E-cigarette sales are booming thanks to Juul

• Juul sold $1.29 billion in vape kits and nicotine pods over the 12 months ended Aug. 11 — more than half of the $2.31 billion for the entire category.
• So far this year, total e-cigarette sales have reached about $2.3 billion. At this time last year, they hit $1.3 billion.

A Juul e-cigarette

Suzanne Kreiter | The Boston Globe | Getty Images

Juul, a relatively new entrant in the e-cigarette market, is dominating the industry in about three short years.

The San Francisco company sold $1.29 billion in vape kits and nicotine pods over the 12 months ended Aug. 11 — more than half of the $2.31 billion for the entire category according to Nielsen data compiled by Wells Fargo analyst Bonnie Herzog.

Industry-wide sales topped $1.3 billion during the same period last year.

With flavors like creme bruleé and mango, the company's sales have boosted the e-cigarette market enough for Herzog to up her full-year sales forecast to $6.6 billion from her previous estimate of $5.5 billion. Some other brands, including Altria's MarkTen, are also helping grow the market.

Juul's sales soared 728 percent in the most recent period, according to Nielsen. Its share of the market has soared to about 72 percent in mid-August from 70.5 percent last month, Herzog said. The company introduced its flavored nicotine pods to the market in June 2015.

The sleek devices and fruity pods have become popular among young people and drawn criticism from schools, parents and regulators.