In 2026, the global new tobacco industry stands at a subtle turning point. According to Euromonitor, the global new tobacco market reached $90.51 billion in 2025, up 12.0% year-on-year, with oral nicotine products growing at 45.7% and HNB at 13.4%. Meanwhile, BAT's 2026 capital markets presentation offered a long-term forecast: a 13% CAGR for the global new tobacco market from 2025 to 2030, with oral, vapor, and HNB at 23%, 10%, and 8% respectively. The market is expanding, but the rules are being rewritten—the U.S. FDA has signaled a loosening of restrictions on non-tobacco flavors, European disposable e-cigarette bans are accelerating the rise of reusable products, and the UAE has officially implemented a new minimum excise tax on e-liquids. For any player aiming to secure a global foothold, this is both the best of times and the most testing of times.

Against this backdrop, a clear logic emerges when examining Boton Group's global exhibition trail this year. In March, Boton brought six core subsidiaries to Las Vegas for Total Product Expo, showcasing Chinese smart manufacturing to the North American market. In September, Boton appeared at the 46th InterTabac in Dortmund, Germany, under the theme "Boton: Built on Trust." In November, the World Vape Show Dubai will take place at the Dubai World Trade Centre. From Las Vegas to Dortmund to Dubai, Boton is completing a strategic upgrade from "product export" to "full-supply-chain trust export."

The Foundation of Trust: Vertical Integration from Molecules to Mass Production

To understand Boton's exhibition logic, one must first understand the uniqueness of its industrial structure. Boton's foundation lies in flavors and fragrances—its business spans tobacco flavors, food flavors, daily chemical flavors, natural extracts, synthetic flavors, and bio-technological flavors, with over 10,000 product varieties, covering the entire chain from extraction, R&D, application, production, and sales to service. The direct result of this vertical integration is that when Boton entered the e-vapor and new tobacco space, it was not a "assembler" starting from scratch, but a "creator" with deep technological capabilities from the molecular level up. The group has 10 high-tech subsidiaries, a CNAS-accredited laboratory, R&D personnel accounting for over 65% of employees, thousands of patents at home and abroad (over 70% invention patents), and has received the "National Science and Technology Progress Award, Second Class."

At InterTabac 2026, these underlying capabilities were materialized into a series of products. Boton's tobacco flavor beads incorporate multiple material breakthroughs: a shell formulation that can simultaneously contain oil-soluble and water-soluble flavors, overcoming the traditional limitation of drop-pill beads that carry only one type of flavor; a UV-curable resin shell enabling nano-scale thickness and higher loading capacity, allowing more active ingredients in a tiny bead; and a gel variant ensuring uniform flavor distribution in mainstream smoke. In particle technology, Boton provides functional plant-based flow-limiting elements for HNB and e-cigarette applications, replacing plastic parts while improving environmental footprint and providing flavor. Its flavored particles can carry oil-soluble and alcohol-soluble flavors in a solidified gel form, minimizing volatilization during storage and enabling sustained release. Boton's recently obtained nicotine gel particle patent specifically addresses oxidation stability and uniform release during use.

Exhibition Strategy: From Display to Validation

Boton's 2026 exhibition rhythm is not simply "multi-point coverage" but a clearly layered design. TPE in March was Boton's first large-scale appearance in North America, focused on building market awareness and channel trust. By InterTabac in September, the depth of dialogue was markedly different—after in-depth discussions on bead shell technology, particle release systems, and customized flavor solutions, multiple international buyers expressed initial intentions or scheduled follow-up meetings. Boton's integrated value chain from R&D to mass production, along with its manufacturing footprint in Guangdong, Shanghai, Hubei, and Indonesia, directly addressed the core concern of European buyers: end-to-end quality control and reliable delivery. A German tobacco buyer left this comment at the booth: "Boton's bead shell technology is impressive, but what truly convinced us is their seamless transition from sample development to scaled production—exactly the reliability we've been looking for."

This shift from "display" to "validation" is the core evolution of Boton's exhibition strategy. If TPE answered "Who is Boton?", InterTabac answered "Why should Boton be trusted?", then Dubai must answer "Can Boton replicate this trust in the Middle East?"

HNB and Oral Nicotine: Early Positioning on Two Growth Curves

Among Boton's 2026 exhibition matrix, heated tobacco (HNB) is a key focus. In July 2026, China's State Tobacco Monopoly Administration released a draft mandatory national standard for heated tobacco, covering cigarettes, devices, and aerosols, setting detectable safety baselines for heater surface temperature, lip-contact temperature, nicotine release, and battery/startup protection, while accommodating multiple heating technologies. The legal classification of HNB as a tobacco product is now clear, and policy has entered the stage of mandatory standards and industrial system building. Boton's layout in this field dates back years, with patent accumulation in adjustable-temperature HNB technology. In HNB-specific flavors, because HNB devices operate at around 300–350°C—far below the 900°C combustion temperature of traditional cigarettes—HNB products require about 5 to 10 times the flavor loading of conventional cigarettes. Boton has optimized the heat-release curve of HNB flavors to ensure full, stable aroma delivery at lower temperatures. Additionally, Boton has technical reserves and product layouts in oral nicotine, with related solutions already showcased at industry exhibitions.

From a capacity perspective, Boton's manufacturing network across Guangdong, Shanghai, Hubei, and Indonesia provides solid support for large-scale orders from global clients. Eight Boton subsidiaries have obtained tobacco monopoly production enterprise licenses, covering e-liquid production, contract manufacturing, and brand operations.

Dubai: A Middle East Test for Full-Supply-Chain Capability

The Middle East e-cigarette market is undergoing a critical transition from a "gray zone" to "regulated oversight." The UAE has implemented a new minimum excise tax on e-liquids, creating genuine and urgent demand for products that comply with TPD, feature nicotine salt technology, and suit local flavor preferences. According to the organizer, World Vape Show Dubai 2026 will bring together over 550 exhibitors and attract more than 15,000 professional buyers from the Middle East, Africa, and Europe.

Boton's booth number in Dubai is 2240. The 109-square-meter booth features a highly recognizable gold-themed design. It will present a full-supply-chain matrix covering tobacco odor enhancers, flavor beads, oral nicotine, e-cigarette devices, and premium e-liquids. For European clients familiar with Boton, this is another validation of technical depth; for Middle East partners, it is an opportunity to closely examine a full-supply-chain capability "from molecule to finished product."

Boton: Built on Trust. When the industry moves from chasing trends to deepening capabilities, true trust has always come from the visible patent wall and the invisible processes from lab to mass production line. November 10–12, 2026, Booth 2240, Dubai World Trade Centre. Boton looks forward to meeting you there.