Philip Morris International has selected Aurora for a new manufacturing plant to make its popular ZYN nicotine pouches, a product marketed to people wanting to stop smoking or chewing tobacco.
PMI plans to invest $600 million in a new facility on empty land at 48th Avenue and Harvest Road. When it is up and running, the plant will employ 500 workers making an average annual wage of $90,000, according to the company.
“These 500 jobs are good jobs,” said Stacey Kennedy, CEO of PMI’s U.S. operations based in Stamford, Conn., at a news conference held Tuesday morning at the Colorado Freedom Memorial in Aurora.
Groundbreaking should happen later this year, with completion by late next year and manufacturing starting in early 2026. The company already has a few jobs posted online for the Aurora facility with more available as construction nears completion next year.
“This project marks a significant investment in PMI’s vision for a smoke-free future,” Kennedy said.
Given the popularity of the pouches, the 500 jobs could represent a starting point, and Kennedy said the investment should provide $550 million in ongoing benefits to the area economy.
“PMI is making a significant investment in our community in a variety of ways,” Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman said at the conference.
ZYN is an oral pouch that contains nicotine salts with different flavors like citrus, coffee and spearmint. While not a tobacco product per say, U.S. regulators supervise it and are concerned that teenagers and children might use nicotine pouches, which have become popular among Generation Z, and develop an addiction.
PMI said it strictly limits sales to those 21 or older and doesn’t use social media influencers to promote its product or feature people under age 35 in its marketing materials in the U.S. Vendors must use independent age-verification systems like “Double Verify.”
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The U.S. has about 30 million smokers and the pouches have become popular with those trying to wean themselves off tobacco, so much so that a ZYN plant in Owensboro, Ky., has struggled to keep up with demand. Swedish Match, which PMI acquired in 2022, built that plant in 2016.
Kennedy said Colorado was one of seven states the company considered for its expansion. It rose to the top based on the economic opportunity it provided and its leadership in public health.
PMI spun off from Philip Morris USA and its parent Altria in 2008 and claims to have never sold a cigarette in the United States, although it does sell them in 180 countries and controls the Marlboro brand abroad. Domestically, PMI has focused on smoking cessation products and is rolling out its latest version of the IQOS electronically heated tobacco devices in the U.S., generating criticism from health advocates.
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