– Global brand ESSE makes up third of world’s superslim sales, sold in around 90 countries
SEOUL, South Korea, April 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — KT&G’s superslim cigarette brand “ESSE” recorded annual overseas revenue of approximately USD 700 million last year. Furthermore “ESSE”, meeting its 30th anniversary, surpassed cumulative sales of 1 trillion sticks across Korea and global markets as of last year.
ESSE recorded a revenue of approximately 770 million USD in the global market excluding Korea, becoming the first single brand from Korea to join the “1 trillion won club”. Based on ESSE’s global sales performance, KT&G’s global market revenue outside of Korea reached 1.3 billion USD last year, a 29.4% YoY growth, making 2025 the first year with a higher global cigarette revenue than Korean revenue.
There are only a few Korean consumer goods brands, such as food or beauty brands, that broke the 700 million USD mark with just global sales exclusive of Korean revenue. In other words, the achievement shows that ESSE has shown an heightened competitiveness as the global demand for superslim products have grown, and the brand has successfully settled into the market.
The brand is showing particularly high growth in Asian and Eurasian regions. It has become a major superslim brand in Indonesia and successfully reinforced its dominant position in Mongolia by securing over 50% of market share through localized strategies. In the Eurasian context such as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan, locally-fitted brand strategies have led to stronger influence in the market.
For ‘ESSE’, a systematic brand strategy and technology-based reinforcement of product competitiveness are considered to be the basis of the brand’s growth. When ESSE was first launched in 2001, it created a new market demand through the superslim design that differentiated the product from traditional cigarette sizes and locally tailored, high-technology product. The brand is currently sold in 90 or so countries globally, and is a major global brand that makes up a third of the world’s superslim sales volume.
A KT&G spokesperson commented that “based on ESSE’s global brand competitiveness, the company will continue to innovate products while continuing to expand presence in major global markets.”
Meanwhile, KT&G, the manufacturer of the global brand ESSE, is a leading Korean company that maintains the No.1 position across all its business segments, including NGP(Next Generation Products), health functional foods, and CC(Combustible Cigarettes). As of 2025, KT&G continues to lead the domestic CC market with a market share of 67.3%, maintaining its top position in the segment.
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SOURCE KT&G Corporation
