The Best New Vape Juice Brands Launched in the Last 5 Years | Vape Daily

The e-liquid wall hits different now. Walk into any UK shop or scroll an online store and the bottles you see today bear almost no resemblance to what stocked the shelves two years back. Whole brands you never heard of. Flavour names ripped straight off old disposable wrappers. The disposable ban lit a fire under this market and a brand-new pack of e-liquid makers came charging through the gap. This guide rips through the brands that earned their stripes since the ban dropped, what they taste like, whether they fire nic salts or shortfills, and which adult vaper each one actually punches for. No fluff. No invented specs. Just a straight map of what is worth a hit.

How the disposable ban set the bottle market alight

You cannot get why so many fresh e-liquid brands exist without first looking at what blew up. For years the single-use vape ruled Britain. People did not buy kit plus juice; they grabbed a sealed stick, hit it for a few hundred puffs, then chucked the lot. The flavours sealed inside those plastic shells, the blue raspberries, the watermelon ices, the cola-cherry combos, became the taste of an entire vaping era. Then 1 June 2025 landed. Single-use disposables were banned across the UK overnight. The country's favourite format was gone, and millions of adults who leaned on it needed a new home for their habit.

Where they ran was the refillable pod kit: a small rechargeable device with a pod you load yourself from a bottle. That move ignited massive new demand for bottled juice, and specifically for the kind of liquid that hits like the disposables people missed. The brands sitting ready to feed that demand were the same companies that built the disposables in the first place. They already owned the recipes, the names, the loyalty. Job one was rehousing those flavours in a UK-legal bottle. They did exactly that, and that is why so many of the loudest e-liquid brands today carry names that were born on the side of a disposable.

UK rules shaped every bottle on the shelf. Nicotine e-liquid sold to consumers cannot punch above 20mg/ml. Bottles holding nicotine top out at 10ml. Pods and tanks are capped at 2ml. Those three numbers run the whole MTL pod scene in Britain. Inside that box, two clean formats took over. The first is the nic salt, sold at 10mg or 20mg in those little 10ml bottles, tuned for the low-power pod kits that took the disposable crown. The second is the shortfill: a larger bottle of zero-nicotine liquid with headroom at the top, sold next to a separate nicotine shot you add yourself, aimed at the big-battery sub-ohm gear that pumps real vapour. Almost every brand below plays in one camp or both.

One more shake-up is loaded in the chamber: tax. From 1 October 2026 the UK fires the new Vaping Products Duty at £2.20 per 10ml, flat rate, regardless of strength. A zero-nic shortfill base and a 20mg salt get charged the same per 10ml. The blunt effect is that e-liquid prices are very likely to climb once the duty lands, and brands that throw real value per millilitre, especially bigger shortfills that stretch across way more vaping, are going to look even more lit. The duty has not put the new-brand boom out; if anything, it has pushed brands to deliver flavour and value in the same bottle. A banned dominant format, a flood of fresh pod users, a tight rulebook and an incoming tax have built the most savage e-liquid market the UK has ever seen. For you, that is a result: more choice, more quality, more reason for brands to fight for your taste buds.

What separates a serious brand from filler

Before you dive into the names, get clear on what actually splits a brand worth your money from one worth skipping. Flashy bottles and bloated flavour menus mean nothing after a week. The stuff that counts is quieter, and it shows up over weeks of vaping. Here is the blunt checklist behind every pick that follows.

First and most obvious: flavour accuracy and consistency. A serious brand makes a flavour that tastes the way it is described, and tastes the same in every bottle. Anyone can land one good batch. The brands worth trusting fire the same blue raspberry, the same tobacco, the same menthol every single time. Find a flavour you love, you should be able to buy it on repeat without nasty surprises. Consistency is unsexy and it is exactly what splits a real manufacturer from a chancer.

Second: range with backbone. A strong brand gives you somewhere to go. If a maker's style hits, you want a handful of variations on it, the fruit, the iced version, the sweeter dessert option, not a single flavour and dead air. Depth also tells you a brand is investing in proper flavour work, not just slapping a label on a generic base. The best new brands launch with a properly stacked menu, not three token bottles.

