C S P October 2011 137

I f you walk into a convenience store

now, how many different flavors of

cigars are you going to find?

A decade ago, the answer could be in

the twenties or more and include extreme

tastes such as bourbon, coffee and even

mojito-flavored cigar products. While

variety may have settled into simpler fla-

vors such as grape, strawberry and sweet,

sales of flavored cigars have soared.

“As of 2011, 70% of cigars are flavored

cigars,” states Joe Teller, senior category

manager for cigar manufacturer Swedish

Match, Richmond, Va. “That’s how big

it is.”

However, some within the industry

fear this core cigar segment could go the

way of the flavored cigarette, falling vic-

tim to a federal ban.

While the FDA has yet to regulate

cigars or indicate plans to expand the ban

of flavored cigarettes to include cigars as

well, anti-tobacco groups are pushing for

just that: a move that would weigh heavily

on those in the cigar business

While one cannot predict what the

future may hold for these popular prod-

ucts, we can educate ourselves on the

evolution of flavored cigars and their

appeal, current trends in the category

and the implications a flavor ban would

have on both cigar manufacturers and the

retailers who sell them.

A FlAvored HistoryWhile they’ve seen incredible growth in

recent years, flavored cigars are nothing

new, as those in the know are quick to

point out.

“The reality is that flavored tobacco

products have been around for over 100

years,” says Paul Marquardt, president

of marketing for Phoenix-based Prime

Time International, which has been in

the flavored-cigar business for years. “It’s

really been a part of the smoking experi-

ence for a long time.”

In fact, flavored tobacco dates back

to the early origins of the United States,

when Spanish explorers stole the Indian

practice of storing tobacco next to kegs of

rum, causing an unintentional flavoring

and a desirable smoking experience.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

has records of trademarked flavored-

tobacco products dating back to the

1800s, although primarily in sweet and

The Taste of Success

Could a product ban sour flavored cigars?

By MelissA vonder HAAr

“[Flavored cigars are] really for the more refined tobacco consumer.”

C S P October 2011138

pipe-flavored blends. Swisher’s still-

popular Swisher Sweets line debuted in

1958, and Middleton premiered its pipe-

flavored blend in 1968.

These sweet and pipe-flavored

tobacco products are slightly different

from the “fruity” tastes most modern

consumers associate with flavored cigars.

Middleton’s popular Black and Mild line

takes pride in this more complex blend,

according to Greg Mathe, a spokesper-

son for Middleton’s parent company, the

Altria Group, based in Richmond, Va.

“Black and Mild is primarily a pipe

blended cigar,” says Mathe. “It’s made up

of complex blends, as we call them.”

So when did the category transition

from these few simple flavors to include

the fruit, alcohol and dessert flavors it

now features?

“Probably something like 10 years ago,

there weren’t a lot of flavored cigars out

there,” Teller explains. “Then, all of a sud-

den, the flavor trend kicked in and really

took off. You went from a situation where

there weren’t a lot of flavors to where lit-

erally every flavor you could ever think of

has been tried by somebody, which was

driving category growth.”

Marquardt credits the flavor boom

to the modern consumer’s demand for

more variety across the board, pointing

out that we’ve also seen an expansive

boom in the amount of flavored chip,

beer, and liquor offerings in the past 10

years. Tobacco is no different.

“Consumers are demanding more

now,” he says. “They’re not content with

a small variety of options.”

While the demand for variety is still

out there, four flavors stand as the core

performers in the fruity-flavored cat-

egory: grape, wine, strawberry and peach.

According to Nielsen c-store data, this core

four drives 84% of flavored cigar sales.

trends, GrApe And sMAllAlthough Teller endorses the core four,

he says one flavor stands above the rest:

grape.

“Of the four core flavors, only grape

is growing,” Teller says. “But what is hap-

pening in grape is that all of its growth is

coming from white grape. White-grape

sales have more than doubled since last

year, while regular grape declined 20%,

according to Nielsen.”

Nielsen numbers clearly identify

grape variations as the leading trend, with

grape- and wine-flavored cigars enjoying

close to 17% growth in the past year. For

perspective, all other flavors were down

9% over the same time period.

But grape isn’t the only trend sweep-

ing the market. Industry insiders are also

noticing a higher demand for smaller-

sized flavored cigars. John Mayer, product

director of tobacco products for Temple,

Texas-based McLane Co., has noticed

this from the retailers who buy from his

company.

“The demand for flavored cigars has

migrated from the larger cigar to the

cigarillo-sized, smaller cigar,” says Mayer.

“That’s where the business is settling in

and that’s where the most growth is in

the category.”

