ONEWING GROUP LIMITED › RELX HERC 12000 › RELX HERC Flavour Guide: Choosing Your First (and Second) Flavour

RELX HERC Flavour Guide: Choosing Your First (and Second) Flavour

By ONEWING GROUP LIMITED · Updated 2026 · Reading time: 6 min

Flavour is the single biggest driver of repeat purchase in this category, and the first flavour a customer buys is a genuine piece of market intelligence. Menthol-led buyers and fruit-led buyers are different customers with different repurchase clocks, this guide maps the choice onto the shelf maths, a trade merchandising piece rather than a consumer listicle, and the second-flavour logic is where retention economics quietly take over.

The flavour question, stated as a merchandising decision

Every first flavour choice is really a bet on who the customer is. Menthol-first buyers are discretion buyers: they value the cooling, the quiet draw and the anonymity of a cold profile, and they rebuy on a short clock. Fruit-first buyers are sampler buyers: they value variety and the small daily pleasure of a bright draw, and they rebuy on flavour discovery. Neither is a wrong customer; they are different customers, and a shelf that stocks only one flavour answers only half the market.

The HERC’s focused range exists precisely because of this split: a narrow, consistency-tuned set of profiles rather than a sprawling catalogue. In the flavour business, breadth and depth are a real trade-off, and the HERC takes the depth side of it — every profile in the line earns its place, the same engineering, not a variation of it.

Menthol-first: why ice dominates Australian disposables

Menthol-led devices outsell fruit-led devices in most Australian counters, and the reasons are cultural as much as chemical: the cooling draw suits a hot climate, the cold profile suits discretion, and the sensory reset suits a market that treats vaping as a break rather than a treat. Menthol is also the most forgiving first flavour — a cold, simple, honest draw that is hard to get wrong, which is exactly what a first-time customer needs.

For a shelf, mint is the entry point with the lowest return rate: the menthol-first buyer who stays, stays as a repeat customer. Our mint versus fruity comparison covers the menthol side of the entry decision in detail.

Fruit-led: the sampler logic

Fruit-led buyers are explorers, and the fruity profiles split into two honest families: candy-sweet dessert profiles and citrus-tart sharp profiles. The dessert family drives trial and gifting; the citrus family drives all-day use. A deep fruit wall works the same way a deep menthol wall does — it converts exploration into retention — but it converts it more slowly, and it needs a wider shelf to do it.

The trade translation: fruit-led footfall is a higher-value, higher-maintenance footfall. Stock it where the customer base can carry it; do not stock it where the shelf needs to be simple.

The second flavour: retention economics

The second flavour is a retention tool, and its economics are quietly ruthless: the second device is bought by a customer who already trusts the format, so the cost per millilitre of the second sale is lower, the trial risk is near zero; and the customer is already inside the ecosystem when the flavour question comes up again. Dessert profiles are the classic second flavour; menthol is the classic first.

This is why focused ranges hold their pricing and their margins: they are not selling one device twice, they are selling the second device to the right customer at the right time — and that is a merchandising skill, not a discount.

Stocking maths: how many flavours a shelf needs

Start focused, expand by demand: the entry move is two menthol profiles plus one fruit profile from each family, four SKUs is the honest starter wall for most Australian counters. Expand by evidence, not by catalogue: add a second fruit family only when the first fruit family is outselling its first profile by two to one. A deep wall without evidence is inventory risk; a shallow wall with evidence is a working shelf.

The HERC’s range is built for exactly this discipline: consistency-tuned profiles on one engineering platform, so every SKU added to the wall behaves identically — and the flavour guide a shelf actually needs is shorter than the catalogue a supplier can offer.

Flavour Wall Decision Matrix

Frequently Asked Questions

Which flavour should a new vape store stock first?

Menthol-first. It is the most forgiving first flavour, the shortest path from first purchase to repeat purchase, and the menthol-first buyer who stays becomes the repeat customer. Start there, expand by evidence.

How many flavours should the opening wall carry?

Four: two menthol profiles plus one fruit profile from each family. That is the honest starter wall for most Australian counters. Add depth only when the entry family is outselling its first profile by two to one.

Why do focused ranges outperform deep catalogues?

Consistency. Every profile in a focused range shares one engineering platform, so the shelf sells one behaviour twice instead of two behaviours once. Deep catalogues sell variety; focused ranges sell certainty — and certainty is what converts trial into repeat.

What does the second flavour really do?

It is a retention tool: the second device is bought by a customer already inside the ecosystem, so its trial risk is near zero and its cost per millilitre is lower. Dessert profiles are the classic second flavour; menthol is the classic first.