Nicotine Pouch Strength Words Decoded: ZYN vs VELO (UK 2026)
Strength words on a nicotine pouch tin are brand names, not an industry scale. Across the ZYN and VELO UK ranges only two words appear on both brands at all — "Low" and "Extra Strong" — and "Extra Strong" is not the same strength on each. On ZYN it is 11mg to 13.5mg per pouch. On VELO it is 14mg. Move brand at the same word and you can move up to 3mg per pouch without noticing.
This page exists because of a pattern in our own search data: people search a tin, not a brand. "Cool mint nicotine pouches 11mg", "watermelon ice 10mg nicotine pouch", "cool mint normal extra", "coffee mini nicotine pouch". They have a word and a number and no way to line them up. So we lined them up.
For adults 18+ only. Nicotine is an addictive substance.
What we measured
We took every strength variant listed in the ZYN and VELO UK ranges we carry and recorded four things for each: milligrams per pouch, the format word on the tin (Mini, Slim, Regular), the strength word on the tin, and the pouch count per can. That produced 51 variant rows on 17 August 2026. Everything below is counted from those rows — not from brand marketing, and not from a strength chart someone else drew.
Two honest limits. This covers ZYN and VELO only, because those are the two ranges we stock and can read the tins for; other brands sold in the UK use their own words again. And ranges change, so this is dated rather than permanent.
The finding: one word survives the crossing
Here is every strength word on both ranges, and what it actually means in milligrams per pouch.
| Word on the tin | ZYN means | VELO means |
|---|---|---|
| X-Low | 1.5mg – 3mg | — not used — |
| Low | 3mg – 6mg | 6mg |
| Mellow | — not used — | 4mg – 6mg |
| Medium | 6mg – 9mg | — not used — |
| Normal | — not used — | 6mg – 8mg |
| Original | — not used — | 10mg |
| Strong | — not used — | 10mg – 11mg |
| X-Strong | 11mg | — not used — |
| Extra Strong | 11mg – 13.5mg | 14mg |
| Ultra Strong | — not used — | 17mg |
Eight of the ten words exist on one brand and simply do not appear on the other. Of the two that cross, only "Low" overlaps in milligrams, at 6mg. "Extra Strong" crosses the brands but does not overlap at all: ZYN tops out at 13.5mg where VELO starts at 14mg.
The practical version: VELO's "Strong" and ZYN's "X-Strong" are the same 11mg. One sounds like a middle step and one sounds like a top step. They are the same pouch strength.
Read it the other way: one strength, five names
Flip the table and the confusion in the search data explains itself.
| Per pouch | ZYN calls it | VELO calls it |
|---|---|---|
| 1.5mg | X-Low | — |
| 3mg | X-Low or Low | — |
| 4mg | — | Mellow |
| 6mg | Low or Medium | Mellow, Low or Normal |
| 8mg | — | Normal |
| 9mg | Medium | — |
| 10mg | — | Original or Strong |
| 11mg | X-Strong or Extra Strong | Strong |
| 13.5mg | Extra Strong | — |
| 14mg | — | Extra Strong |
| 17mg | — | Ultra Strong |
6mg carries five different words across the two ranges. It is "Low" on ZYN Cool Mint but "Medium" on ZYN Coffee, Citrus, Apple Mint, Black Cherry and Spearmint — the same brand, the same milligrams, two different words depending on which flavour you pick up. On VELO the same 6mg is "Mellow" on Creamy Latte, "Low" on Peach Ice and "Normal" on Tangy Lime.
3mg does the same thing inside ZYN alone: "X-Low" on Cool Mint, "Low" on Spearmint, Citrus and Black Cherry.
