Kretek International Inc. has launched Lagunas brand premium imported cigarettes by Djarum in the U.S. The Lagunas blend was developed by an international team from Djarum and Kretek over a two-year period of blending and testing. Lagunas’ taste is characterized by a unique combination of tobaccos from the U. S., Brazil Indonesia, Turkey and Greece,…
Strong Demand for Cigars
Flavored and single-serve cigars represent a real opportunity for convenience stores to boost tobacco sales. By Howard Riell, Associate Editor. With flavored cigarettes no longer available in the U.S., flavored cigars are in line for sharp sales gains. But with FDA having declared last year that it’s got the cigar industry in its sights, retailers…
Two-Pack Filtered Cigar Pouches
Tantus Tobacco has added two-pack filtered cigar pouches to its Red Buck and Richwood product lines. The new packaging is currently in production at Tantus’ facility in Russell Springs, Ky. The Red Buck foil fresh pouches are available in five flavors: Regular, Special Blend, Mild, Menthol and Cherry. The Richwood foil fresh pouches are available…
Menthol Ban Could Fuel Black Market
The FDA is considering a ban on menthol cigarettes in the U.S., a move some fear could have unintended consequences, such as a skyrocketing black market for the products. “What we’re currently facing in the U.S. is the (potential) banning of a currently legal product. We’re very concerned that would create an immediate black market…
Sweetening Cigar Sales
Small filtered cigarellos represent a real albeit temporary opportunity for convenience stores to rack up sales, so get going before the window of opportunity slams shut. These diminutive cigars have gained strong appeal among smokers laboring to afford cigarettes in the wake of multiple tobacco tax hikes. The price differential between filtered cigars and cigarettes…
Canada Proposes Flavored Cigarillo Ban
In Canada, The Cracking Down on Tobacco Marketing Aimed at Youth Act, which contains a proposed ban on flavored tobacco products, cleared the Senate committee on social affairs Wednesday, and is expected to fly through the Senate as a whole later this fall, the Vancouver Sun reported. The Act would ban “kiddie packs” of little…
Mini Wine Flavor Cigarillos
Swisher International Inc. has combined one of its newest and most popular flavors with the convenient shape of mini cigarillos to make the new Swisher Sweets Mini Wine Cigarillos. These new, smaller cigars offer the quick smoke many customers prefer, and come individually wrapped with the company’s unique sealed-fresh wrapper to ensure fresh, flavorful cigars…
Marketing Cigars in Tough Times
Despite the SCHIP tobacco taxes that hit on April 1, 2009, cigar sales continue to persevere. The federal taxes on large cigars rose from 20.719% of the wholesale price with a tax cap of 4.875 cents per cigar to 52.75% of the wholesale price with a tax cap of 40.26 cents per cigar. The tax…
What’s in Store in the Humidor
As if the turbulent economy, rising state taxes and local anti-smoking regulations hadn’t rendered the retail cigar landscape dangerous enough, enter the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which wants to significantly reshape that landscape, but so far hasn’t told anyone—most notably the retailers that will be selling the products—how. Some background: The law granting…
FDA Clarifies Flavored Cigarette Ban
The FDA hosted a media briefing this morning and has posted documents on the FDA Web site issuing additional information regarding the ban on flavored cigarettes, authorized by the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act that was signed into law in June. According to the new documents, cigarettes containing an artificial or natural flavor…