The rise and fall of e-cig startup Juul in the US, from Silicon Valley darling to a ban by the FDA

Travis Clark,Erin BrodwinJun 23, 2022, 21:54 IST

A woman exhaling a puff of vapor from a Juul e-cigarette.Associated Press / Craig Mitchelldyer

The e-cigarette company Juul quickly became a Silicon Valley darling with a $38 billion valuation.
But it went through several rebrands, investigations, and valuation slashes since.

The e-cigarette company Juul has hit a wall.

The company, valued at as much as $38 billion, staked a precarious path into the limelight, starting as a glitzy gadget and eventually billing itself as something resembling a public-health tool.

But its valuation had been slashed since then. Now, after several rebrands, controversies, and leadership shakeups, Juul products have been banned in the US.

On Thursday, the Food and Drug Administration ordered that Juul stop selling and distributing its products, and that its products currently in the market be removed.

Scroll down to see Juul's rise and looming fall:

2004: At Stanford, the product-design grad students James Monsees and Adam Bowen create the idea for Ploom, Juul’s precursor.

Juul.com / YouTube

2007: Monsees and Bowen found the vaporizer startup Ploom in San Francisco.

YouTube / Hyphy SF

Aug. 1, 2013: Ploom debuts the Pax with a launch party in San Francisco.

Ploom at Robin Thicke's album-release party in 2013 in New York.Andrew Toth / Getty Images

Feb. 16, 2015: Monsees and Bowen sell the Ploom brand and a vaporizer line to the Japanese tobacco company JTI. They rebrand as Pax Labs.

Japan Tobacco Inc.'s president and CEO, Mitsuomi Koizumi, using a Ploom during an interview with Reuters at the company's headquarters in Tokyo in 2017.Toru Hanai / Reuters

June 1, 2015: Pax Labs launches the Juul with a party in New York City.

SRITA

2016: Juul sales skyrocket 700%.

An ad on Juul's website from 2016.

July 1, 2017: Monsees and Bowen spin out Juul Labs as an independent company and name former Pax Labs CEO Tyler Goldman CEO.

Pax Labs; Melia Robinson/Business Insider

Nov. 2017: Juul is the best-selling e-cigarette on the market.

Pax Labs

Dec. 11, 2017: CEO Tyler Goldman leaves Juul. The company replaces him with Kevin Burns.

Juul's new CEO, Kevin Burns.Juul/YouTube

Dec. 2017: Juul raises $112 million in venture funds and adds Nicholas Pritzker to its board, according to PitchBook.

The industrialist A.N. Pritzker in 1982. The wealthy Pritzker family owned the chewing-tobacco giant Conwood before selling it to the tobacco giant Reynolds. They also founded and expanded the Hyatt Hotels chain.AP Photo

March 2018: Dozens of outlets report that 'Juuling' is an epidemic at high schools.

A Juul ad from 2016.Pax Labs

April 2018: Led by Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, the US Food and Drug Administration starts an 'undercover blitz' to crack down on sales of the Juul to minors.

Scott Gottlieb, then the FDA commissioner.Reuters

April 2018: Wall Street analysts warn that Juul is starting to encroach on Big Tobacco's financial terrain and could negatively affect Altria stock.

A close-up view of cigarettes on June 10, 2015 in Bristol, England. Health campaigners have asked for a levy on the tobacco industry to help fund anti-smoking measuresMatt Cardy/Getty Images

May 2018: Juul doubles its staff to 400 people.

Pax Labs

June 2018: San Francisco bans flavored e-cigs like the Juul, prompting an endorsement from Michael Bloomberg.

An ad from the California Department of Public Health supporting San Francisco's ballot measure to ban the sale of flavored e-cigarettes like Juul.California Department of Public Health

July 8, 2018: Wall Street analysts say Juul is reviving the formerly comatose e-cig market, which had been slumping since 2014.

AP Photo/Craig Mitchelldyer

July 10, 2018: Juul raises $1.2 billion in a round that values the company at more than $16 billion, according to PitchBook.

Bowen and Monsees at the Hotel Tortue in December 2018 for Juul's launch in Germany.Getty Images / Picture Alliance

Aug. 21, 2018: Israel bans Juul products, calling them a 'grave risk to public health' because of their high nicotine content.

