REPLENSIS was originally conceived in 2005, the brainchild of award-winning design consultancy SKG Landscape Design. At the time the company were working on a number of projects in the hospitality arena, preparing bars and restaurants with contemporary outdoor areas for the new world of the smoking ban. Very soon they discovered there was a paucity of quality, design-led, ashtray solutions in the market, and so set about the task of creating an innovative piece of urban furniture suitable for use outside the finest of buildings.

The design brief was to create a cigarette-waste product that could outperform all others on style, discretion, cleanliness and ease of use. Based on classic designs from their already successful Luxury Planter Collection, REPLENSIS planters were unveiled in 2006. Their subsequent installation at some of the world’s best known hotels and restaurants serve to confirm the success in fulfilling the brief. The planters are now used at bars, offices, airports, casinos, art galleries, sports stadia, shopping centres and golf clubs across Europe.

Boasting a client list including Claridges, Nobu, Four Seasons and Louis Vuitton, demand for the product grew quickly. In 2007 British American Tobacco created “the ultimate smoking area” at their Southampton base, specifying a collection of their favourite outdoor products including, naturally, REPLENSIS. The planters were shortlisted for numerous awards, and gained extensive media coverage in design & hospitality publications across Europe and beyond. By 2008 market coverage had reached 25 territories in Europe, and plans were in place for launches in the USA and Middle East. But like so many other companies, REPLENSIS’ wings were clipped by the downturn in the world economy, fuelled by the closures of key clients and distributors.

Hatches were battened, and, after three years of consolidation, fresh plans have been formulated for expansion into new markets. Launches are planned for North and South America in late 2011, with further territories to be added in 2012.

In 2011 REPLENSIS added a new product to their collection – the Flashtray - a luxurious wall-mounted ashtray, designed to be seen rather than hidden.

New products designed to further enhance smoking areas are currently in development.