ESSE Cigarettes vs Mevius: Brand History, Product Ranges and Packaging

ESSE cigarettes and Mevius cigarettes are two established Asian cigarette brands with different origins and product histories. ESSE comes from South Korea and is closely associated with super slim cigarettes, while Mevius originated in Japan under the name Mild Seven.

Both brands have developed traditional tobacco, menthol and capsule-filter products. However, their product ranges, packaging styles and brand histories are different.

This article looks at where the two brands started, how their ranges developed and what distinguishes their packaging.

ESSE vs Mevius: A Quick Comparison

Feature	ESSE Cigarettes	Mevius Cigarettes
Country of origin	South Korea	Japan
Manufacturer	KT&G	Japan Tobacco (JT Group)
Brand introduced	1996	1977, originally Mild Seven
Main brand identity	Super slim cigarette formats	Standard, slim and other cigarette formats
Product examples	Light Super Slim, Menthol Super Slim, Change Double	Original, One, Premium Menthol Option
Capsule products	ESSE Change series	Mevius Option series
Packaging	Narrow packs, with colours varying by range	Blue-based heritage design, with variations across ranges

The biggest historical difference is that ESSE was developed around the super slim cigarette category, while Mevius grew from a conventional Japanese cigarette brand into a wider product family.

1. Brand History: South Korea vs Japan

ESSE Cigarettes: A South Korean Brand Introduced in 1996

ESSE was introduced in 1996 by KT&G, a South Korean tobacco manufacturer.

From its early years, the brand focused on super slim cigarettes. Its narrow cigarette format became a defining part of the ESSE identity.

The brand later expanded beyond its original tobacco products to include additional blends and filter designs.

A notable development came in 2013, when KT&G introduced ESSE Change, a super slim cigarette with a flavour capsule in its filter.

The Change concept subsequently became part of a broader ESSE product family, including variants with different flavour combinations and dual-capsule designs.

Today, the ESSE name is associated with several cigarette ranges rather than one single product specification.

Mevius Cigarettes: From Mild Seven to Mevius

Mevius has a longer history.

Japan Tobacco originally introduced the brand as Mild Seven in 1977. It became one of Japan’s best-known cigarette brands and expanded into international markets.

In 2012, Japan Tobacco announced that Mild Seven would be renamed Mevius.

The change was introduced in Japan in February 2013, following a packaging redesign that began in November 2012.

The new name created a more consistent international brand identity while maintaining a connection to Mild Seven’s existing product history.

This is why older cigarette packaging and historical references may use the name Mild Seven, while newer products carry the Mevius name.

2. ESSE Cigarette Product Ranges

ESSE has developed several product lines using its recognisable narrow cigarette format.

The four ESSE products listed below represent three different types within the range.

ESSE Light Super Slim Cigarettes

ESSE Light Super Slim Cigarettes are a conventional non-menthol tobacco variant.

The product is identified by its white and blue packaging and super slim cigarette format.

The Light designation is part of the product name. It should not be confused with the physical dimensions of the cigarette.

ESSE Menthol Super Slim Cigarettes

ESSE Menthol Super Slim Cigarettes use a traditional menthol tobacco blend.

Its white and green packaging provides a visual distinction from ESSE Light.

ESSE Change Double Cigarettes

The ESSE Change Double range introduces a different filter construction, using two flavour capsules.

Two examples are:

• ESSE Change Double Applemint Orange — apple mint and orange flavours.
• ESSE Change Double Applemint Wine — apple mint and wine-inspired flavour notes.

Both products are listed as Mild, with 4 mg of tar and 0.3 mg of nicotine per cigarette.

The two variants share the dual-capsule concept but have different flavour combinations and packaging colours.

3. Mevius Cigarette Product Ranges

Mevius has a broad product history, with ranges that vary by market and release year.

Unlike ESSE, the brand is not primarily identified by one narrow cigarette format.

Mevius Original

Mevius Original is part of the brand’s core tobacco range.

It continues the product identity established during the Mild Seven period and is associated with the familiar blue Mevius packaging design.

The Original range includes different pack and cigarette-length formats in Japan.

Mevius One

Mevius One is another established product designation within the brand.

It has appeared in several packaging and length formats, including 100’s versions.

The word One is a variant name and should not be interpreted as a cigarette size.

Mevius Premium Menthol Option

The Mevius Premium Menthol Option range includes menthol cigarettes with capsule-filter variations.

Examples from the Japanese product family include Option Purple and Option Yellow.

These names identify different product variants rather than a single specification shared across the entire Mevius range.

The existence of capsule-filter products is one similarity between Mevius and ESSE. 

4. ESSE vs Mevius: Packaging Differences

Packaging is one of the clearest ways to distinguish the two brands.

ESSE Packaging

ESSE’s packaging is closely linked to its super slim cigarette format.

The packs generally have narrow proportions, although the exact dimensions and presentation depend on the variant.

Among the four products covered here, the main visual identifiers are:

ESSE Product	Packaging Colours	Distinguishing Feature
ESSE Light Super Slim	White and blue	Light range identification
ESSE Menthol Super Slim	White and green	Traditional menthol range
ESSE Change Double Applemint Orange	Blue and orange	Two-capsule flavour design
ESSE Change Double Applemint Wine	Dark purple, red and blue	Two-capsule flavour design

The Change Double packs also display capsule symbols to identify their flavour components.

These visual details make it possible to distinguish products within the ESSE range without relying only on the brand name.

ESSE Packaging

Mevius packaging has a different design history.

Blue has been a central part of the brand’s identity since the Mild Seven period.

When the brand changed its name to Mevius, Japan Tobacco introduced a more unified international packaging design.

The redesigned packs featured the Mevius name, blue colour elements and a flowing graphic motif.

Individual ranges use different colours, variant names and pack layouts.

For example, Original packaging follows the traditional blue-based design, while menthol and capsule products use additional visual identifiers.

Packaging can also differ between countries because of local labelling requirements.

5. Comparing ESSE and Mevius Capsule Cigarettes

Both ESSE and Mevius have produced cigarettes with flavour capsules, but the product families are not identical.

ESSE Change Double uses a two-capsule filter system in a super slim cigarette format.

The Applemint Orange and Applemint Wine products each contain two flavour capsules that can be activated separately.

Mevius has also developed capsule-filter cigarettes through its Premium Menthol Option range.

The main distinction is the individual product design. The number of capsules, flavour combinations and cigarette dimensions depend on the specific variant.

ESSE and Mevius: Two Different Brand Histories

ESSE and Mevius have both developed beyond their original cigarette ranges, but their histories remain distinct.

ESSE began in South Korea in 1996 and became closely associated with super slim cigarettes. Its Light, Menthol and Change Double products show how the brand has developed different variants within that format.

Mevius began as Mild Seven in Japan in 1977 before adopting its current name in 2013. Its product history includes conventional tobacco cigarettes, different length formats, menthol variants and capsule-filter products.

The clearest differences between the two brands are their origins, product range structures and packaging identities.