Vape shops could be the next big thing in franchising, according to the small business owners who have opened hundreds of the stores across Canada.
“The guys wearing the suits, they don’t realize how much money there is in this,” said Samuel Boucher, who owns Vancouver e-juice maker Premium Liquid Labs. He believes that will change once the e-cigarette industry becomes regulated.
“That’s when people will bet their money on it, because right now it’s a high-risk investment.”
Boucher founded Premium Liquid Labs a year ago. He now employs 29 people in his Vancouver shop and sells his e-juice to 1,500 vape stores in eight countries.
Boucher estimates there are about 1,100 vape stores in Canada, and the numbers continue to grow. At some point, the market may become saturated, but right now it is booming.
Less than a year ago, Stacey White and Brendan Darby opened Thunderbird Vapes. It was the husband-and-wife team’s first business venture together.
Here, customers can buy electronic vaping devices – battery-powered alternatives to cigarettes that allow people to inhale nicotine vapour – and e-juices (the nicotine liquid used in the devices) with flavours ranging from mojito to butter-pecan brûlé.
Yet Darby and White might have had an easier time opening a tobacco store or a medical marijuana shop like the one three doors over.
That’s because regulators, landlords, insurance companies, banks and payment processors still aren’t quite sure what to make of the e-cigarette business, which, like medical marijuana, is in a legal vacuum.
for the industry, which has been booming over the last few years.
One of the first hurdles White and Darby faced when they opened one year ago was finding a landlord who would rent to them. They also had problems finding insurance.
“The problem we’re having is a lot of noise,” said Vincent Hornby, 23, one of three partners who co-founded Lucky 8 Vapes in Richmond about a year ago. But, he added, “We’ve had a very successful year. We’re getting inquiries all the time about people wanting to franchise.”
According to Research and Markets, the global e-cigarette industry is expected to grow to $50 billion over the next 10 years.
