The government will soon have the power to ban e-liquid flavours (see our guide). This might have an impact on our favourite vape juice brands. But what are our favourite vape flavours here in the UK? Which flavour groups do most vapers rely on?
We have been selling the very best e-liquid to thousands of loyal customers all over the UK for more than seven years now. In this week’s article, we’ll show you how the typical UK vaper’s e-liquid preferences have evolved over time. We’ll also give you an idea on where tastes are headed in 2025 and beyond!
Best-selling e-liquid flavours over the past 7 years
To get a sense of what flavour groups are most popular in the UK, we made a list of the top 100 best-selling e-liquids in April every year since 2017. We divided this best-seller list into 6 main flavour categories: beverage, candy, dessert, fruit, menthol and tobacco. We’ll go into everything year-by-year below, but in summary…
- FRUIT is the long-term leading flavour category
- TOBACCO e-liquids are not very popular — tobacco no longer appears in the top 100 e-liquids list
- DESSERT and CANDY flavours are enjoying a slow rise in popularity
- BEVERAGE and MENTHOL flavours are losing ground
The chart below shows the flavour categories of our top 100 best-selling e-liquids in any given year. Where appropriate, we counted some e-liquids under more than one heading. For instance, Black Ice by Furious Fish is a top-selling blackcurrant/menthol blend, so it was counted in both the ‘fruit’ and ‘menthol’ bestseller tally.
Most popular e-liquid flavours: 2017-2024
2017
Back in April 2017, the late Prince Phillip was still carrying out official duties. Westminster had just started work on Brexit, and Anthony Joshua beat Vladimir Klitscho at Wembley. Dessert and candy-based flavours were best-sellers, although fruit -based flavours were already showing a lot of promise. The best-selling e-liquid on our site was Cush Man by Nasty Juice: a mango vape with a hint of mint that’s still popular today.
2018
Theresa May banned plastic straws, and Avengers: Infinity War had just come out in the cinema. In this month, one in three of our best-selling e-liquids contained menthol, and public interest in dessert-based flavours fell off a cliff. We also saw significant growth in tobacco flavours. Double Drip’s Raspberry Sherbet led the candy category back then.
2019
This was the month when fire ravaged Notre Dame Cathedral and the Game of Thrones TV show came to an end. Vapers favoured fruit and beverage flavours in April 2019, with the now-defunct Farley’s Gnarly Sauce from Bad Drip Labs leading the menthol, fruit and candy categories.
2020
April 2020 was a busy month for us. COVID-19 had just forced the whole country into lockdown, and thousands of smokers all over the country decided to quit cigarettes. The sudden growth in first-time vapers knocked wind out of the sails of the fruit category, which had been on track to climb above the 50% of bestsellers mark. ASAP Grape by Nasty Juice took the top spot in April 2020’s bestseller list.
2021
We saw fruit flavours begin their slow return to ‘most popular category’ in April 2021. This month also marked tobacco-flavoured e-liquid’s best ever month: almost one in ten of the vape juice bottles we sold that month was either a pure tobacco or tobacco-blend flavour. Drooly by Clown Liquids — a fruit/candy blend — made it into the top 10.
2022
April 2022 was a terrible month for Borises. Tennis star Boris Becker went to jail and former PM Boris Johnson was sanctioned for breaking the law at Partygate. In the e-liquid world, dessert flavours staged a comeback, and tobacco flavours began their slow decline. Nearly half of the top 100 best-selling e-juice sold in April 2022 was fruit-based. Our best-selling e-liquid this month was the delicious French Dude by Breakfast Classics.
2023
April 2023 was a big month for beverage-themed flavours. Back then, if you had told us that demand for dessert flavours was just about to double, we might not have believed you. Very Berry by Furious Fish took top spot on the bestseller list this month.
2024
More than a third of the best-selling e-liquids in April 2024 were dessert-based. April 2024 is also the first month where tobacco-based flavours have dropped completely out of the top 100 best-sellers list. Very Berry was still in pole position, with Vanilla Custard by Donut King hot on its heels.
What does it all mean for the future?
It’s fun to reflect on seven years of e-liquid evolution, but there’s a serious reason why we need to think carefully about these flavour groups.
The government will soon have the power to ban e-liquid flavours. If legitimate adult vapers like us want to hold on to the fruit, candy and dessert flavours we have all enjoyed for the best part of a decade, we need to be ready to speak up in their defence. We’re keeping an eye on the government website; as soon as we hear of a public consultation on e-liquid flavours, we’ll be the first to tell you.
Stay safe and happy vaping!
John Boughey