KLAR: the pouch built on ceramic

Almost every nicotine pouch is plant fibre underneath, usually cellulose, soaked in nicotine and flavour. KLAR replaced the fibre with ceramic.

Who makes it

KLAR comes from Emplicure, a bioceramics company founded in Uppsala in 2014. One of its co-founders, Håkan Engqvist, is a professor of materials science at Uppsala University. Emplicure didn't start out in nicotine. It first developed its material, SERATEK, to release medicines slowly and precisely (mostly for pain relief). The company says KLAR was made with no tobacco industry involvement.

Bioceramics aren't new. They've been used in hip replacements and dentistry for more than 40 years, because they integrate with the tissue around them.

How the ceramic works

SERATEK is a calcium compound made into tiny granules. Under a microscope each one looks a little like Swiss cheese. Nicotine and flavour are loaded into those pores, and when saliva reaches them they seep out gradually. Emplicure controls the speed by setting the pore size. The rest of the fill is water, bulking agents and flavourings.

Engqvist's case against cellulose is that it starts slightly dry, so the first few seconds can hit hard. Later the fibre clumps and the flavour fades. KLAR says its granules hydrate the moment the pouch goes in, so the nicotine comes through more evenly.

What KLAR claims

KLAR says its pouches deliver "a 25% stronger kick with less nicotine". That figure comes from KLAR's own 2025 study against the world's best-selling pouch. The study hasn't been published, so treat it as the maker's claim.

The size is deliberate too. Tomas Hammargren, who works on risk reduction at KLAR, argues that a pouch should be as small as it can be while still doing its job, and KLAR pouches are smaller than most.

The range

We stock four flavours, plus Blank:

• Mint: plain natural mint.
• Blueberry Mint: smooth blueberry with a little mint at the finish.
• Strawberry Basil: sweet strawberry with a herbal edge of basil.
• Afterglow: a limited edition made with Afterglow, a cocktail bar in Stockholm. It tastes of oolong tea, melon and pineapple, like the drink it's named after.
• Blank: no flavour at all, 9mg only.

The flavoured ones come in 3mg (regular), 6mg (strong) and 9mg (extra strong). If you'd like to try them all, the KLAR Flight has one can of each: the four flavours at 6mg and Blank at 9mg.

New to pouches in general? Start with What is a nicotine pouch?

Pouches contain nicotine, which is addictive. They're for adults who already use nicotine.