Third: format clarity. A switched-on brand knows exactly who its liquid is for. A nic salt range should be dialled for small MTL pods: smooth, flavour-forward, modest on vapour, comfortable at higher strengths. A shortfill range should be built for big-battery DTL gear: lower or zero nicotine, richer body, made for clouds. The worst brands blur the line and leave you guessing. The best ones make it obvious which bottle goes in which kit, so you do not torch money pouring the wrong juice into the wrong device.

Fourth: UK compliance and transparency, which is not optional. A legit brand sells nic salt in 10ml bottles at no more than 20mg/ml, labels strengths plainly, and only goes through age-verified retailers. Any "brand" pushing oversized nicotine bottles, or strengths above 20mg, is operating outside the rules and is a hard no. Compliance is not a bonus; it is the baseline that proves a maker takes the law and its customers seriously.

Fifth, and the one most people underrate: value over time. The sticker price on one bottle matters less than how far that bottle stretches and how it stacks against prefilled-pod alternatives. A bottle of nic salt that refills a pod several times almost always beats sealed prefilled pods on cost per millilitre. With duty on the way making every millilitre count for more, the brands that respect your wallet, through fair pricing and formats that go the distance, earn a spot. A serious e-liquid brand nails flavour, gives you real choice, stays straight on format, lives inside the rules, and does not take you for a ride on price. Keep that in your head as you scan the list.

The newer vape juice brands worth a hit

This is the meat of the guide. The brands below are the ones that have defined the post-disposable era of UK e-liquid, either by launching in roughly the last five years or by refreshing their ranges hard enough to belong in the new wave. For each one we cover who they are, the flavour style they fire, whether they lean nic salt or shortfill, and the adult vaper they punch for. Flavour is personal, so treat these as smart signposts rather than orders, the only way to find your brand is to try a few.

ELFLIQ (by Elf Bar)

Who they are: ELFLIQ is the bottled nic salt range from Elf Bar, the brand that owned the disposable era harder than any other. When single-use was banned, Elf Bar did the obvious move and rehoused its hit disposable flavours in UK-legal 10ml bottles. ELFLIQ is, in spirit, the inside of the disposable sold separately, and that one fact is its whole pitch.

Signature style: ELFLIQ's flavours mirror the old disposable lineup, which means a wide menu built on sweet, bold, instantly recognisable fruit and ice blends. The hero recipes, the blue raspberry, the watermelon, the various menthols and the cola-leaning options, are the ones people specifically miss from their old kit, and ELFLIQ delivers those, not a generic approximation. The house style is upfront, slightly sweet and very approachable, with none of the complexity-for-its-own-sake some boutique brands chase.

Format: Almost entirely nic salt, in 10ml bottles at 10mg and 20mg, tuned for small MTL pod kits. Not a shortfill brand and not trying to be.

Who it punches for: Former Elf Bar disposable users who jumped to a refillable pod and have been hunting for "that flavour" since. If you can name the exact disposable you miss, ELFLIQ is usually the fastest route back. The sheer size of the range stacks the odds too: because the catalogue mirrors the old disposable lineup, you have dozens of options, so the chance of landing your specific old favourite is unusually high. It is also one of the easiest brands to put in front of a refillable rookie, because the flavours are familiar and forgiving rather than tricky. Our dedicated ELFLIQ review rips through the full range.

Lost Mary e-liquids

Who they are: Lost Mary is the sister brand to Elf Bar, made by the same parent, and it was arguably the second-biggest disposable name in the UK. Like ELFLIQ, the Lost Mary e-liquid range takes the flavours that turned its disposables into a phenomenon and packs them into refillable-friendly bottles. It is one of the cleanest examples of a disposable-era heavyweight crossing into bottled juice without dropping a beat.

Signature style: Lost Mary built its name on a slightly more "styled" flavour identity than its sibling, playful, confident fruit blends, often with a cool or icy edge, plus a few crowd-pleasing sweet and drink-inspired options. The flavours feel rounded and polished rather than sharp, which is part of why the disposables landed so widely. The bottled range carries that same friendly, accessible character.

Format: Mostly nic salt in 10ml bottles at 10mg and 20mg, built for MTL pod kits, mirroring the disposable hit as closely as the format allows.