A package of the Juul device and flavored Juul nicotine Pods.JUUL Labs

Sept. 11, 2018: The FDA deepens its crackdown on Juul and other e-cig makers.

FDA commissioner Scott GottliebReuters

Oct. 2, 2018: The FDA surprises Juul at its headquarters and seizes 'thousands of pages of documents' as part of an investigation into its marketing practices.

Reuters/Ronen Zvulun

Oct. 2018: Juul surges in popularity, now accounting for over 70% of the US e-cigarette market, according to Nielsen data.

Reuters / Brendan McDermid

Nov. 13, 2018: Juul stops selling its sweet and fruity flavors at stores, making those varieties only available online.

Hollis Johnson/Business Insider

Nov. 15, 2018: The FDA announces plans to curb flavored e-cig sales after reports that youth vaping has ballooned 78%.

A high-school student vaping near a school campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts.Associated Press

2018: The Federal Trade Commission begins investigating whether Juul marketed its products to minors.

Members of the Federal Trade Commission.REUTERS/ Leah Millis

Dec. 20, 2018: Altria buys 35% of Juul for $12.8 billion, bumping Juul's valuation to $38 billion. Gottlieb accuses both companies of backing away from pledges to curb youth vaping.

Packs of Marlboro cigarettes on sale.REUTERS/Brian Snyder

Dec. 20, 2018: Altria buys 35% of Juul for $12.8 billion, bumping Juul's valuation to $38 billion. Gottlieb accuses both companies of backing away from pledges to curb youth vaping.

March 5, 2019: In a surprise announcement, Gottlieb announces he's leaving his post as FDA commissioner.

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Food and Drug Commissioner Gottlieb attends interview at Reuters HQ in New YorkThomson Reuters

March 13, 2019: Gottlieb announces a crackdown on flavored e-cig sales.

Reuters / Mike Segar

April 3, 2019: The FDA says it's looking into a 'potential safety issue' related to seizures tied to vaping.

Shutterstock

April 8, 2019: Democrats in the US Senate launch an investigation into Juul's deal with Altria as well as its social media and advertising practices.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.Sergio Flores/Getty Images

June 13, 2019: The US House of Representatives announces an investigation of Juul's marketing and the Altria deal.

Members of the U.S. House of Representatives are sworn in on the House floor January 3, 2017.Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

July 16, 2019: Juul's CEO apologizes to parents of teens addicted to its vaping products.

CBS This Morning

July 25, 2019: Officials in Wisconsin warn of eight cases of severe lung disease in teens who'd vaped. It's unclear what kinds of products or substances are involved.

Simah Herman, 18, on September 19 with a photo of her former vaping devices in Los Angeles. Herman was in a medically induced coma and treated for pneumonia and lung-disease from vaping.Reuters / Lucy Nicholson

Aug. 16, 2019: Juul raises $785 million in equity and debt financing from Proioxis Ventures, according to PitchBook.

Melia Robinson/Business Insider

Aug. 29, 2019: Bloomberg says Juul devices were involved in three reports of seizures linked to vaping.

Brendan McDermid / Reuters

Aug. 29, 2019: Juul's CEO warns people against using Juuls and says vaping's long-term health effects are unknown.

Juul's new CEO, Kevin Burns.Juul/YouTube

Sept. 9, 2019: The FDA slams Juul for portraying its e-cigs as 'totally safe' and marketing them to kids at schools.

An ad showing a plate of food suggesting that users "save room for Juul."Juul

Sept. 17, 2019: Juul sales are halted in China for unclear reasons.

An employee at a Tmall logistics center in Suzhou, China.Thomson Reuters

Sept. 18, 2019: India bans vaping, citing the "impact of e-cigarettes on the youth."

Reuters / Neil Hall

Sept. 23, 2019: The US Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California has reportedly launched a criminal investigation into Juul.

REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun

Sept. 24, 2019: Juul reportedly prepares to scale back its staff.

A woman exhaling a puff of vapor from a Juul e-cigarette.Associated Press / Craig Mitchelldyer

Sept. 25, 2019: CEO Kevin Burns steps down and is replaced by longtime tobacco executive K.C. Crosthwaite.

Former Juul CEO Kevin Burns.CBS This Morning

Oct. 7, 2019: A crop of school districts across three states sues Juul.

Shutterstock

Oct. 17, 2019: Juul extends its ban on sweet and fruity flavors to include online sales.