Mayer is quick to point out that this

growth does not mean that larger fla-

vored cigars are no longer relevant, but

that this demand “means more emphasis

should be placed on the cigarillo-sized

cigars vs. some of the others.”

sMootHer, sweeter, suBstAntiAl Regardless of the flavor of the day, it’s

important for retailers to understand

what attracts consumers to this product.

After all, flavored cigars were popular long

before the advent of the grape variety or

GrAped CrusAder: While four flavors stand out in flavored cigars, by far the most popular taste is grape, according to industry experts.

C S P October 2011140

the offering of cigarillo-sized products.

Those in the Altria Group credit this

product’s popularity to the desire for

variety cigar smokers covet across the

board.

“We know that adult cigar smokers

like variety, whether that’s in blends or

formats,” Mathe says. “The main reason

for adult cigar smokers to make an alter-

nate purchase is simply wanting a change

or to try something new. By nature,

flavored cigars offer a wide variety of

flavors, blends and formats, thus making

them a natural fit for consumers looking

to try something new.”

Others, like Teller, credit the unique

experience of smoking a flavored cigar

product. Because of the flavoring blend,

it’s a smoother smoking experience.

Likewise, the flavoring sweetens the smell

of the cigar, providing a more appealing

environment for both smokers and non-

smokers sharing common air.

“Cigar smokers prefer flavored

cigars,” says Teller. “It’s a better smoke

than a cigar that doesn’t have any flavor

to it because it’s smoother, it tastes better

and it smells better. That’s what’s driving

flavored cigars.”

Because of this favorable smoking

experience, Teller believes flavored cigars

serve as an entry point for many con-

sumers first exploring the cigar market.

“Many cigar smokers will try new flavors

by buying one or two at time and then

move to buying packs if they like the

flavor,” he says.

Fuzzy FutureSuch appeal certainly explains the popu-

larity of flavored cigars. However, could

this appeal, which attracts new cigar

smokers, also draw the unintended inter-

est of underage smokers? It’s certainly a

concern for those in the cigar industry,

especially after the FDA banned flavored

cigarettes in 2009 for this very reason.

Manufacturers of flavored cigars

stringently disagree with such accusa-

tions, stating that cigars, flavored or not,

are not appealing to underage or inexpe-

rienced smokers because they’re a much

stronger smoke than cigarettes.

“They’re really for the more refined

tobacco consumer,” Marquardt says. “I

don’t care if you put flavoring in it or

put a filter on it. … Cigar tobacco is a

lot harsher, has far less sugar, and is a

different kind of smoke and a different

experience from a cigarette.”

With Prime Time cigars incredibly

popular in Canada, Marquardt cites sev-

eral Canadian studies to prove his point.

The Canadian Tobacco Use Monitoring

Study (CTUMS) reports minimal usage

of flavored cigars by youth who prefer

cigarette products when they smoke.

Others, like Mathe, dispute whether

or not a ban is the best way to prevent

underage smoking.

“Certainly, there’s some in the public

health community who have expressed

concerns over tobacco products that have

carried certain flavors other than tobacco,”

he says. “But an outright ban of certain

types of tobacco products is not necessar-

ily the most effective way of addressing the

issue of underage tobacco use.

“All products should be marketed in

responsibly,” he continues. “Kids should

not use tobacco products, and we have

been working with retailers for a long

time to promote underage-access pre-

vention measures and responsible mar-

keting measures.”

To help in this fight, Middleton works

closely with the Coalition for Respon-

sible Tobacco Retailing to support the

We Card program to prevent underage

access.

While cigar manufacturers can offer

up science, statistics and other alterna-

tives to banning flavored cigars, the deci-

sion is ultimately up to the FDA—which

makes the future of flavored cigars nearly

impossible to predict, because the FDA

doesn’t actually regulate cigars … yet.

The Family Smoking Prevention and

Tobacco Control Act of 2009, the same

act that banned flavored cigarettes, gave

the FDA the authority to prohibit or

regulate other flavored tobacco products,

like cigars and smokeless tobacco, when

they choose to.

Such uncertainty makes it very hard

to prepare for a future without flavored

cigars. Some companies hope that,

should the FDA ban flavored cigars,

traditional flavors such as sweet and

pipe might be excluded, much the way

menthol was excluded from the flavored-

cigarette ban.

“Historically,” Mathe adds, “there’s

always been a preference for a blended

flavor of tobacco in the cigar category.”

This preference has allowed flavored

cigars to thrive throughout the years,

even in the challenging world of modern

tobacco sales, adapting to fit the unique

needs and preferences of consumers.

While the FDA has given no indication

about when or if they might look into

banning flavored cigars, one thing is

certain: such a ban would be a blow to

anyone who makes, distributes or sells

cigars. n

“An outright ban of tobacco products is not necessarily the most effective way of addressing the issue of underage tobacco use.”