Who it punches for: Anyone who loved a specific Lost Mary disposable and wants the same taste legally and cheaper in a refillable pod. It is also a strong opening move for newer pod users who want approachable, reliably tasty fruit flavours without having to learn a brand back catalogue. Because Lost Mary and ELFLIQ share a parent, the two ranges together cover a huge slice of the most-missed disposable flavours, so it is worth scanning both if your old kit sat somewhere in that family. The softer, more rounded Lost Mary character versus the bolder ELFLIQ profile is the main thing that pushes people one way or the other.

Riot (Riot Squad / Riot X)

Who they are: Riot, known under the Riot Squad name and the refreshed Riot and Riot X lines, is a UK e-liquid maker that reinvented itself for the post-disposable market. Unlike brands that descend straight from a single disposable, Riot is a flavour house in its own right, and it has gone all in on nic salts that capture the bold, sweet profiles disposable users crave while building its own identity.

Signature style: Riot is built for punchy, vivid fruit blends and confident sweet flavours, often with a glossy, fairground-sweet quality. The brand has a strong sense of presentation and tends to push flavour intensity, which lands hard with vapers who found some e-liquids muted after the in-your-face hit of disposables. The refreshed lines were clearly designed to drop straight into the pod-kit world that took over from single-use.

Format: Riot fires in both camps. Its nic salt lines in 10ml bottles target MTL pod users, while the brand has historically rolled out shortfill options for DTL vapers who want big bottles and big clouds. That dual presence makes it unusually flexible.

Who it punches for: Vapers who want loud, modern, sweet-leaning flavour and a brand with its own personality, not a disposable's hand-me-downs. The split between nic salt and shortfill also means Riot can follow you if you trade up from a small pod to a bigger device. Our full Riot Squad review breaks the range down properly.

Vampire Vape

Who they are: Vampire Vape is a long-established British e-liquid maker, not a disposable-era newcomer, but it earns a place here because it has refreshed and re-positioned its ranges for the modern pod market so effectively. It is one of the UK's heritage names, best known for a single flavour that turned genuinely iconic, and it has used that pedigree to stay relevant as the market reshaped around it.

Signature style: Vampire Vape's identity is anchored by its famous mixed-fruit signature, a sweet, slightly mysterious blend that became one of the most recognisable tastes in British vaping. Around that anchor sits a range of well-made fruits, menthols and dessert-leaning options. The house style is more grown-up and less candy-rush than the brash disposable-derived brands, which is part of its lasting pull for vapers who want flavour with a bit of weight behind it.

Format: Vampire Vape fires nic salts for pod kits and has a presence in shortfills too, giving it reach across both MTL and DTL styles. The nic salt versions of its classic flavours are a natural fit for former disposable users moving to refillables.

Who it punches for: Adult vapers who want a trusted British brand with a genuine heritage flavour and a slightly more adult, less sugar-rush angle. A great pick if you want something recognisable and dependable instead of the newest novelty. The full breakdown is in our Vampire Vape review.

Dinner Lady

Who they are: Dinner Lady is another established UK name that stayed a force through the market's blow-up. It made its name with dessert and bakery-inspired flavours that genuinely tasted like the puddings they were named after, and it built that reputation into one of the most internationally recognised British e-liquid brands. It is the brand most tied to doing sweet, dessert-style juice properly.

Signature style: Dinner Lady is the dessert specialist. Its signature flavours hit like proper afters, lemony tart, custard-and-pastry blends, rich sweet profiles, alongside a solid line of fruits and menthols. Where many new brands chase candy-bright fruit, Dinner Lady's strength sits in the comforting, rounded, almost edible flavours that reward slower vaping. It is the brand to grab when you want something that hits like a treat rather than a sweet shop.

Format: Dinner Lady plays across nic salts for pod kits and shortfills for bigger devices, so its dessert and fruit profiles are open to you whether you vape MTL or DTL.

Who it punches for: Vapers with a sweet tooth who want dessert and bakery flavours done with real care, and anyone who finds pure fruit blends a bit one-note. Also a strong all-day-vape brand for people who like a comforting, less aggressive flavour. Check our Dinner Lady review for the full menu.

