Zyn’s Online Hype Risks Leading to the Nicotine Pouches’ Downfall
Zyn represents success for Philip Morris’ “smokeless” strategy and also a major challenge: How can the company sell cigarette alternatives that aren’t so tempting it gets in trouble for hooking kids?
Zyn pouches are designed to snuggle in the hammock between lips and gums.
Photographer: Tonje Thilesen for Bloomberg Businessweek
In August 2022 a recent University of Tampa graduate named Max VanderAarde uploaded a video to TikTok. In the video he’s lounging in an armchair, pale-eyed, pink-cheeked, wearing a black sweatshirt with the hood pulled over his blond curls. He’s in character as his online persona, known as Cheddy or Freezer Tarps. He jabbers to himself for a few seconds, then breaks out into song. “Upper decky Zynnies, upper decky lip pillows, ferdaaaaaa,” he croons in a nasal voice.
VanderAarde posts constantly on TikTok and Instagram Reels about his passions, including alcohol, golf, sports betting and “ferda,” which is hockey-talk for “for the boys.” In his videos he’s prone to wearing Marlboro-logo baseball caps and spouting a mix of sports slang and unapologetic broetry: “6-milli gum-pillies,” (6-milligram Zyns), “birds” (women), “spewing” (yapping on a podcast), “moose-pummeled” (drunk), “chutneyed” (also drunk), “butter” (good) and “dust” (bad).