With the quarter-billion-dollar expansion of Swedish Match nearly complete, its parent company Philip Morris International (PMI) is doubling down on Owensboro as its global flagship for Zyn production. But the company’s plans extend far beyond production lines — including the introduction of a new heated tobacco product, a commitment to public health and FDA compliance, and deep investments in community support and philanthropy.
Stacey Kennedy, CEO of U.S. business at PMI ( sat down with Owensboro Times on Tuesday to discuss the company’s mission to help smokers switch to better alternatives, how Daviess County became the cornerstone of its manufacturing strategy, and why PMI sees Kentucky not just as a place to build — but a place to give back.
“I’m so proud to be in Owensboro, because this is our Zyn flagship factory not just the U.S., but the whole world,” Kennedy said. “We’re really proud of what the folks are doing here. They are making magic at the Zyn factory and all our other great products, too.”
In August 2023, the company announced an investment of just under $250 million to expand its facility in Owensboro, which operates as Swedish Match as PMI affiliate. Since then, construction crews and new hires have been working in tandem to bring the vision to life.
“The team has just delivered beautifully — really hard work making sure everything’s built out, new lines and machinery installed,” Kennedy said. “We have hired about 370 people so far out of the 450 that we announced that we’d be hiring. And of course, all of our employees just rose to the occasion.”
Growing to meet demand
The recent expansion is driven by increasing demand for Zyn, a nicotine pouch product marketed as a smoke-free alternative for adult nicotine users — particularly smokers and dippers.
“You may have noticed last year that we had some emptiness on the Zyn shelves, and that’s because there’s incredible demand for Zyn, and we’re really proud of that,” Kennedy said. “We really focus on smokers, because combusting cigarettes is the most harmful way of consuming nicotine. There are still about 30 million smokers in America, and we want to make sure every single one of them has the ability to put a Zyn can in their hand and switch—if they don’t quit entirely.”
Kennedy said the factory expansion has been focused on boosting production to meet market needs, with consumers showing continued interest in smoke-free alternatives.
“Consumers love Zyn, and we love that they love it,” she said. “That’s why we want to focus on Zyn right here in Owensboro and make sure that we can create enough capacity to be able to supply the demand of the market.”
Why Owensboro?
When PMI looked to expand its operations, the answer wasn’t to look elsewhere — it was to build on what was already working.
“It was a really simple reason: all of our talent is here,” Kennedy said. “Knowledge and expertise — as I said, Zyn flagship factory — and we’ve just had the best reception in Kentucky.”
Kennedy praised local government and state leadership, saying everything aligned to make Owensboro the obvious choice.
“We know we’ve got great talent, we’ve got a supportive government that’s really focused on economic interest and making Kentucky better, and everything just aligned,” she said. “I think we’ve built out to every square inch of facility space that we’ve got.”
FDA authorization a major milestone
In early 2024, PMI received a major boost when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted authorization for all 10 variants of Zyn, including both 3-milligram and 6-milligram strengths. Kennedy called it a crucial achievement in the company’s commitment to public health.
“They authorized it as appropriate for the protection of public health,” she said. “That was really important authorization. I’m really proud of our company.”
Kennedy said the FDA’s scientific review process is intense — a reality she knows firsthand.
“The FDA does a very, very rigorous scientific review,” she said. “Congress mandated that they should complete review of each application within 180 days. They have been inundated for the past years with a lot of applications — I’m talking about millions — and their average review process has taken 700 days.”
PMI filed its application for Zyn in March 2020, and authorization finally came just shy of the 5-year mark.
“We were just about to have to celebrate the 5-year birthday of Zyn’s application at the FDA when we got the authorization,” Kennedy joked. “We’re really proud that all of our scientific applications have been met with a great review process by the FDA. And the science rules out in the end of the day, because that’s really important.”
Looking ahead: Introducing IQOS
While Zyn remains the company’s top priority, PMI has also started laying the groundwork for its next major smoke-free product: IQOS, a heated tobacco system.
IQOS heats tobacco without burning it, as it’s an electronic device but producs no vapor — a key distinction Kennedy believes many smokers in the U.S. will appreciate.
“It’s real tobacco bought right here in America, and it’s put in a cylindrical tube, similar to a cigarette, so the consumer feels like they’re putting a filter of a cigarette in their mouth,” she said. “But the main and most important difference is that the IQOS device heats the rod of tobacco to just under the temperature of combustion.”
The result is a product that delivers nicotine but avoids most of the harmful chemicals found in traditional cigarette smoke.
“Smokers keep smoking for nicotine, but it’s the combustion — lighting something on fire — that actually causes the vast majority of the harmful chemicals that are found in smoke,” Kennedy said. “IQOS heats the tobacco, but doesn’t burn it. And if you avoid the burning, you avoid about 95% of those harmful chemicals.”
Kennedy said IQOS is sold in more than 90 countries globally but only recently launched stateside in Austin, Texas. Currently, PMI is awaiting FDA authorization for its newest version of IQOS, known as Iluma. While an earlier version of the device has already received what Kennedy called the highest level of FDA approval — Modified Risk Tobacco Product (MRTP) status — the company is eager to introduce its latest innovation to U.S. consumers.
“I switched from smoking to using IQOS about a decade ago, and it’s made a life-changing difference for me,” Kennedy said. “I actually quit smoking and switched to IQOS on the prototype version before it was even launched.”
