In between the thrill of the bouts on fight night, you may notice a new partner listed on the canvas of a UFC octagon: FRE Nicotine Pouches.
In a first-of-its-kind collaboration, FRE became the “official nicotine pouch partner” of UFC and the rest of TKO Group Holdings, Inc. (TKO) affiliated properties, including Zuffa Boxing, PBR (Professional Bull Riding), and UFC BJJ, as well as IMG-owned World’s Strongest Man and Formula Drift.
FRE has been quietly building a sports portfolio that reaches those performance-obsessed audiences across the country, but the announcement of the partnership with TKO last month was a landmark title sponsorship.
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UFC became the first major U.S. sports property to have an “official nicotine pouch” partner, making this a deal that changes the landscape of a category that will have an estimated $50 billion market by 2033.
Summer Frein, chief revenue officer at Turning Point Brands, the branded consumer products company that markets and distributes products, including alternative smoking accessories, spoke with Fox Business about how FRE wanted to get into sports. And TKO’s properties, especially UFC, made too much sense.
“Obviously, first and foremost, we wanted to pick something that aligns with our brand, and our tagline is ‘Own Your Edge.’ When you think about people who own their edge, sports immediately come to mind. And when you think about TKO — I said this to someone last week — where the hell do you own your edge more than knocking someone out in an octagon,” Frein said in a recent interview.
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“The consumers who are at the events overlap with our consumer base very directly, both from an adult nicotine consumer perspective, but just the characteristics of them. What they believe in, what they embody (has) a lot of overlap with us as well in terms of being competitive, performance-driven and that sort of thing.”
The UFC has an audience that is over 90% adults, 21 years or older, making it an ideal platform for responsible marketing of adult consumer products like nicotine pouches. But, from an athlete’s perspective, research into how nicotine could enhance sports performance has been abundant.
Smokeless tobacco has been widely used by athletes to enhance performance, with nicotine serving as a central nervous system stimulant among other anatomic effects. And while nicotine had a bad reputation due to its correlation with tobacco-based products like cigarettes, the stimulant wasn’t the cause of toxic health consequences. Of course, it remains an addictive chemical.
The growth of the global nicotine pouch market reached roughly $4.3 billion in 2025, and it’s only going to surge from there. FRE has moved fast to establish itself before it fully matures, and a deal like this with TKO proves that.
“We started off with PBR last year. We rolled into some NASCAR and ARCA Series racing, and all of those foundational elements gave us the confidence that we were heading in the right direction. Sports made a lot of sense for us,” Frein added.
“I think [TKO was] also looking for partners and consumers that had overlap, so we were building upon each other there. The consumers expect that. You have seen UFC consumers and fans at events. They ride for that brand. So, if they partner with brands that don’t make sense, I don’t think those fans will be quiet about that. I think our brand made a lot of sense for that reason, too.”
Frein pointed out how FRE sets itself apart for its consumers with its variety of flavors, and, more importantly, nicotine strengths. FRE pouches go from three milligrams up to 15, a strength not many competitors have in their product. No matter where a consumer may be on a nicotine pouch journey, FRE prides itself on that variety to help provide consumers with how they wish to have the product.
“Consumers told us they use nicotine and use these pouches, in particular, in their life for a variety of reasons. One is to transition off of products they don’t want to use anymore, different nicotine products they don’t want to use anymore. They feel like this is a better option for them – more discreet, less judgment, that sort of thing. Then, we hear them say what you’re saying. They use it for moments of their day that they find to be helpful to them,” Frein explained.
FRE has also listened to its customers when it comes to the pouch itself. The pouches feature a pre-primed moisture technology pouch that Frein says consumers “prefer.” Their variety also goes into the pouch count, offering 20-count tins or 100-count “Mega Packs.”
And as Frein mentioned, FRE’s push into sports goes beyond its work with TKO. It recently partnered with 23XI Racing, Michael Jordan’s auto racing company, and driver Riley Herbst for select NASCAR Cup Series races. It also signed as the “official nicotine sponsor” for Taylor Reimer Racing across four ARCA Menards Series events in 2026.
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As tobacco-less nicotine products have been reframed from a legacy habit to a deliberate, performance-based choice, FRE has made a calculated bet on sports, and partnering with TKO makes the future exciting from a business perspective.
“I think what the partnership with TKO and NASCAR and Taylor Reimer in the ARCA Series has done for us is open people’s minds,” Frein said.
“Open doors, given us credibility as a brand and as an industry that we can make it work. We’re going to have a seat at the table. We’re going to market effectively and responsibly, frankly. So, I imagine that, just given the prior piece of the conversations around athletes and them thinking differently and having this a part of their lives, it will open doors to other avenues.”
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