The Mini trap: same word, six fewer pouches
"Mini" is a format word, and it is the one that costs people money without them noticing, because it changes how many pouches are in the tin — and the two brands do not mean the same thing by it.
| Format word | Brand | Pouches per can |
|---|---|---|
| Mini | ZYN | 21 |
| Mini | VELO | 15 |
| Regular | ZYN | 21 |
| Slim | VELO | 20 |
A ZYN Mini can holds six more pouches than a VELO Mini can. That is the single most useful line on this page if you are comparing two tins on a shelf.
Total nicotine per can — the number nobody prints
Milligrams per pouch is on the tin. Milligrams per can is not, and it is the figure that actually decides how long a tin lasts you. Multiply the two.
| Tin | Word on it | Per pouch × count | Per can |
|---|---|---|---|
| VELO Freezing Peppermint | Ultra Strong | 17mg × 20 | 340mg |
| ZYN Menthol Ice | Extra Strong | 13.5mg × 21 | 284mg |
| VELO Purple Grape | Extra Strong | 14mg × 20 | 280mg |
| ZYN Guava Spice | Extra Strong | 11mg × 21 | 231mg |
| VELO Peppermint Storm | Strong | 11mg × 20 | 220mg |
| ZYN Citrus | Low | 3mg × 21 | 63mg |
| VELO Bright Spearmint | Mellow | 4mg × 15 | 60mg |
| ZYN Spearmint | X-Low | 1.5mg × 21 | 32mg |
Two things fall out of that table. First, the shelf spans more than ten times from weakest can to strongest — 32mg to 340mg. Second, and this is the one that catches people: the 3mg ZYN can holds more total nicotine than the 4mg VELO can, because 21 weaker pouches beat 15 stronger ones. The lower number on the tin is the bigger can.
Flavour name decoder
If you have a flavour name and no brand, this is the lookup. Strengths are the ones listed in the UK range on 17 August 2026.
| Flavour name | Brand | Strengths listed |
|---|---|---|
| Cool Mint | ZYN | 3mg X-Low · 6mg Low · 9mg Medium · 11mg X-Strong |
| Spearmint | ZYN | 1.5mg X-Low · 3mg Low · 6mg Medium |
| Coffee | ZYN | 6mg Medium (Mini) |
| Citrus | ZYN | 3mg Low · 6mg Medium |
| Black Cherry | ZYN | 3mg Low · 6mg Medium |
| Apple Mint | ZYN | 6mg Medium |
| Red Fruits | ZYN | 9mg Medium |
| Red Berry Fizz | ZYN | 11mg X-Strong |
| Blueberry Mint | ZYN | 11mg X-Strong |
| Guava Spice | ZYN | 11mg Extra Strong |
| Blackcurrant Frost | ZYN | 13.5mg Extra Strong |
| Menthol Ice | ZYN | 13.5mg Extra Strong |
| Creamy Latte | VELO | 6mg Mellow (Mini) |
| Bright Spearmint | VELO | 4mg Mellow · 6mg Low · 8mg Normal |
| Tangy Lime | VELO | 6mg Normal |
| Crispy Peppermint | VELO | 6mg Normal · 10mg Strong |
| Tropical Mango | VELO | 6mg Normal · 10mg Strong · 14mg Extra Strong · 17mg Ultra Strong |
| Watermelon Ice | VELO | 6mg Low · 10mg Strong |
| Peach Ice | VELO | 6mg Low · 10mg Strong |
| Tropical Ice | VELO | 6mg Low · 10mg Strong |
| Blueberry Ice | VELO | 8mg Normal |
| Lime Flame | VELO | 8mg Normal |
| Mango Ice | VELO | 10mg Strong |
| Ruby Berry | VELO | 4mg Mellow · 6mg Low · 10mg Original · 14mg Extra Strong · 17mg Ultra Strong |
| Purple Grape | VELO | 14mg Extra Strong |
| Freezing Peppermint | VELO | 11mg Strong · 14mg Extra Strong · 17mg Ultra Strong |
| Peppermint Storm | VELO | 11mg Strong · 14mg Extra Strong · 17mg Ultra Strong |
You can browse the two ranges directly: ZYN nicotine pouches and VELO nicotine pouches.