Kennedy compared IQOS’s product evolution to that of a smartphone: updated versions based on user feedback and better technology. She said the company is taking a “test and learn” approach with its U.S. rollout, starting in Austin.
“We’ve said publicly that we want to test and learn, make sure that we do it right, that we take the feedback of consumers,” she said. “Because it’s really important that they, first and foremost, understand the category.”
Could IQOS be made in Owensboro?
While no decision has been made about where IQOS will be produced in the U.S., Kennedy confirmed that the current Owensboro facility doesn’t have the capacity for the new product.
“It’s a very different manufacturing process because it’s a very different product,” she said. “So it would require new machinery, different space. First of all, we’re out of space here in Owensboro, because the facility has done such a great job producing Zyn for the more than 45 million Americans who use nicotine and 30 million smokers.”
Still, Kennedy said PMI remains committed to American manufacturing, and Kentucky will continue to be a strong candidate for future investment.
“It’s a big country — there’s space available — and we’re really committed to American manufacturing,” she said. “We’ve had no better reception anywhere than right here in Kentucky.”
Guarding against youth access
Kennedy said the company is committed to keeping its products in the hands of adults only — and is proud of the data supporting their success so far.
“I am probably most proud of the fact that in the annual National Youth Tobacco Survey, nicotine pouches remain the lowest,” she said. “The FDA states definitively that there is extremely low use among youth — it’s less than 2%, one of the lowest categories.”
Kennedy said PMI takes that responsibility seriously and has taken multiple steps to maintain that low youth usage rate.
“That speaks volumes to the effort that we have put into making sure that this product is not marketed to youth, it’s not appealing to youth, and we can keep it out of the hands of youth,” she said.
That effort involves collaboration across multiple fronts.
“A manufacturer and marketer can’t do that job alone,” she said. “This is a job that involves a number of different stakeholders — first, government, to put the right policies and laws in place; and second, responsible retailers, because retail is the point where the product is sold.”
PMI supports retail partners with training, materials, and signage, and participates on the boards of age-verification initiatives like True Age and We Card.
“We’re really grateful for the retailer community that helps to make sure that nobody is sold a can of Zyn or any other nicotine product if they’re under the age of 21,” Kennedy said.
She added that the company also limits its own marketing practices to keep the focus squarely on adult consumers.
“We hard age-verify all of our own social media channels and websites,” she said. “We don’t use social media influencers. We don’t pay or partner with social media influencers.”
While that can be challenging — especially when influencers reach out asking to promote Zyn — Kennedy said PMI holds firm to its principles.
“We get a lot of contacts from people that say, ‘We love your product, we’d love to be an influencer or spokesperson for Zyn,’ and we say, ‘We love that you love Zyn, but we don’t do that.’ We use all models that are over the age of 35 in all of our marketing materials,” she said.
She also called on social media platforms to do more to prevent user-generated content from reaching underage users.
“Adults want to tell their story — somebody who’s quit smoking by switching to a better product — they want to share that,” she said. “But that conversation should be kept among adults, and we don’t want any of that content to get to anybody below the age of 21. Social media companies have that responsibility.”
Investing in Kentucky communities
Kennedy emphasized that PMI’s work goes beyond manufacturing and marketing — the company also aims to make a positive impact through philanthropy and community engagement, especially in Owensboro.
“We believe deeply in supporting the communities, particularly communities where we work and live and sell our products,” she said. “There’s no community that is more important to us than the one right here in Owensboro.”
PMI has focused its philanthropic efforts on three main pillars: supporting veterans and their families, aiding communities affected by natural disasters, and investing in local entrepreneurs.
“We did this by listening,” Kennedy said. “We went on a listening tour to communities, including right here in Owensboro, to hear what was important to people.”
One common theme was the importance of supporting military veterans — both those who served and their families.
“These are men and women that have put their life on the line for ours, and I think we owe them the respect and the service to make sure that they are supported when they come back home,” she said. “We also support veteran spouses — people who’ve moved across America and around the world for us.”
PMI also contributes to disaster relief efforts, especially in Kentucky communities affected by floods or tornadoes.
And, as a company founded on innovation, PMI also funds local entrepreneurs — especially those whose businesses help meet broader community needs.
“We want to make sure that people have support as they have an idea, want to make something, build something, provide a service,” Kennedy said. “We’ve supported people starting businesses like daycare centers. We need more daycare in this country.”
A final message of gratitude — and growth
Kennedy closed the conversation with two takeaways she hopes Owensboro and Kentucky residents will remember.
“One is that I am absolutely indebted and so grateful to each and every one of our employees right here in Owensboro for what they’re doing — for the mission and purpose of our company,” she said. “They’re making a difference in the lives of smokers and traditional tobacco users, and they should feel great about what they do every day.”
She continued: “And second is, we’re not stopping there. We’ve invested about $250 million in the expansion of this facility, which brings a bit over $225 million annually in economic impact. That’s very meaningful.”
As for the future, the company still has jobs to fill.
“Zyn is now the first and only FDA-authorized nicotine pouch — that can kind of be a point of pride for our employees and the community here to know that it’s coming out of here,” she said. “And Zyn is the number one smoke-free brand on the market now.”
PMI is still hiring for positions at the Owensboro facility. Interested applicants can view listings at SwedishMatchJobs.com.
“We originally announced that we were going to hire about 450 people,” Kennedy said. “We’re still going, and we expect to exceed that.”