SRITA

Oct. 28, 2019: Juul reportedly plans to cut 500 jobs before year's end. Its chief marketing officer departs the following day.

Robyn Beck / AFP / Getty Images

Oct. 29, 2019: Juul names a new chief financial officer after its existing CFO asks to leave.

Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images

Oct. 31, 2019: Marlboro maker Altria, which owns a third of Juul, slashes the value of its stake in the company. Juul is now valued at $24 billion instead of $38 billion.

Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

Oct. 31, 2019: Marlboro maker Altria, which owns a third of Juul, slashes the value of its stake in the company. Juul is now valued at $24 billion instead of $38 billion.

November 7, 2019: Juul stops selling mint flavored options, leaving only menthol and tobacco flavored refillable cartridges.

A screenshot shows 2015 advertising for Juul products displayed in a print magazineReuters

2020: Amid the pandemic, Juul lays off 40% of its workforce in April, 2020. It then lays off over half of its remaining staff, resulting in about a further 1,000 employees being cut.

Shopkeepers stand inside a Juul shop at a shopping mall in Jakarta, Indonesia, December 30, 2019.REUTERS/Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana

2020: Amid the pandemic, Juul lays off 40% of its workforce in April, 2020. It then lays off over half of its remaining staff, resulting in about a further 1,000 employees being cut.

2021: By 2021, Altria slashes its valuation for Juul to $5 billion, while Juul itself asserts it was worth $10 billion. Two years prior, the company was valued at $38 billion.

A hand with a cigarette is seen in front of displayed logos of Philip Morris and Altria in this picture illustrationReuters

2021: By 2021, Altria slashes its valuation for Juul to $5 billion, while Juul itself asserts it was worth $10 billion. Two years prior, the company was valued at $38 billion.

September 30, 2021: The CDC and FDA releases a study that finds that over 2 million middle-and-high-school students in the US were using e-cigarettes.

At its peak, Juul dominated over 70% of the US e-cigarette market.Eva Hambach/Getty Images

February, 2022: A judge rules that Altria can keep its investment in Juul.

FILE - In this Dec. 20, 2018, file photo Juul products are displayed at a smoke shop in New York. The company that makes Marlboro cigarettes will take a $4.1 billion hit from its investment in Juul. Altria took a 35% stake in the e-cigarette company at the end of 2018 at a cost of almost $13 billion. The Richmond, Va., company on Thursday, Jan. 30, 2020 cited burgeoning legal cases that it expects to grow. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)Associated Press

June 23, 2022: The FDA bans Juul from selling and distributing its e-cigarette products in the US, and also ordered that all products currently in the market be removed.

Markets Insider

June 23, 2022: The FDA bans Juul from selling and distributing its e-cigarette products in the US, and also ordered that all products currently in the market be removed.

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The rise and fall of e-cig startup Juul in the US, from Silicon Valley darling to a ban by the FDA

2004: At Stanford, the product-design grad students James Monsees and Adam Bowen create the idea for Ploom, Juul’s precursor.

2007: Monsees and Bowen found the vaporizer startup Ploom in San Francisco.

Aug. 1, 2013: Ploom debuts the Pax with a launch party in San Francisco.

Feb. 16, 2015: Monsees and Bowen sell the Ploom brand and a vaporizer line to the Japanese tobacco company JTI. They rebrand as Pax Labs.

June 1, 2015: Pax Labs launches the Juul with a party in New York City.

2016: Juul sales skyrocket 700%.

July 1, 2017: Monsees and Bowen spin out Juul Labs as an independent company and name former Pax Labs CEO Tyler Goldman CEO.

Nov. 2017: Juul is the best-selling e-cigarette on the market.

Dec. 11, 2017: CEO Tyler Goldman leaves Juul. The company replaces him with Kevin Burns.

Dec. 2017: Juul raises $112 million in venture funds and adds Nicholas Pritzker to its board, according to PitchBook.

March 2018: Dozens of outlets report that 'Juuling' is an epidemic at high schools.

April 2018: Led by Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, the US Food and Drug Administration starts an 'undercover blitz' to crack down on sales of the Juul to minors.

April 2018: Wall Street analysts warn that Juul is starting to encroach on Big Tobacco's financial terrain and could negatively affect Altria stock.

May 2018: Juul doubles its staff to 400 people.

