmful than cigarettes, allowing the company to market reduced-risk information compared with cigarettes.
• In July, Philip Morris beat second-quarter estimates, helped by strong demand for smoke-free products.
(Reporting by Sanskriti Shekhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
