Advanced Inhalation Rituals (AIR) is a leader in social inhalation and the world’s largest flavored hookah producer by volume, owning the iconic Al Fakher brand. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Advanced Inhalation Rituals CEO Stuart Brazier to learn more.
Stuart Brazier’s Background
You have a background in the tobacco industry, but also as an accountant – could you tell me more about how you arrived at AIR? Brazier said:
“Before I joined Advanced Inhalation Rituals (AIR) in 2019, I held a variety of senior roles at British American Tobacco for more than two decades. There I started out in Finance and held a variety of Finance and General Management positions.”
“I finished my stint at BAT as CFO for the company’s Europe and North Africa division, which had about £6 billion in net turnover and delivered profits of £2.3 billion. Following BAT, leveraging my experience in both the tobacco industry and finance, I set out to lead the social inhalation movement by joining AIR. I saw a tremendous opportunity for shisha products, or hookah, as I saw the category gaining momentum worldwide as consumers increasingly seek alternative, cleaner social consumption alternatives to traditional Western tobacco products.”
Biggest Opportunities
How would you define AIR, and where do you see the biggest opportunities? Brazier shared:
“Founded in 1999, AIR has established itself as a global innovative leader in social inhalation, with a multinational presence in more than 90 markets worldwide as of year-end 2025. We are focused on revolutionizing social inhalation by combining our heritage of superior flavors with breakthrough technology to meet evolving consumer demand across all regions. Hookah consumption has become a global lifestyle trend for both businesses and for consumers at their homes because at its core, it brings people together in the real, as opposed to the virtual, world. We see many opportunities in front of AIR and the hookah market more broadly, and we believe there aresignificant opportunities especially in the United States as hookah gains momentum as a social and lifestyle phenomenon.”
Core Products
What are the company’s core products and features? Brazier explained:
“AIR’s platform includes Al Fakher, the category’s most iconic brand; Hookah.com, one of the leading B2B online hookah e-commerce sites in the United States and OOKA, our innovative charcoal-free shisha device in addition to other complementary offerings.”
“Our OOKA product line is an innovative pod-based, charcoal-free electronic hookah device that removes some of the major barriers to traditional hookah, developed through extensive internal research and testing. OOKA doesn’t require burning charcoal to heat the product.”
“Our premier brand, Al Fakher, is recognized as one of the largest and most renowned shisha brands globally, particularly in the Middle East and the United States. It is celebrated for its quality and consistency, with three of its proprietary flavours consistently rank in the top five shisha flavours globally as of December 31, 2025 based on our own internal estimates. This is AIR’s flagship brand, and we just launched a collaboration with cultural icon Snoop Dogg on a premium collection of exclusive Al Fakher flavors.”
Evolution Of The Company’s Technology
How has the company’s technology evolved since launching? Brazier noted:
“Since I took the helm, AIR has been focused on fortifying our IP moat and continuing to innovate, to protect our position as a leader in this growing market. Since 2019, we have invested more than $115 million in new product innovations, including Vant and OOKA, and now have, as of December 31, 2025, 175 granted and pending patents worldwide across 26 patent families. We continue to expand our premier brand, Al Fakher, into adjacent, sizeable growth categories including nicotine pouches as we continue to enhance our offerings.”
Total Addressable Market
What total addressable market (TAM) size is the company pursuing? Brazier assessed:
“We are targeting an ever-growing TAM as social inhalation continues to gain momentum as a global lifestyle trend and also as demand for vape products and other cleaner alternatives continue to replace combustible tobacco products. The estimated consumer market in flavored hookah molasses was $15-19 billion in 2025 according to industry estimates, and we believe we are positioned to capitalize on broad demographic appeal globally along with significant growth in western markets. AIR is experiencing strong momentum in the United States market, where we estimate we have more than 60% of the market share according to an industry assessment.”
Differentiation From The Competition
What differentiates the company from its competition? Brazier affirmed:
“Our scale in this growing industry gives us a considerable advantage as we have established an industry-leading portfolio of traditional hookah brands and patented, innovative technology and devices, supported by our own internal and published scientific research and complemented by our strong global footprint and digital capabilites. Al Fakher is the world’s largest hookah brand by sales volume as of December 31, 2025 based on our internal estimates and has become a household name.”
“In addition to our size, we have a robust go-to-market strategy supported by a sophisticated omni-channel model, including B2B partnerships, a coverage of retail and HORECA venues, and an advanced e-commerce engine targeting both D2C and B2B.”
Future Company Goals
What are some of the company’s future goals? Brazier concluded:
“In November 2025, we announced plans to become a public company through a business combination with Cantor Equity Partners III at a pre-evaluation enterprise value of AIR Global of $1.749 billion. Through this transaction, we expect to list on the Nasdaq under the ticker “AIIR” in the first half of 2026, subject to customary closing conditions and approvals. We want to continue to capitalize on social inhalation’s increasing presence as a popular lifestyle phenomenon, and we believe a Nasdaq listing will raise our profile and provide financing flexibility to support our innovation and global expansion goals.”