June 2018: San Francisco bans flavored e-cigs like the Juul, prompting an endorsement from Michael Bloomberg.

July 8, 2018: Wall Street analysts say Juul is reviving the formerly comatose e-cig market, which had been slumping since 2014.

July 10, 2018: Juul raises $1.2 billion in a round that values the company at more than $16 billion, according to PitchBook.

Aug. 21, 2018: Israel bans Juul products, calling them a 'grave risk to public health' because of their high nicotine content.

Sept. 11, 2018: The FDA deepens its crackdown on Juul and other e-cig makers.

Oct. 2, 2018: The FDA surprises Juul at its headquarters and seizes 'thousands of pages of documents' as part of an investigation into its marketing practices.

Oct. 2018: Juul surges in popularity, now accounting for over 70% of the US e-cigarette market, according to Nielsen data.

Nov. 13, 2018: Juul stops selling its sweet and fruity flavors at stores, making those varieties only available online.

Nov. 15, 2018: The FDA announces plans to curb flavored e-cig sales after reports that youth vaping has ballooned 78%.

2018: The Federal Trade Commission begins investigating whether Juul marketed its products to minors.

Dec. 20, 2018: Altria buys 35% of Juul for $12.8 billion, bumping Juul's valuation to $38 billion. Gottlieb accuses both companies of backing away from pledges to curb youth vaping.

March 5, 2019: In a surprise announcement, Gottlieb announces he's leaving his post as FDA commissioner.

March 13, 2019: Gottlieb announces a crackdown on flavored e-cig sales.

April 3, 2019: The FDA says it's looking into a 'potential safety issue' related to seizures tied to vaping.

April 8, 2019: Democrats in the US Senate launch an investigation into Juul's deal with Altria as well as its social media and advertising practices.

June 13, 2019: The US House of Representatives announces an investigation of Juul's marketing and the Altria deal.

July 16, 2019: Juul's CEO apologizes to parents of teens addicted to its vaping products.

July 25, 2019: Officials in Wisconsin warn of eight cases of severe lung disease in teens who'd vaped. It's unclear what kinds of products or substances are involved.

Aug. 16, 2019: Juul raises $785 million in equity and debt financing from Proioxis Ventures, according to PitchBook.

Aug. 29, 2019: Bloomberg says Juul devices were involved in three reports of seizures linked to vaping.

Aug. 29, 2019: Juul's CEO warns people against using Juuls and says vaping's long-term health effects are unknown.

Sept. 9, 2019: The FDA slams Juul for portraying its e-cigs as 'totally safe' and marketing them to kids at schools.

Sept. 17, 2019: Juul sales are halted in China for unclear reasons.

Sept. 18, 2019: India bans vaping, citing the "impact of e-cigarettes on the youth."

Sept. 23, 2019: The US Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California has reportedly launched a criminal investigation into Juul.

Sept. 24, 2019: Juul reportedly prepares to scale back its staff.

Sept. 25, 2019: CEO Kevin Burns steps down and is replaced by longtime tobacco executive K.C. Crosthwaite.

Oct. 7, 2019: A crop of school districts across three states sues Juul.

Oct. 17, 2019: Juul extends its ban on sweet and fruity flavors to include online sales.

Oct. 28, 2019: Juul reportedly plans to cut 500 jobs before year's end. Its chief marketing officer departs the following day.

Oct. 29, 2019: Juul names a new chief financial officer after its existing CFO asks to leave.

Oct. 31, 2019: Marlboro maker Altria, which owns a third of Juul, slashes the value of its stake in the company. Juul is now valued at $24 billion instead of $38 billion.

November 7, 2019: Juul stops selling mint flavored options, leaving only menthol and tobacco flavored refillable cartridges.

2020: Amid the pandemic, Juul lays off 40% of its workforce in April, 2020. It then lays off over half of its remaining staff, resulting in about a further 1,000 employees being cut.

2021: By 2021, Altria slashes its valuation for Juul to $5 billion, while Juul itself asserts it was worth $10 billion. Two years prior, the company was valued at $38 billion.

September 30, 2021: The CDC and FDA releases a study that finds that over 2 million middle-and-high-school students in the US were using e-cigarettes.

February, 2022: A judge rules that Altria can keep its investment in Juul.

June 23, 2022: The FDA bans Juul from selling and distributing its e-cigarette products in the US, and also ordered that all products currently in the market be removed.