The long-standing opposition to the open smoking of cigarettes and cigars in public places has been a key cog in an overall push for better health. But for all the push against public consumption of tobacco, there are still a lot of people who smoke.
For you as a would-be entrepreneur, you can read this is as an untapped niche market. Niche markets are one of the best segments to work with, because you don’t have to fight it out among as many competitors.
In many cases, the products wanted by a niche market are so unique that only one firm can provide them. The big players aren’t interested in it because their overall volume in less-specialized goods is so much bigger that specialty products aren’t worth carrying. But on your end, as a smaller retailer, there can be a good market available.
Around the country, many entrepreneurs are latching onto that realization and opening hookah bars. Companies that provide hookah wholesale are shipping products to establishments in a given market, and these bars do not include the broad-appeal sports bars or Irish pubs. They are a very specialized group catering very specifically to hookah users.
Why is this market surging so thoroughly? Ironically, hookah is gaining popularity as a healthier means of enjoying nicotine. Many people are hanging up the habit, but for those who haven’t quite made the break, there are several ways that the healthy side of hookah is shining through.
Reduced Frequency
Cigarette smokers who have free rein on when and where they smoke typically smoke at a steady pace through the day. With hookah, users may spend a couple of hours in an evening enjoying the tobacco, but they of course don’t set up a hookah pipe at work or at home to partake elsewhere. So they are getting a nice dose of tobacco flavor and the accompanying nicotine, but their overall consumption drops to a level that is less dangerous to their health.
A Slower Pace
As the total number of smoking minutes per day decreases, the amount of smoking per minute actually decreases as well. Hookah is a more social activity. Users share a pipe and take a puff every so often. Then they talk, get a drink, or mingle around the room. They are in the hookah bar for a long period, but they aren’t necessarily using hookah the entire time. As a result, their total consumption may be lower.
A Focus On Flavor
Many cigarettes are consumed as a lightning-quick dose of nicotine to deal with stress, fatigue, or craving. Especially with limited locations available for smoking, many cigarette users are ducking outdoors on a break at work to quickly get a smoke. Their limited time and the often-unpleasant weather conditions or smoking locations don’t exactly foster a relaxed tobacco experience. Hookah uses flavored tobacco that’s meant to be savored rather than rushed, and many hookah users sit and enjoy the flavor longer between puffs than they would with cigarettes.
Camaraderie
Nothing brings people together quite the same way as being separated from other people. Watch outside a workplace where smokers are taking a break together. The young guy from the mailroom is huddled near the upper-management, who is a few steps from the secretary and the janitor. They talk and socialize as equals, because they have the shared experience of having to take their tobacco outside. Hookah users have an automatic bond for this reason. They know how it feels to be marginalized, and their kinship with other users is strong.
Tobacco use is still bad for your health, but for entrepreneurs who cater to people who have made the informed decision to enjoy at least some hookah, there are golden opportunities. For as long as there is tobacco for users to enjoy, there will be a demand and a customer base for hookah.
