Frē Nicotine Pouches (Sweet & Wintergreen) - Review. 18 May 2021.

Frē Nicotine Pouches is a line of nicotine pouches for the US market sold by Turning Point Brands.  It launched in the fall of last year, and I've reviewed a few products in the line so far - Mint, Mocha, and Lush.  I've seen these available on Nicokick.com, a US based e-store.  What's unique about Frē is that it is one of the first nicotine pouch products to contain synthetic nicotine.  Whereas most nicotine pouch products on the market contain tobacco-derived nicotine, Frē does not.  Frē comes in two strengths, 9mg and 12mg, which is the per portion amount.  But we'll talk about that later.  In this review, we'll be talking about their two newest flavors:  Wintergreen and Sweet.  While I'm not the biggest wintergreen consumer, I did find myself curious to see their approach to this flavor, as well as the new Sweet flavor they've released.  

Frē Nicotine Pouches: Wintergreen

Flavor Description:  "Born in the chilled arctic, FRE wintergreen is reminiscent of the early days of a splendid aromatic springtime".

Can Contents:  10g, 20 portions, 0.5g portions

Nicotine Strength (9mg):  9mg/portion = 18mg/g (1.8%) total

Nicotine Strength (12mg):  12mg/portion = 24mg/g  (2.4%) total

Frē Nicotine Pouches: Wintergreen

Review:  Again, I'm not the biggest wintergreen consumer, but I will do my best to be fair and unbiased with this review.  In terms of the aroma, it's definitely wintergreen.  It's a little on the milder/sweeter side, so it was a little more approachable for me.  The portions are slim, soft to the touch, and comfortable under the lip.  The flavor is milder than your average run of the mill wintergreen.  It's a little on the sweeter side, but gentle and nuanced.  In terms of strength, this is where they differ.  The 9mg one feels to be around the regular strength level, and the 12mg one is about the strong level, maybe a little above.  In terms of flavor longevity, both last about 40-50 minutes, on average.

Frē Nicotine Pouches: Sweet

Flavor Description:  "Sweet is a delightful non-characterizing blend of a light powdered sugar flavor, yet still containing zero sugars".

Can Contents:  10g, 20 portions, 0.5g portions

Nicotine Strength (9mg):  9mg/portion = 18mg/g (1.8%) total

Nicotine Strength (12mg):  12mg/portion = 24mg/g  (2.4%) total

Frē Nicotine Pouches: Sweet

Review:  I've had a handful of unflavored nicotine pouch products before, such as Zyn Chill, Zyn Smooth, and V&You Air.  This one sounded quite interesting to me, being unflavored (basically), but having a light powdered sugar character.  For folks in the US, I imagine something like this would be appealing.  In the aroma, I didn't really pick up too much.  I notice the aroma of the pouch material itself, along with a little sweetness.  So, the name fits.  The flavor is pretty similar.  I taste the pouch material in a mild way, and the a mild, lightly sweet, sugary taste.  It's certainly interesting.  As far as the portions, strength, and flavor longevity, it's the same as the last review.  Really, the only difference was the aroma and flavor of this one.

Rating and Final Thoughts

In terms of rating, Sweet came in at 2.67/5, and Wintergreen came in at 2.83/5.  Those scores may sound low, but neither of these products is really for me.  I'm not a big wintergreen consumer, and the Sweet one didn't have too much flavor to it.  I like a product with a lot of flavor.  But, as far as my final thoughts go, I can say there is certainly a market for these.  Wintergreen is an incredibly popular flavor, so the Frē Wintergreen has a lot of people who would enjoy it.  Frē Sweet would be one that would appeal more to people who may not want a product with much taste to it, but perhaps want a sweet tinge to it.  I can say this, the sweet one goes well with iced tea.  It makes the sweet tea even sweeter.  You can't go wrong there!