IVG (I Vape Great)

Who they are: IVG is a British brand that grew from a flavour-focused e-liquid maker into a major player across both bottled juice and the wider vaping market. It rode the disposable wave with widely recognised devices and has dragged that flavour identity firmly into the bottled nic salt and shortfill world, which makes it a natural fit for the post-ban market.

Signature style: IVG is known for bold, well-defined sweet and fruit flavours with a polished, confident finish. The brand has a knack for sweets-and-desserts-inspired profiles, think confectionery-style blends, alongside strong fruit and menthol options. The flavours hit vivid and crowd-pleasing without tipping into harshness, which is why the brand translated so cleanly from disposables to refillable formats.

Format: IVG covers nic salts in 10ml bottles for pod kits and shortfills for DTL setups, so its flavour identity is on tap across device types.

Who it punches for: Vapers who want modern, sweet-leaning flavour with a recognisable brand behind it, and who like a maker that does confectionery and dessert profiles particularly well. A strong move if you liked IVG's disposables and want the same flavour direction in a refillable.

Bar Juice 5000

Who they are: Bar Juice 5000 is one of the clearest examples of a brand built dead-on for the post-disposable moment. Its whole premise is in the name: bottled nic salt liquid designed to replicate the flavour and feel of the popular disposable bars, made for the people moving off single-use and onto refillable pods. It launched into the gap the ban opened and aimed straight at it.

Signature style: Bar Juice 5000 fires the sweet, icy, instantly familiar fruit profiles that defined the disposable era. The flavour identity is deliberately "bar-like", cool, sweet, fruit-forward blends that mirror the most popular disposable tastes. It is unpretentious and purpose-built, with the whole range pointed at recreating a known hit rather than inventing new ones.

Format: Squarely a nic salt brand, in 10ml bottles at 10mg and 20mg, built for MTL pod kits. It does not try to be a shortfill brand and is sharper for it.

Who it punches for: Former disposable users who want a no-fuss, wallet-friendly bottle that hits like the bars they used to buy, without having to learn a heritage brand's back catalogue. One of the most direct "disposable flavour in a bottle" options on the market.

Doozy Vape Co

Who they are: Doozy Vape Co is a British e-liquid maker that has built a solid rep over the years and kept itself relevant by keeping its ranges fresh for modern devices. It sits in the middle ground between heritage and new wave, established enough to trust, current enough to matter in the pod era.

Signature style: Doozy is known for clean, well-balanced fruit and menthol blends and a tidy, dependable house character. The brand tends to favour refreshing flavours over outright candy sweetness, which lands with vapers who want something tasty but not cloying. Its menthol and fruit-menthol options in particular have a loyal following.

Format: Doozy fires both nic salts for pod kits and shortfills for larger devices, covering MTL and DTL preferences.

Who it punches for: Vapers who want reliable, refreshing flavour with a slightly cleaner edge, and who appreciate a brand that does cool and menthol profiles well. A solid pick for an all-day vape that does not blast your palate.

Wick Liquor

Who they are: Wick Liquor is a British brand that earned a strong rep among more flavour-obsessed vapers for its complex, layered shortfills. It is less a disposable-replacement brand and more a flavour-craft brand, and it speaks for the side of the market that caters to enthusiasts who want depth and originality rather than a familiar bar taste.

Signature style: Wick Liquor is known for rich, multi-layered blends that combine fruits, creams and other notes into something more composed than a single-flavour hit. The house character is indulgent and intricate, designed to reveal different elements as you vape. This is flavour as a small experience rather than a quick sweet kick, which is exactly why it built a dedicated following.

Format: Mostly a shortfill brand, built for DTL sub-ohm devices where its complex blends have room to breathe and produce vapour. Less about small pods, more about big-battery kits.

Who it punches for: Experienced DTL vapers who want complex, characterful flavour and like a juice that rewards attention. Not the obvious first stop for a former disposable user, but a brilliant destination once you have moved to a bigger device and want to explore. Browse the wider compliant range on the e-liquids page.

