Our science
and innovation

André Calantzopoulos, Chairman of the Board, Philip Morris International (PMI), sitting in an office, speaking to camera:

We overestimated our capabilities to commercialize this product

and underestimated all the things that may go wrong.

Music rises and graphics appear showing early designs and the evolution of PMI's heated tobacco products from 1990 to 2023.

Text shows title of video: PMI - A Story of Innovation - #03: We’re Going to Launch

Bin Li, Chief Product Officer, PMI, speaks:

How do we turn a brilliant innovation into a real, reliable consumer product?

Moira Gilchrist, Chief Communications Officer, PMI, sitting in an office, speaking to camera:

André Calantzopoulos went to investors in one of the investor calls

and told them that we would be launching our heated tobacco product

the following year on the market for real consumers to buy.

We felt we did not have a chance to be able to make it happen.

But I think, looking back now, he did that very purposefully

because we were tweaking everything and we would never have been satisfied.

So, I think he put a stake in the ground to say it would be done in the following calendar year.

Scott Coutts, Senior Vice President, Operations, PMI:

We’re going to launch and we’re going to make mistakes,

and we need to be able to do that in a small enough scale in each of the different launch markets,

but at the same time having the ability to be able to quickly turn on the overall supply chain, to be able to react to that.

Graphic appears showing a rocket drawing and an ON switch.

Text reads: We’re going to launch in a small enough scale. Ability to be able to quickly turn on the overall supply chain.

Stefano Volpetti, President Smoke-free Inhalable Products & Chief Commercial Officer, PMI, speaks:

When you are trying to do something that nobody has ever done before,

the probability that you will fail, the probability that it will be two steps forward, one step backwards, is very, very high.

Lisa Hook, Member of the Board of Directors, PMI, speaks to camera:

In the real world, in the operating world, we knew that these products

were so compelling that it was just a matter of time before they succeeded.

Serge Maeder, Global Head of RRP System Innovation, PMI, sitting in an open-plan office, speaking to camera:

And I think, when we finally put this product on the market,

it was a big relief to everybody because, the day you on are the market, this is no longer confidential.

Graphic appears showing for sale sign and text reads: The day you on are the market (for sale) = no longer confidential.

Graphic appears showing the Cube, PMI’s R&D center in Neuchâtel, Switzerland,

Text reads: We can finally explain what we were doing!

Serge Maeder, voice over graphic:

And we can talk to anybody about what we do.

We can finally explain to our friends and family what the hell we were doing in this Cube.

Moira Gilchrist, speaking to camera:

And we made it… and we made it with three months to spare.

So, I'm pretty happy about that.

Video cuts to the Cube

André Calantzopoulos speaks:

It has been very difficult to find a name.

Jean-Claude Schneider, Global Head, New Business Opportunities, PMI, sitting in an open plan office, speaks to the camera:

What is a name, word that can be really international?

Urs Bringold, Vice President Content & Owned Media, PMI, speaks:

We had a name that was promising and interestingly it was not IQOS…

it was a couple, but it was IQO. Just completely made up names, right?

They don’t stand for anything, but you could associate something with it.

And then we started to add letters in front of it –

and at the end, so BIQO, IQOT, and we ended up with IQOS.

That was the birth of the name then that stayed till today.

Graphic shows first propositions of device names before IQOS.

Text reads: We started to add letters… IQOS… the birth of the name.

Video cuts to Mount Fuji and busy Japan

André Calantzopoulos speaks:

We actually launched commercially in Japan.

Why Japan?

For a very simple reason: Japan had a history of consumers accepting innovation.

Graphic shows Mount Fuji, Japan. Text reads: Japan had a history of consumers accepting innovation

Scott Coutts says:

Consumers demand innovation to be relevant.

So, they have this expectation of product innovation, creativity, bringing new things.

Shea Lih Goh, President, PMI Japan, speaks to camera:

There is a very strong culture of being very considerate to others.

These are the kind of the product benefits that really resonated with Japanese consumers.

Mimi Kurniawan, Chief Diversity Officer, PMI, speaks:

When people saw the product, people said, ‘This is truly the difference that drives us to achieve our bold vision.’

Graphic shows IQOS product.

Text reads: This is truly the difference that drives us to achieve our bold vision.

Shea Lih Goh speaks:

Plus, also, we had a favorable regulatory environment,

which allowed us to do a lot of communication and a lot of trials with the consumers at the start.

Karlygash Bismeldinova, AGC, Commercial Development Law, PMI, speaks to camera:

We didn’t know what would be the reaction.

Yes, of course we did studies.

We tried to test and see what consumers would think about it. But you never know.

You cannot be sure until you launch.

Moira Gilchrist speaks:

We were sent photographs and videos of what was happening on the ground and,

oh my goodness, we were in tears to see consumers queuing round the block to get into the store and find out about this product.

And then we moved our focus and attention to Italy, which had been the second pilot launch market.

And it was an utterly different story.

Graphic shows the Colosseum in Italy and a scooter.

Text reads: It was an utterly different story. 2nd pilot launch market.

Video cuts to Milan Cathedral and busy streets.

Jacek Olczak, CEO of PMI, sitting in an office speaking to camera:

In the early days in Milan when we started, were, I mean,

from today’s perspective, they were pretty bumpy.

Moira Gilchrist speaks:

It was really hard to make communications in Italy

because it’s not permissible due to the regulation.

Scott Coutts speaks:

It took time, it took patience to be able to bring new-to-world products to the market

and have adult consumers actually understand, ‘What's in it for me?’

‘How do I use the product?’

Moira Gilchrist speaks:

So, of course, there wasn’t the replication of what we had seen in Japan right on our doorstep in Italy.

So, we were like, ‘What is going on here? What’s wrong?’

André Calantzopoulos speaks:

What we had understood less is how in actual use by hundreds of thousands of people, what problems may occur.

Graphic appears showing the text: In the next episode.

Stefano Volpetti speaks:

We will go smoke-free and this is the direction, no way back.

Serge Maeder speaks:

It was a very, very bold move.

Shea Lih Goh speaks:

There were a lot of articles criticizing us.

Moira Gilchrist speaks:

The wait, I have to say, was excruciating.

Philip Morris International logo appears with text underneath reading:

Episode 4 coming soon!