Search "who makes On! nicotine pouches" and you will find a lot of guessing. The short answer is straightforward: On! and On! Plus are both made by one of the largest tobacco groups in the world, operating under a name most consumers do not recognize. Once you see that pattern, a more useful question follows: if a brand like On! is really just a manufacturer's formula with a name on it, how does a smaller business get access to that same kind of manufacturing? That's where white label and private label nicotine pouch production come in — and it's a very different path from trying to build pouches yourself.
On!® nicotine pouches are manufactured by Helix Innovations LLC, a wholly owned operating company of Altria Group, Inc. — the same corporate parent behind Philip Morris USA. Altria took full ownership of the global On! business in 2020–2021, buying out the remaining minority stake in Helix, and folded it into its smoke-free products division alongside U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company and NJOY.
On! is not an independent startup brand. It is a product line developed and produced by one of the largest tobacco companies in the world, sold under a standalone consumer name — which is the norm in this category, not the exception.
On! Plus is made by the same manufacturer as the original On! line — Helix Innovations LLC (Altria). On! Plus is positioned as a next-generation, spit-free pouch built on Helix's proprietary "soft-feel" NICOSILK™ material, and it moved through the FDA's expedited nicotine pouch review pilot program, receiving marketing authorization for Mint, Wintergreen, and Tobacco variants in 6mg and 9mg strengths. Distribution runs through Altria Group Distribution Co., the same retail network used across the rest of Altria's smoke-free portfolio.
So if you were comparing "On! vs On! Plus" assuming two different companies — they're not. Same manufacturer, same parent company, newer product generation.
Once you look past the packaging, a small number of manufacturing groups sit behind most of the category:
| Manufacturer | Parent company | Consumer brand(s) | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Helix Innovations | Altria Group | On!, On! Plus | USA |
| Swedish Match | Philip Morris International | ZYN, General | Sweden / USA |
| British American Tobacco | BAT | VELO, LYFT | UK / Sweden |
| Japan Tobacco International | JTI | Nordic Spirit | Sweden |
Every brand in that table follows the same underlying model: a manufacturing group develops the base product — pouch material, nicotine formulation, flavour system — then a consumer brand is layered on top. What's changed is that this model is no longer exclusive to tobacco giants. Independent manufacturers now offer the same base manufacturing capability to smaller brands, retailers, and entrepreneurs. That's what "white label" means in this industry.
It's worth being direct about one thing: none of these manufacturers take on outside clients. Helix, Swedish Match, BAT, and JTI produce exclusively for their own portfolio brands — there is no path to having them manufacture a pouch for your business. If you want to build your own nicotine pouch or snus brand rather than work for one of these companies, an independent white label or private label manufacturer is the only route in.
Pro Tip: If you're comparing manufacturers for your own brand, ask who actually owns the production facility versus who is reselling capacity from someone else. Vertically integrated manufacturers can usually move faster and control quality more tightly than resellers.
People searching for "white pouches" are usually looking for one of two things:
If you landed here looking for a supplier of blank, ready-to-brand pouches, the term you actually want is white label nicotine pouches — covered in detail below.
White label (sometimes called private label) nicotine pouches and snus are products manufactured by an established production partner, then sold under a different company's own brand name and packaging. It's the exact model used by Altria/Helix, Swedish Match, and BAT — made accessible at a scale that doesn't require owning a factory.
A typical white label or private label partnership covers:
At PouchSupply, white label and private label nicotine pouch production starts from an MOQ of 7,200 cans across up to 3 SKUs, with production capacity of up to 1 million cans per month — enough headroom to launch small and scale without switching manufacturers. This is why white label is the standard entry point for new pouch brands: the formulation, sourcing, and manufacturing complexity is already solved, and the business only has to focus on brand, positioning, and sales.
Searches for "DIY nicotine pouches" usually come from one of two places: curiosity about how the product is actually made, or a genuine attempt to produce pouches outside a commercial manufacturing setup. It's worth being honest about both.
At a conceptual level, commercial nicotine pouches are built from a plant-fibre base material, a nicotine formulation (typically nicotine salt, for a smoother release), flavouring and pH-adjusting agents, and a food-grade non-woven pouch material that's portioned and heat-sealed by industrial equipment. That's the "what." The "how" is where DIY production runs into real problems:
For personal curiosity, none of this matters much. But if the underlying goal is actually to launch a product or a brand, DIY production is almost always slower, riskier, and more expensive than working with an established manufacturer.
For most businesses entering the category, there are really three routes:
| Route | Upfront cost | Speed to market | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| DIY / small-batch production | Low apparent cost | Slow — no formulation expertise | High — safety, consistency, compliance |
| White label / private label | Moderate | Weeks to a few months | Low — manufacturer handles formulation & compliance |
| Building your own factory | Very high | Years | Only justifiable at multinational scale |
For almost everyone outside the multinational tobacco groups, white label or private label manufacturing is the realistic middle path: full brand control, without carrying the manufacturing, formulation, and compliance burden yourself.
| Point | Details |
|---|---|
| On! and On! Plus share one manufacturer | Both are made by Helix Innovations LLC, a wholly owned Altria company. |
| Every major brand follows the same model | ZYN (Swedish Match/PMI), VELO (BAT), and Nordic Spirit (JTI) are all manufacturer-built products with a consumer brand layered on top. |
| "White pouches" usually means white label | Most searchers looking for "white pouches" actually want blank, ready-to-brand white label product. |
| DIY production carries real risk | Concentrated nicotine is hazardous to handle, and consistent dosing requires lab-grade equipment. |
| White label is the realistic entry point | It gives smaller brands access to the same manufacturing model used by tobacco giants, without the capital or risk of DIY or building a factory. |
— Martins
PouchSupply manufactures nicotine pouches, caffeine pouches, and nootropic pouches in Europe for brands selling into the USA, UK, and EU, with an MOQ of 7,200 cans across up to 3 SKUs and capacity of up to 1 million cans per month. Brands including Royal White, Ezy, and Ape already manufacture through PouchSupply.
Whether you want to launch fast with a proven white label formula or develop a fully custom private label product with your own strength, flavour, and packaging specification, the nicotine pouch manufacturing team handles formulation, production, and market compliance, so you can focus on building the brand rather than the factory. Get in touch to talk through nicotine strengths, flavours, and timelines for your target markets.
On! nicotine pouches are made by Helix Innovations LLC, a wholly owned operating company of Altria Group, Inc.
On! Plus is made by the same manufacturer as On! — Helix Innovations LLC (Altria) — using Helix's proprietary NICOSILK™ soft-feel pouch material.
White label or private label nicotine pouches are products manufactured by an established production partner and sold under a different company's own brand name and packaging, rather than being made in-house.
Yes — the same private label model applies to traditional tobacco-based snus as it does to tobacco-free nicotine pouches, just with a different base product and a different set of market regulations to account for.
It's technically possible to attempt, but it involves handling concentrated nicotine, which is genuinely dangerous without proper equipment, plus significant challenges around accurate dosing, quality control, and regulatory compliance if the product is intended for sale. Most businesses find a white label manufacturing partner faster, safer, and more scalable than DIY production.
The most common route is partnering with a white label or private label manufacturer that already handles formulation, flavour development, packaging, and compliance, so a new brand can focus on positioning and sales rather than production.