Pukka Juice

Who they are: Pukka Juice is a British brand that carved out a niche with crowd-pleasing fruit and ice flavours, and it has stayed relevant by serving its blends in the nic salt format the pod-kit market demands. One of the dependable mid-tier names adult vapers grab on repeat.

Signature style: Pukka Juice specialises in sweet fruit blends with a frequent cooling or icy finish, the kind of refreshing, fruit-and-menthol profiles that travelled directly from the disposable era into bottled form. The flavours are accessible and easy to like, with a clean cool edge that makes them comfortable all-day options.

Format: Strong in nic salts for pod kits, with shortfill availability for some lines, so it covers MTL primarily and reaches into DTL.

Who it punches for: Vapers who love fruit-and-ice combinations and want a reliable, affordable brand that nails that refreshing profile. A safe, satisfying choice for anyone whose favourite disposable was a cool fruit flavour.

Nic salt vs shortfill: which format hits you

Running through every brand above is the same fork in the road: nic salt or shortfill. Picking the right format matters more than picking the right brand, because the wrong format in the wrong device is rough no matter how good the flavour is. Here is how to call which side you sit on.

Nic salt is the format that took the disposable's crown. It uses a smoother form of nicotine that does not scratch the throat at higher strengths, which is why it works at 10mg and 20mg without feeling harsh. Sold in those small 10ml bottles, designed for mouth-to-lung vaping in small, low-power pod kits, the cigarette-style draw where you pull vapour into your mouth first, then inhale. Nic salt is tight, flavour-forward and modest on vapour. If you jumped from disposables to a pod, nic salt is almost certainly your format, and it is the one nearly every disposable-derived brand in this guide is built around. The smoothness at higher strength is what makes it satisfying for someone used to the steady hit of a single-use device.

Shortfill is the format for the big-battery end of vaping. A shortfill is a larger bottle, bigger than the 10ml nicotine limit, filled with zero-nicotine liquid, with empty headroom left at the top. Because it carries no nicotine, it can legally be sold in those larger sizes. You then add a separate nic shot to bring it up to a low strength, typically around 3mg or 6mg once mixed. Shortfills are built for direct-to-lung sub-ohm kits that pump big clouds and run at higher power. They suit vapers who want lower nicotine, bigger vapour and richer, often more complex flavour. The trade-off is bigger device, plus a little mixing.

The simplest call is look at your device and your nicotine needs. Small pod kit, higher nicotine, cigarette-style draw, want your old disposable flavour? Nic salt. Bigger sub-ohm kit, lower nicotine, big clouds, want to explore complex flavours? Shortfill. Many of the brands above, Riot, Vampire Vape, Dinner Lady, IVG, Doozy, fire in both, so you can often stay with a brand you like even if you swap device. One last note on the incoming duty: it gets charged per 10ml regardless of strength, so a big shortfill and a small nic salt bottle are taxed the same per-10ml rate. That actually strengthens the value case for shortfills for the vapers they suit, because the per-millilitre cost of flavour can stretch further across a bigger bottle.

How to lock in a brand for your kit and taste

With the formats clear, the next move is how to actually pick a brand from the pack. The honest answer is it is a narrowing process, not a single perfect call. Here is a practical play that does not waste money on bottles you will never finish.

Start with your device, not the flavour. Your kit decides your format, and your format decides which brands are even in play. A small pod kit means you are shopping nic salts, which points you straight at the disposable-derived brands and the nic-salt-heavy makers. A bigger sub-ohm kit means shortfills, which points you at the flavour-craft brands and the shortfill ranges of the bigger names. Trying to force a shortfill into a tiny pod, or a high-strength nic salt into a cloud machine, is the single most common mistake, and it ruins the experience before flavour even shows up.

Then anchor on a flavour family you already know hits you. Almost everyone has a lean: sweet fruit, fruit-and-ice, menthol, dessert, or tobacco. If you came from disposables, think about the device you grabbed most and what it tasted of, that is your starting family. Match the family to the brand's known strength: disposable-style sweet fruit and ice points at ELFLIQ, Lost Mary, Bar Juice 5000 and Pukka Juice; dessert and bakery points at Dinner Lady; bold modern sweets points at Riot and IVG; cleaner fruit and menthol points at Doozy and Vampire Vape; complex layered blends point at Wick Liquor. Starting from a family you already enjoy massively lifts your hit rate.

