Companies & brands · 29 October 2026 · Updated 30 October 2026 · Stefan Bensmo

Celebrity Nicotine Pouch Brands – and Why the Model Clashes With Swedish Law

Short answer: celebrities have become a fast way to build a nicotine pouch brand in the US. Tucker Carlson’s ALP holds around 2% of the US market and has started selling in Europe. But the model relies on marketing that Swedish law in practice does not allow: advertising must show particular moderation, may not encourage use and may not show anyone under 25.

Which celebrity brands are there?

Sources: ALP (Reuters via CP24, Asian Trader), Sesh (HollywoodLife, Fortune), FRE (UFC) DEATH ROW (GlobeNewswire) and Skoka (Nicotine Insider).

ALP: the clearest example

ALP is co-owned by Tucker Carlson and Turning Point Brands. According to Reuters, ALP is the fourth- or fifth-largest nicotine pouch label in the US, with around 2% of the market. In June, CEO Lorenzo De Plano said ALP would launch online in eleven European countries, with Sweden and Denmark following later in 2026. The goal is to become the second-largest brand in the EU by 2030 (Reuters via CP24). We have not found confirmation that ALP is on sale in Sweden yet.

Turning Point Brands shows that the model drives sales. Its modern oral products, FRE and ALP combined, grew net sales 128% to $68.4 million in the second quarter of 2026 (Turning Point Brands).

DEATH ROW: a launch from Stockholm

On October 27, music producer Jonas Saeed launched DEATH ROW, with a prison theme, fictional “inmates” and comics. The first drop is 100 numbered boxes of nine cans at €100 each, in four flavours such as Venom Cherry Cola and Toxic Bubble Gum, all marketed as 50 mg “extra strong” (GlobeNewswire). The release does not say whether 50 mg is per pouch or per gram, or in which countries the product is sold.

Skoka: athletes as owners, not faces

On October 29, US company Skoka announced it had raised $21.5 million. Its investors include NHL players Jack Eichel and Dylan Larkin and golfer Anthony Kim. According to the company, they invested as individuals, not through sponsorship deals with their teams or leagues. Skoka filed a bundled application with the FDA for 55 products on October 1, says it has committed $15 million to its regulatory programme, and plans US retail in 2027 if the application is authorised. Founder Dan Aziz says the company turned down the chance to start selling last year (Nicotine Insider). The figures are the company’s own, and we have not found the original press release.

Our read Skoka is the opposite of ALP and Sesh: the athletes are on the cap table, not in the advertising, and the company is waiting for authorisation before selling. That is the model that also holds up under European marketing rules.

Why the model clashes with Swedish law

Sweden’s Act on tobacco-free nicotine products requires particular moderation in all marketing to consumers. Advertising may not be intrusive or solicit customers, and may not encourage use. Flavour may only be mentioned if consumers need it as product information, and marketing may not target or show anyone under 25 (Act 2022:1257). TV and radio advertising is banned, and manufacturers and wholesalers may not sponsor events.

There is no explicit ban on influencers, but the Swedish Consumer Agency says the moderation requirement applies wherever the advertising appears, and that images should mainly show the product and its packaging (Konsumentverket). Two rulings show where the line is:

• Westridge Group (2024): the Patent and Market Court banned TikTok posts with an advent calendar opened by a Christmas gnome, playful taste tests and reviews of flavour and packaging, with a penalty of SEK 500,000 (Konsumentverket).
• Yoik (2026): the court banned advertising with moving images on large outdoor screens in busy city areas, with a penalty of SEK 1 million (Konsumentverket).

Our read A celebrity showing the product to their followers is almost by definition soliciting and encouraging use. A prison theme with comic characters and candy flavours is far from an image of the product and its packaging. We think this type of marketing would struggle to hold up under Swedish law, but that is our assessment, not a ruling.

Denmark and the UK are even stricter

• Denmark: since April 1, 2026, pouches may contain at most 9 mg of nicotine, only tobacco and menthol flavours are allowed, packaging is neutral and each can holds exactly 20 pouches (Danish Ministry of the Interior and Health). Pouches fall under Denmark’s tobacco advertising ban. Companies generally may not run their own social media pages, and product images are banned even in webshops (Danish Consumer Ombudsman).
• UK: from June 1, 2027, advertising and sponsorship of vapes and nicotine products will be banned, including paid ads and sponsored social media posts (Department of Health and Social Care). That directly affects ALP’s UK sponsorship deals.

What it means for you

• Do not count on copying the US model. What builds a brand quickly in the US can lead to fines in Sweden and is banned in Denmark.
• Investors and celebrities can be owners, not faces. The problem is the link in the marketing, not the ownership itself.
• Build the brand on the product. In Europe, format, strength, availability and packaging are what may be shown, not lifestyle.
• Watch ALP’s Swedish launch. How ALP markets itself here will test where the line is.

See also marketing nicotine pouches online, Turning Point Brands’ regulatory risk, smaller brands challenging Big Tobacco and breaking through the noise.