Names people search in the UK that are not sold here
Some of the flavour names arriving on this site are not stocked by UK retailers at all. We checked against a snapshot of 1,112 in-stock nicotine pouch listings taken across eight major UK vape retailers on 3 August 2026. These names returned nothing:
- Blonde Roast — no UK listing found. Nearest coffee-side tin sold here is ZYN Coffee at 6mg Medium.
- Citrus Sunrise, Citrus Fresh, Zesty Citrus — no UK listing found. The citrus tin sold here is ZYN Citrus at 3mg or 6mg.
- Zest Flame — no UK listing found. VELO's lime tins sold here are Lime Flame at 8mg and Tangy Lime at 6mg.
- Guava Lime — no UK listing found. ZYN Guava Spice at 11mg is the closest guava tin.
- Frosty Lemon, Frozen Berries, Crispy Mint — no UK listing found. "Crispy Mint" is most often people meaning VELO Crispy Peppermint, which is sold here at 6mg and 10mg.
- Espressino — appeared once in the whole UK snapshot. ZYN Coffee is the coffee tin actually available.
We would rather say "we could not find that in the UK" than quietly show you something else and hope. If a name above later appears in the UK range, this list gets updated.
If you are switching brand, do this
- Ignore the word. Read the milligrams. It is the only figure that means the same thing on both tins.
- Check the pouch count too. ZYN Mini is 21, VELO Mini is 15. Same word, different tin.
- Crossing at "Extra Strong" is a step up, not a step across. ZYN Extra Strong is 11–13.5mg; VELO Extra Strong is 14mg.
- Coming off ZYN X-Strong, VELO Strong is the match — both 11mg — even though the names suggest otherwise.
- Going lower is easier on ZYN. Its range starts at 1.5mg; the lowest VELO step in this data is 4mg.
Common questions
Is "Strong" the same on ZYN and VELO?
No. ZYN does not use "Strong" on its own at all in this range — it goes Medium, then X-Strong. VELO's "Strong" is 10–11mg, which lines up with ZYN's X-Strong at 11mg.
What strength is "Cool Mint Medium"?
9mg per pouch, in a ZYN Regular can of 21. ZYN Cool Mint also comes as 3mg X-Low, 6mg Low and 11mg X-Strong. There is no VELO "Medium" — if you saw "normal" or "extra" next to Cool Mint, you were reading VELO's ladder against a ZYN flavour, which is exactly the mix-up this page exists to fix.
What is the strongest nicotine pouch listed here?
VELO at 17mg per pouch, sold as Ultra Strong, in Freezing Peppermint, Peppermint Storm, Tropical Mango and Ruby Berry. In a 20-pouch can that is 340mg total.
What is the weakest?
ZYN Spearmint at 1.5mg per pouch, sold as X-Low, in a 21-pouch can — 32mg total.
Do nicotine pouches contain tobacco?
Both ranges here are tobacco-free. The pouch contains nicotine, plant fibre, flavouring and fillers rather than tobacco leaf. Tobacco-free does not mean nicotine-free and does not mean risk-free — these are for existing adult nicotine users.
Which is stronger, more milligrams or more pouches?
For a single use, milligrams per pouch. For how long a tin lasts, multiply by the pouch count — which is how a 3mg ZYN can (63mg) ends up holding more than a 4mg VELO can (60mg).
Related guides
- Nicotine pouch flavours and strengths: the complete UK map
- ZYN vs VELO: which is better for UK users
- What ZYN nicotine pouches actually are
- Who makes VELO nicotine pouches
- How to use a nicotine pouch
Strength and format data read from the ZYN and VELO UK ranges on 17 August 2026 (51 variant rows). UK availability checked against 1,112 in-stock pouch listings across eight UK retailers, 3 August 2026 snapshot. Ranges change — check the tin.