Lock your nicotine strength in early. This is its own call and it matters for comfort. Too high and a flavour feels harsh; too low and you keep chasing satisfaction and over-vaping. As a rough guide, heavier former smokers and former high-strength disposable users often start around 20mg nic salt, lighter users around 10mg, and DTL shortfill vapers much lower at around 3mg to 6mg once mixed. Strength is personal, so use our nicotine strength guide to dial it in instead of guessing.

Buy small and test before you commit. The beauty of the 10ml bottle is that it is a cheap experiment. Rather than buying five bottles of one brand, buy single bottles across two or three brands in your chosen family and strength, and live with each for a few days. Flavours shift as your palate adjusts and as a coil beds in, so a fair test is a few days, not a few puffs. Once a brand and flavour earn a permanent slot, then you stock up. This costs a touch upfront but saves you from a cupboard of bottles you do not enjoy, and it is how almost every long-term vaper found the brand they now buy on repeat.

Tips for trying new juice

Finding a new brand is more fun and more economical if you go about it the right way. These are the habits that separate vapers who confidently explore from people who keep buying bottles they abandon half-finished.

• Swap your coil or pod before you judge a new flavour. An old, gunked-up coil carries the ghost of the last juice and mutes everything. A fresh coil or pod gives the new flavour a clean stage, and it is the fairest way to call whether you actually like it.
• Let new liquid soak in before you fire it. When you fill a fresh pod, give it a minute or two for the coil to drink the liquid. Hitting a dry coil produces a horrible burnt taste that has nothing to do with the brand and everything to do with rushing. Patience here protects both the flavour and the coil.
• Give a flavour a few days, not a few puffs. First impressions can mislead. A flavour that seems too sweet or too subtle on the first pull often settles into something you love, or quietly tells you it is not for you, over a couple of days of real use. Judge a juice on a fair run.
• Keep a simple palate-cleanser between trials. If you are sampling several brands, hitting them back to back blurs them together. A glass of water and a short gap between flavours keeps your palate honest so you can actually tell the brands apart.
• Track what you try. A quick note on your phone, brand, flavour, strength, what you thought, is worth its weight in money. It stops you re-buying something you already decided against and helps you spot which flavour family genuinely suits you.
• Match strength to format, not habit. If you move from a pod to a bigger DTL kit, do not drag your 20mg nic salt across, it will be far too harsh. Drop to a shortfill at low strength instead. Format and strength move together.
• Store bottles sensibly. Keep e-liquid out of direct sunlight and heat, sealed and upright. Flavours hold up far better when stored cool and dark, and they should always be kept well away from children and pets, as nicotine is an addictive and toxic substance.
• Buy from age-verified, compliant retailers. Stick to sellers that age-gate at checkout and stock UK-compliant 10ml bottles at no more than 20mg. It guarantees you are getting legitimate product made to the rules, which is the baseline for doing this responsibly.

Our top picks

If you want the short version, here is how the field shakes out for different adult vapers. For the vaper who jumped from a disposable and just wants that exact flavour back in a refillable pod, ELFLIQ and Lost Mary are the most direct route, with Bar Juice 5000 a strong purpose-built alternative. For loud, modern, sweet-leaning flavour with a brand personality of its own, Riot and IVG lead the pack, and both reach across nic salt and shortfill so they can follow you up to a bigger device.

For dessert and bakery lovers, Dinner Lady stays the brand that does sweet, comforting flavours with genuine craft. For a trusted British heritage name with a genuinely iconic signature flavour and a more grown-up house style, Vampire Vape is the pick. For refreshing, cleaner fruit and menthol that works as an all-day vape, Doozy Vape Co and Pukka Juice are dependable. And for experienced DTL vapers who want complex, layered shortfills to explore, Wick Liquor is the destination once you have the device to do it justice. There is no single "best" brand, only the best brand for your device, your strength and your taste, but starting from this list will get you to a juice you genuinely enjoy way faster than wandering shelves blind.

Frequently asked questions

What are the best new vape juice brands in the UK right now?

