Company News
ALP Nicotine Pouches Enters Boxing Ring with Exclusive Matchroom Deal
ALP, the tobacco-free nicotine pouch brand co-owned by Turning Point Brands and the Tucker Carlson Network, has been named the official nicotine pouch partner of Matchroom Boxing. The deal, announced September 4, 2026, gives ALP exclusive rights in the pouch category across three Matchroom cards in the UK and Ireland this fall, starting with Katie Taylor's homecoming fight at Croke Park in Dublin.
It is the brand's first major sports sponsorship in Europe and lands only weeks after ALP began selling there. The partnership signals a significant marketing push for the brand as it seeks to establish a foothold in the competitive European nicotine market.
What the Deal Covers
According to the announcement distributed by PR Newswire, ALP holds exclusive nicotine pouch category rights for three specific events:
- September 5, 2026, Croke Park, Dublin: Katie Taylor vs. Flora Pili for the undisputed super lightweight championship, broadcast on DAZN. Taylor won by unanimous decision in front of a crowd that Croke Park and boxing outlets put at roughly 83,000, a record for a women's individual sporting event.
- October 3, 2026, Utilita Arena Birmingham: Whittaker vs. Wallace.
- October 24, 2026, Utilita Arena Sheffield: Smith vs. Puello.
ALP receives in-ring and broadcast visibility, on-site fan activation stations at each venue, and a branded digital series produced around the three cards. Lorenzo De Plano, ALP's co-founder and CEO, said in the release that being "the only nicotine pouch brand in that ring" is exactly where the company wants to be.
Why ALP is Spending in the UK Now
ALP launched in the United States in November 2024 through ALP Supply Co., a 50/50 joint venture between Turning Point Brands, the Louisville company behind Zig-Zag papers, and Tucker Carlson's media network. The pouches are tobacco-free and were introduced in mint, wintergreen, a lighter "chill" mint and a tropical fruit style, originally at 3, 6 and 9 milligrams. Higher-strength variants have followed since.
The brand only opened distribution in the UK and European Union in July 2026, initially across 11 markets, and the Matchroom deal is its first attempt at mass visibility there. Boxing is a logical fit for the company's marketing: ALP has also signed Conor McGregor as a global brand partner, and combat sports draw the adult male audience the pouch category leans on.
The Clock is Ticking on Nicotine Sponsorships
There is a notable caveat to this expansion. The UK's Tobacco and Vapes Act received Royal Assent on April 29, 2026, and it extends advertising and sponsorship restrictions to nicotine products, including pouches, that until now had faced no such limits. The Department of Health and Social Care has said it intends to bring the advertising and sponsorship ban into force across the UK on June 1, 2027.
"ALP's boxing campaign is running inside a window that regulators have already announced will close."
A minimum age of sale of 18 for consumer nicotine products takes effect six months after passage, at the end of October 2026. Public-health groups such as ASH have long criticized sports tie-ins for nicotine brands on the grounds that they reach young fans. In the United States, nicotine pouches remain a legal product for adults 21 and over, but the category is under active FDA review.
What it Means for A2Z Tobacco Shoppers
For customers in the U.S., the practical takeaway is less about boxing and more about where ALP is headed as a brand. Turning Point Brands has made oral nicotine the centerpiece of its growth plan. While the brand is still in the early stages of retail rollout, online tobacco retailers remain one of the easiest places to find the full range.
Anyone comparing ALP against ZYN nicotine pouches, the brand with the most shelf space in the store, should keep in mind that only a few dozen pouch products carry an FDA marketing order. Shoppers who follow the FDA's authorization list should check where ALP stands on it. That is a regulatory distinction, not a quality judgment.
The Bottom Line
ALP has bought itself a very large stage: an 83,000-seat Croke Park crowd and two arena cards, plus a DAZN broadcast audience, in a market it entered only two months ago. The bet is that combat-sports visibility can do for ALP in Europe what its celebrity ownership did in the U.S. The complication is that UK law will shut down exactly this kind of nicotine sponsorship in mid-2027, so what looks like a long-term strategy is really a short sprint.