June 2008It's not just about the sticks
…Presentation and accessories are also an important part of the modern cigar offer. David Davies talks to three prominent suppliers who recognise the contribution that well chosen ‘add-ons’ can make to a brand’s impact
Henri Wintermans
Make no mistake – 2007 was a very important year for Henri Wintermans. Product-wise, the relaunch and expansion of core brand Café Crème was received with widespread acclaim. Meanwhile, on a corporate level, the acquisition of CAO International by Henri Wintermans’ parent company, ST Group, turned out to be one of the major headlinemaking stories in the tobacco category last year. It was a move that not only brought a new premium element to the Henri Wintermans portfolio – it also enhanced the supplier’s range of accessories and, specifically, its line of presentation boxes.
At the time of writing in late May, Henri Wintermans offered two special presentation boxes within travel-retail – the CAO Sopranos Box and the Vision travel humidor – both of which are based around CAO products. “The Sopranos Edition was designed for the famous HBO TV Series and features a Brazilian Mata Fina wrapper, Honduran binder and a combination of filler leaves from Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic and Colombia,” says Karin Linders, head of brands at Henri Wintermans. “The Vision is the first Dominican-made cigar of the CAO portfolio. CAO Vision features a four-year-old Dominican Corojo wrapper and tobaccos from the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and Brazil. It is packaged in a state-of-the-art cigar box that doubles as a travel humidor."
The value of special packaging and other such initiatives is beyond doubt, implies Linders: “By having improved packaging and better presentation, the brand is enhanced and as a result so are its values. An
example of this is the aforementioned CAO Vision which doubles as a travel humidor.”
Noting that European, and in particular UK, airports are performing strongly for Henri Wintermans at present, Linders hints that more presentation boxes and other accessories could be on the way. “Cigar accessories are important to Henri Wintermans’ strategy, along with flagship brands such as
the CAO range. Currently, Henri Wintermans is reviewing the range of packaging and special offers, and there may well be movement in the latter half of the year.”
Villiger
“We are a manufacturer of cigars. That is our core business and it is what we are known for around the world.”
This concise summary from director of export sales Chris Pfister goes a long way to explaining why Switzerland-based cigar company Villiger has generally eschewed accessories like cutters and ashtrays,
preferring instead to offer these as point-of-sale materials or presents. However, there are two important areas extra to the actualproduction and marketing of the sticks that Villiger has devoted considerable energy to – namely presentation boxes and standalone humidors.
“We produce special boxes for cigars on a regular basis,” confirms Pfister, “most typically handmade wooden boxes containing 25 cigars from our Premium line. We change the design regularly and bring in new boxes for special occasions, including Christmas, Ramadan and Chinese New Year.”
The emphasis in each case is on creating beautiful objects that will have useful lives – for example, the storage of jewellery – after the actual cigars have been smoked. “The box has to give the product an added value,” says Pfister. “Our position in the market is that of a high quality brand, so these boxes have to have a certain standard and quality to express the value of the brand.”
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While the full details have yet to be released, a special box will be part of the package when Villiger unveils a new cigar in September to mark its 120th anniversary. Introduction as a travel-retail exclusive is probable, with the possibility of launching the product into the domestic market at a later date.
"We want to stay independent and increase awareness worldwide by strengthening our brand,” says Pfister of the message that Villiger wishes to convey in its anniversary year. “Villiger is known as a quality product, but we want to reinforce the message that most of our cigars have Cuban tobacco in the blend. That’s going to be promoted as a really strong USP from now on.”
Meanwhile, the company continues to offer and refine a range of humidors, most commonly found in high-end shops, restaurants, bars, hotels and dedicated cigar lounges. “Again, these can be very good for helping to reinforce the brand message,” says Pfister. “We have three sizes at present and may well look to introduce more in the future.”
Zippo
Portable refillable lighter giant Zippo has only a limited range of products orientated towards cigar smokers,
but is intending to expand it considerably in the nearfuture. That is the message which comes through loud and clear during Frontier’s conversation with the company’s marketing communications manager, Pat Grandy.
As far as cigar smokers are concerned right now, however, the focus is firmly on the new BLU line of butane lighters, now comprising a total of 15 designs and finishes, with more set to follow later in the year.
“BLU is Zippo-esque in design but is a little different from our other lighters,” says Grandy. “It has its own personality, but the biggest single difference is that it uses flintwheel technology to light rather than a pieso system. We were told by all the experts that it was not possible to create a butane lighter with a flint wheel lighting system, but we did it!”
In addition to further expansion of the BLU line – which is not currently available in airport duty-free due to security regulations – Zippo is also considering the possible introduction of belt-pouches similar to those already available for some of its other lighter products. “BLU is slightly larger than traditional windproof lighters, so it would have to have its own belt-pouch configuration,” notes Grandy.
Looking further forward, Grandy says that Zippo is “definitely looking into” the possibility of ashtrays and cigar cutters for launch into worldwide travelretail. In the meantime, Grandy is pleased to note a marked revival in the company’s travel-retail business – and specifically its souvenir lighter business – following the rolling-back of regulations preventing non-butane lighters from being taken onboard aircraft in the US.
“The lighter ban really hurt our souvenir lighting business, but since last Fall passengers have been able to carry a filled Zippo windproof lighter onboard so it’s really picking up again,” he says. “That’s a great business for us because there are so many Zippo collectors – about 4m in the US alone. They just love to buy souvenir lighters on vacation!”
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Friday 27th, June, 2008
Author: David Davies
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