The standout newer and refreshed brands include ELFLIQ and Lost Mary e-liquids (both descended from hugely popular disposables), Riot in its Riot Squad and Riot X lines, plus established names that re-tooled hard for the pod era such as Vampire Vape, Dinner Lady, IVG and Doozy Vape Co, alongside purpose-built newcomers like Bar Juice 5000. The "best" for you depends on your device, your nicotine strength and your preferred flavour family, so the smart move is to try a couple of single 10ml bottles before committing.

Why did so many new e-liquid brands appear after the disposable ban?

When single-use disposables were banned across the UK on 1 June 2025, millions of adults moved to refillable pod kits, which fired up huge new demand for bottled e-liquid, especially liquid that hits like the disposables people missed. The companies that had made those disposables already owned the recipes and the customer loyalty, so they rehoused their flavours in UK-legal 10ml bottles. That is why so many of today's loudest brands started life on the side of a disposable.

What is the difference between a nic salt and a shortfill?

A nic salt is a smoother form of nicotine sold in 10ml bottles at up to 20mg, designed for small mouth-to-lung pod kits and the cigarette-style draw, it is the format that took over from disposables. A shortfill is a larger bottle of zero-nicotine liquid with headroom for you to add a separate nic shot, designed for bigger direct-to-lung sub-ohm kits, lower nicotine and bigger clouds. Your device and your desired nicotine level decide which one you need.

Are these new brands legal and safe to buy in the UK?

Legitimate brands sold through age-verified UK retailers are fully compliant: nic salts come in 10ml bottles at no more than 20mg/ml, and they are sold only to over-18s. Avoid any seller pushing oversized bottles of nicotine liquid or strengths above 20mg, as those are outside the rules. Buying compliant product from a proper retailer is the baseline. As with all nicotine products, the underlying fact remains that nicotine is addictive, and this article is general information rather than health or medical advice.

Which new brand tastes most like my old disposable?

If you can name the exact disposable you miss, the fastest route back is usually the bottled range from the same maker, ELFLIQ for old Elf Bar flavours, Lost Mary e-liquids for Lost Mary flavours. Purpose-built brands like Bar Juice 5000 also aim straight at recreating popular bar tastes. Because these use the same or very similar recipes, they tend to land far closer to the original than a generic third-party fruit blend.

How much nicotine strength should I choose in a new brand?

Strength is personal, but as a rough guide: heavier former smokers and former high-strength disposable users often start around 20mg nic salt, lighter users around 10mg, and direct-to-lung shortfill vapers much lower at around 3mg to 6mg once mixed. Too high feels harsh; too low leads to over-vaping. Our nicotine strength guide walks through how to dial it in for your habits and device.

Do the bigger heritage brands still count as "new"?

Brands like Vampire Vape, Dinner Lady and IVG are not new companies, but they belong on any modern shortlist because they have refreshed and re-positioned their ranges hard for the post-disposable pod market. They throw the reliability and flavour craft of an established maker with formats, particularly nic salts, built for today's devices, which is the best of both worlds.

Will the new 2026 vaping tax make these brands more expensive?

From 1 October 2026 the UK introduces a Vaping Products Duty of £2.20 per 10ml of e-liquid, charged at a flat rate regardless of nicotine strength. This is very likely to push e-liquid prices up, since the duty gets added into the cost chain. It also sharpens the value case for formats that stretch further per millilitre, such as larger shortfills for the vapers they suit, and for buying bottled refills rather than pricier prefilled pods.

Can I use the same brand if I change from a pod to a bigger device?

Often, yes. Several of the brands here, Riot, Vampire Vape, Dinner Lady, IVG and Doozy, make both nic salts and shortfills, so you can keep a flavour identity you like while switching format. The key is to switch the format and the strength together: drop from a high-strength nic salt to a low-strength shortfill when you move up to a direct-to-lung kit, rather than dragging the same bottle across.

How do I find my favourite brand without wasting money?

Buy small and test. Pick two or three brands within the flavour family you already enjoy, grab single 10ml bottles at your chosen strength, fit a fresh coil or pod, and live with each for a few days before judging. Keep a quick note of what you try so you do not re-buy something you decided against. Once a brand earns a permanent slot, then stock up. This costs a touch upfront and saves you a cupboard of half-finished bottles. You can browse the full compliant range on the e-liquids page and the wider store.

