Philip Morris International has opened a $1.2 billion manufacturing campus in Aurora, Colorado, that will produce ZYN nicotine pouches for domestic and international markets.
The massive investment reflects both the rapid growth of the nicotine pouch category and PMI’s expectation that smoke-free products will become an increasingly important part of its U.S. business.
The 780,000-square-foot manufacturing complex sits on 148 acres and began commercial production in July. It is PMI’s first newly built manufacturing and production complex in the United States.
The campus combines production, packaging, warehousing, and distribution at one location. In addition to serving the American market, PMI says it will supply countries in Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean.
The company originally announced the Aurora project in July 2024 as a $600 million investment. Planned spending has since doubled to $1.2 billion between 2024 and 2028, including land, manufacturing equipment, infrastructure, and additional production capacity. About $1 billion has already been spent.
PMI says the facility progressed from groundbreaking to commercial shipments in about 19 months. It joins existing company operations in Owensboro, Kentucky, and Wilson, North Carolina, reducing the manufacturer’s dependence on any single production location.
“Aurora represents an important milestone for PMI U.S.,” said PMI U.S. CEO Stacey Kennedy. She said the facility will expand production capacity and help the company meet demand in the United States and abroad.
The campus is expected to employ about 500 people in engineering, production, quality control, and support roles. PMI estimates it will generate approximately $550 million in annual economic activity and support about 1,000 indirect jobs. Those projections come from an economic impact study commissioned by the company.
The opening follows a major regulatory victory for ZYN. On June 30, the Food and Drug Administration authorized 20 ZYN products to carry a specific modified-risk claim.
The FDA will allow Swedish Match USA to tell consumers that completely replacing cigarettes with the authorized ZYN products reduces the risk of six smoking-related diseases. The modified risk tobacco product (MRTP) orders apply only to the specified products and expire after five years unless renewed.
Those products had already received ordinary premarket tobacco application (PMTA) authorization in January 2025. The later MRTP decision allows the manufacturer to explain their relative risk compared with cigarettes—a basic harm-reduction message the agency has rarely permitted nicotine manufacturers to communicate.
PMI acquired Swedish Match, the manufacturer of ZYN, in 2022. The Aurora campus demonstrates how quickly the company expects the American market for smoke-free nicotine products to expand.
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