BAT has been gradually transforming their Lyft brand into their
Velo brand, seemingly to have more international uniformity. It seems as though it is in the final stages, so I felt it was time to review the re-named Velo products so as to update my reviews here. Today we're talking about Velo Freeze X-Strong! I first had this one in October of 2018, when it launched as
Epok Freeze, a white tobacco version. A
Lyft version would follow in June of 2019. Denmark would see
Epok Freeze Chew Bags in July of 2019. Norway would see
Epok Freeze in January of 2020. And most recently, the UK would see
Velo X-Freeze in February of 2021. Today, we're talking about the new/standard world-wide version of this flavor. The
flavor description for this one says "
VELO Freeze X-Strong is an intense experience, where the taste of peppermint and icy menthol takes the feeling to the next level". Each can weighs 14.7 grams and has 21 portions, for 0.7 gram portions. The nicotine content is 10.9mg/portion, or 15.57mg/g (1.5579%).
The road to Velo has been an interesting one, and I wanted to briefly cover it before the review. Back in 2014, Winnington in Sweden launched
Epok, a white tobacco product.
British American Tobacco purchased Winnington in 2017, and would launch
Lyft, a tobacco free nicotine pouch, in 2018. Epok would stay on the market in some smaller markets like
Norway and
Switzerland. In 2019, RJ Reynolds in the US would launch a long/slim nicotine pouch called
Velo that came in a square tin. This name would begin to translate internationally in 2020, with
some European markets rebranding their Lyft products to Velo. In 2021, BAT would acquire a company making
Dryft, and rebranded their US market mini-dry pouches to "
Velo", existing alongside the previously mentioned square-tin Velo products. And now, as we see in 2022, the Lyft brand is being completely phased out and transitioning to Velo.
When you open the can, this one has quite the aroma. It's a very sharp, almost stinging aroma of peppermint. It's not super sweet, which is nice. The pouches are slim, moderately moist, and pretty soft to the touch. There's also a light burn/light cooling presence when you put one in the lip. In terms of the flavor, it's a pretty focused, powerful, sharp taste of peppermint. It's relatively clean/clear in taste, and pretty refreshing. It also doesn't have a lot of sweetness to it, which I like. In terms of the strength, it feels to be about the strong level, maybe a little above. The flavor, on average, lasts about 40-45 minutes. If you've had the Lyft version of this one before, this Velo version is the same thing, just with a different name.
Rating and Final Thoughts
This one rated lower for me, at 3.08/5. It's a little stronger than I prefer, but I honestly don't really use a lot of nicotine pouches. So, you have to keep that in mind. That being said, if you're somehow who enjoys mint products, or likes nicotine pouches, you may enjoy this one if you want one with a big taste and a little extra kick to it. The Velo line is solid, so if you're a Lyft fan, or someone looking for something new to try out, you may enjoy this series.
Comments
Post a Comment