Ready to find your next big-flavour hit? Stop guessing on the shelf. Pick one new brand from this list, grab a single 10ml at your strength, drop in a fresh coil and let it land. That is how you find the bottle you buy on repeat. The Vape Daily store stocks the full compliant lineup, age-verified at checkout, plain-packaged and ready to ship. Strictly 18+. Nicotine is an addictive substance.

Vape Daily sells to over-18s only. Nicotine is an addictive substance. This article is general information, not health or medical advice. Prices are approximate and vary by retailer.

Frequently asked questions

What are the best new vape juice brands in the UK in 2026?

The standout newer and refreshed brands are ELFLIQ and Lost Mary (both born from hit disposables), Riot (in its Riot Squad and Riot X lines) and purpose-built Bar Juice 5000, alongside heritage names that re-tooled hard for the pod era: Vampire Vape, Dinner Lady, IVG, Doozy Vape Co, Pukka Juice and Wick Liquor. The best pick for you depends on your device, your nicotine strength and your flavour family. Grab single 10ml bottles to test before stocking up.

Why did so many new e-liquid brands launch after the UK disposable ban?

The disposable ban landed on 1 June 2025 and millions of UK adults moved to refillable pod kits overnight, firing massive demand for bottled liquid that tasted like the disposables they missed. The companies that built those disposables already owned the recipes and the loyalty, so they rehoused those flavours into UK-legal 10ml bottles. That is why so many loud new brands started life on the side of a disposable wrapper.

What is the difference between a nic salt and a shortfill?

A nic salt is a smoother form of nicotine sold in 10ml bottles at up to 20mg/ml, built for small mouth-to-lung pod kits and the cigarette-style draw, and it is the format that took over from disposables. A shortfill is a larger bottle of zero-nicotine liquid with headroom for a separate nic shot, designed for bigger direct-to-lung sub-ohm kits at lower strengths around 3mg to 6mg once mixed. Your device and your nicotine needs decide which one fits.

Which new vape juice brand tastes most like my old disposable?

If you can name the exact disposable you miss, the fastest route back is usually the bottled range from the same maker: ELFLIQ for old Elf Bar flavours and Lost Mary e-liquids for Lost Mary flavours. Bar Juice 5000 is a strong purpose-built alternative aimed dead-on at recreating popular bar tastes. Because these use the same or very similar recipes, they land far closer to the original than a generic third-party fruit blend.

Are new UK vape juice brands legal and safe to buy?

Legitimate brands sold through age-verified UK retailers are fully compliant: nic salts come in 10ml bottles at no more than 20mg/ml and are sold only to over-18s. Avoid any seller pushing oversized nicotine bottles or strengths above 20mg, as those are operating outside the rules. Buying compliant product from a proper age-gated retailer is the baseline. Nicotine is an addictive substance and this is general information, not health or medical advice.

What nicotine strength should I pick when trying a new brand?

Strength is personal, but as a rough guide: heavier former smokers and former high-strength disposable users often start around 20mg nic salt, lighter users around 10mg, and direct-to-lung shortfill vapers much lower at around 3mg to 6mg once mixed. Too high feels harsh on the throat; too low pushes you to over-vape chasing satisfaction. Dial it in deliberately rather than guessing.

Will the new 2026 UK vaping tax push e-liquid prices up?

From 1 October 2026 the UK introduces a Vaping Products Duty of £2.20 per 10ml, charged at a flat rate regardless of nicotine strength. That is very likely to lift e-liquid prices once it lands. It also sharpens the value case for formats that stretch further per millilitre, such as larger shortfills for the vapers they suit, and for bottled refills over pricier prefilled pods.

Can I stick with the same brand if I move from a pod to a bigger device?

Often, yes. Several brands here, Riot, Vampire Vape, Dinner Lady, IVG and Doozy, fire in both nic salts and shortfills, so you can keep a flavour identity you like across kits. The key move is to switch format and strength together: drop from a high-strength nic salt down to a low-strength shortfill when you step up to a direct-to-lung sub-ohm device, rather than dragging the same bottle across.