Smokenders

What Smokenders does

Smokenders operates a single, unified smoking cessation program delivered as a 6-week behavioral modification course. The product consists of weekly 2-hour group sessions (in-person across multiple South African locations or via Zoom) capped at 12 participants per cohort, supported by comprehensive course notes, facilitator-led discussions, and ongoing telephonic support during and after the course. The methodology — developed by former smokers — explicitly targets psychological triggers, stress management, habit restructuring, and neural pathway conditioning rather than nicotine replacement, and the company claims a 90% success rate among program completers.

The underlying technology stack is modest and commodity-based: Zoom for online course delivery, Cognito Forms for course booking, Google Analytics and reCAPTCHA for site analytics and spam control, and cookie-based tracking. There is no proprietary software platform, mobile app, or AI component. Demand generation runs through the company website, a Facebook page, a YouTube channel, and a prominent testimonials page.

The business model is a one-time course fee of R3,500 per participant, with a structured discount ladder: 25% off for contracted medical aid scheme members, R500 off for students, pensioners, pregnant women, and couples, and R500 off via a bring-a-friend referral. A money-back guarantee backs the program — free re-entry on first failure, full refund on second. Customer segments are primarily individual smokers, supplemented by a small corporate wellness channel (e.g., Babylonstoren) and medical aid referrals. The company is privately held, bootstrapped/founder-owned, headquartered in Cape Town with operations across South Africa, and operates with 1-10 employees using a distributed facilitator model.

Name

Smokenders

Legal name

Smokenders South Africa

Website

https://smokenders.co.za

Company type

Private

Founded year

1969

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Smokenders is a South African private company that delivers a 6-week, facilitator-led group behavioral modification course to help individuals quit smoking, charging R3,500 per participant via in-person and Zoom cohorts.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Cape Town

HQ country

South Africa

HQ region

Africa

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Course Fees: One-time fee per participant for the 6-week program including all course materials, facilitator support, and telephonic support during and after the course.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Smokenders delivers a six-week behavioral modification course designed to help smokers quit tobacco permanently. Participants attend one two-hour facilitated group session per week (in-person or via Zoom), receive comprehensive course materials, and access telephonic support during and after the program. The course addresses nicotine addiction, psychological triggers, stress management, habit restructuring, and social pressures rather than relying on nicotine replacement therapy, hypnosis, or motivational tapes.

Product overview

Smokenders is a single, unified smoking cessation program—a behavioral modification course that combines in-person and online group sessions with comprehensive course materials and telephonic support. The program is delivered as one integrated offering: participants attend six weekly 2-hour meetings, receive detailed course notes, and access facilitator support before, during, and after the course. No separate modules, tiers, or add-ons exist; the R3,500 program fee covers all components. The course is also offered via Zoom for remote participants.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Smokenders Smoking Cessation Program A six-week behavioral modification course designed to help smokers quit tobacco permanently. Participants attend one two-hour facilitated group session per week (in-person or online via Zoom), receive comprehensive course materials, and access ongoing telephonic support during and after the course. The program addresses nicotine addiction, psychological triggers, stress, social pressures, and neural pathways rather than relying on nicotine replacement therapy, hypnosis, or motivational tapes.

Quantifiable outcome

• 90% of participants who complete the program stop smoking and remain non-smokers
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature1 record

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Allen Carr's Easyway: Allen Carr's Easyway is the most direct global peer: a behavioral, non-NRT smoking cessation method delivered via group sessions, live seminars, and online programs. It competes for the same customer segment — smokers seeking a permanent solution without nicotine substitutes — and overlaps with Smokenders in methodology philosophy and group-format delivery.
• Freedom From Smoking (American Lung Association): The American Lung Association's Freedom From Smoking program is a long-running, evidence-based group cessation curriculum delivered in clinics, workplaces, and online. It is directly comparable to Smokenders' 6-week behavioral group format and is the closest analog in the US nonprofit smoking-cessation space.
• Nicotine Anonymous: Nicotine Anonymous is a 12-step fellowship offering free, peer-led group support meetings for nicotine cessation, mirroring Smokenders' small-group, facilitator-led format. Although nonprofit and free, it competes for the same customer type — smokers seeking group-based, non-pharmaceutical quitting support.

Broad incumbents

• Nicorette (Johnson & Johnson): Nicorette, owned by Johnson & Johnson, is the dominant over-the-counter nicotine replacement therapy brand globally. It competes with Smokenders for the same quitting-smoker customer via patches, gum, and lozenges rather than behavioral group courses, and is the most-recognized alternative in the category.
• Chantix / varenicline (Pfizer): Pfizer's Chantix (varenicline) is the leading prescription smoking cessation medication globally. It is the clinical standard-of-care alternative to behavioral cessation programs like Smokenders and competes for the same medically motivated quitters via physicians rather than group facilitators.

Emerging players

• Pivot (formerly Carrot Inc.): Pivot is a digital tobacco and nicotine cessation platform combining app-based coaching, breath sensor technology, and employer/health-plan distribution. It targets the same employer and insurer buyers as Smokenders' corporate channel but delivers outcomes asynchronously at scale.
• Pelago: Pelago (formerly Quit Genius) is a digital substance-use and tobacco cessation platform sold to employers and health plans. It competes for the same corporate-wellness and insurer-funded demand that Smokenders addresses via corporate courses and medical-aid discounts, but via an asynchronous, app-based model rather than live facilitation.
• Quit Genius (Tobacco & Vaping Program): Quit Genius delivers a digital CBT-based smoking cessation program through employers, health plans, and pharmacy benefit managers. It overlaps with Smokenders' corporate wellness and medical-aid channels but competes via an app-first, asynchronous model at materially lower per-participant cost.
• EX Program (Truth Initiative): The EX Program is the Truth Initiative's digital tobacco cessation program combining live coaching, text-message support, and online communities. It addresses the same smoking-cessation customer need as Smokenders but via a digital, employer/insurer-distributed model rather than in-person group cohorts.

Others

• NHS Smokefree (UK National Health Service): The NHS Smokefree program offers free, government-funded cessation support including digital tools, telephone coaching, and local group sessions across the UK. It is comparable in service model (group-based behavioral support) to Smokenders and represents a public-sector alternative for the same quitting-smoker customer segment.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses1 record

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@smokenderssouthafrica3236
• Facebookfacebook.com/smokenderssa
• Xx.com/smokenders_sa
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/smokenders-sa

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Smokenders