Cigarticle: Cuban Cigars - A Reputation for Excellence

November 27, 2006

CW Member Roger Farnsworth (ElkTwin) discusses the reputation of Cuban cigars as the best in the world.

From its earliest importation to Europe, Cuban tobacco was widely recognized as the best in the world. Through the centuries, Cuba has successfully battled a string of new tobacco producers to remain firmly at the top of a competitive market.

The quality of their product certainly helps but, as with most other markets, quality only takes one so far. In order to remain at the apex of a market, successful brand management is key.

Different from the start

By the late 1700s, Cuba was exporting hundreds of tons of tobacco to Europe to meet the Continent's burgeoning demand for the prized plant. By this time, recognizing that finished cigars traveled better than raw tobacco, the majority of these shipments were made up of large chests filled tightly with unmarked bundles of cigars.

To pique desire for their particular tobacco, brokers of Cuban cigars highlighted the unique flavor and aroma of their product. Early descriptions of Cuban tobacco included references to the lush tropical paradise in which the product was grown. Sellers spoke of the delicate wildflowers and spices that infused the local terroir and through their touts began the process of reinforcement that is so important to the health of a brand.

Yet even back then counterfeiters were eager to capitalize on the reputation and perceived quality of Cuban tobacco. By this time tobacco was being grown in several local European countries, and some unscrupulous dealers were passing off cigars made from locally grown tobacco as being Cuban in origin.

Boxes and branding

Colorful cigar art lithograph

In 1830, in an effort to identify the cigars they were importing for their officers and customers as a higher quality product made from genuine Cuban leaf, two brothers that owned a German bank started sealing the cigars they were having made in Cuba in cedar boxes stamped with their bank's logo. When the brothers left the banking business and started their own cigar manufacturing and warehousing company in Havana in 1844, H. Upmann, they continued the practice of boxing their cigars.

These plain cedar boxes became the first step in a process of product branding and identification that continues today. Other importers soon adopted the cedar cigar box and began to use them to package offerings for the public. While plain by today's packaging standards, the boxes were a unique extravagance that raised the profile of the product within.

A few years later, in 1837, Ramon Allones introduced a more colorful form of labeling to the cigar world when he began using a new technology - intricate stone lithography - to decorate the boxes of his new line of Cuban cigars. Colorful printed scenes, multicolored and often bearing gold and silver gilt, were applied to the boxes. These brightly colored boxes, although more expensive to produce, greatly raised the visibility of Cuban cigars. This process continued well into the depression when cheaper printing methods caught on and the extravagance of hand made cigars took a temporary back seat to the convenient and less expensive cigarette.

Strike up the band

The unmistakable seal of quality

And yet despite the earlier packaging innovations counterfeiting continued, for once the cigars were removed from their boxes, they all looked alike. Sensing opportunity for further improvement, a Dutch cigar maker working in Cuba, Gustave Bock, introduced a further means of identification. In 1854 or so he began marking individual cigars through the use of the paper ring, or band.

Like the cedar box, the cigar band quickly spread throughout the industry, and in no time colorful cigar bands became the rage. Some claim that the bands helped protect the white gloves of refined smokers from being stained by the wrapper oils and others say that the bands helped keep the wrappers of these early cigars from unraveling, but in any case the Cuban cigar brokers had found yet another way to differentiate their offerings. Each cigar now bore the unmistakable and colorful logo of its manufacturer, a fantastically successful marketing innovation.

Eager to preserve the excellent reputation of their tobacco exports, the Cuban government soon got into the game. By 1912 the Cuban government was applying a green, official looking seal to their cigar boxes, certifying their authenticity. Taking a hint from Cuba, other tobacco producing nations soon followed suit. The Cuban seal, which has taken several forms over the years, still graces genuine boxes of Cuban cigars and is one of the most important guards against counterfeiting.

Word of mouth

In the 2nd half of the 19th century, Cuban marques such as Partagas and H. Upmann submitted their wares for public inspection and won awards at prestigious international exhibitions. The medals won at these exhibitions, in such major cities as London, Paris and Chicago, became grist for further bragging as the manufacturers held them up as proof of their superior quality. The gold medals became a prominent feature on the advertising and packaging of the products, and images of 7 gold medals so awarded adorn the colorful boxes of H. Upmann cigars to this day.

Otto von Bismarck graces a band

Cigars from Cuba - colloquially known as Habanos even then - became a status symbol in the late 19th century, especially in the U.S., and were far more esteemed than the common "stogies" made in Pennsylvania. Tobacconists were known to send Habanos cigars as gifts to influential people. Movie stars, politicians and important business people were well stocked with Cuban cigars and through their endorsement and visibility the Cuban marques thrived and overcame the challenges presented by the rapidly expanding U.S. producers. Just a few decades into the 20th century it was common to see the faces of such dignitaries as Samuel Morse and Otto von Bismarck gracing the bands of vanity Cuban cigars they ordered for themselves.

Advertising

Advertising that extended beyond the gaudy packaging of yore also called out the unique and superior quality of Cuban cigars. Printed advertisements in the early 20th century included elaborate placards and tin signs that exclaimed that Cuban cigars are "The World's Finest!" These advertisements were common in apothecaries and tobacconists. In addition, the importers printed dozens of beautiful postcards which were circulated freely that depicted the exotic Cuban culture and landscape.

Even today, printed advertisements for Cuban cigars play on the Cuban mystique and reinforce the perception of quality and the exotic qualities of the Cuban environment and the expertise of the manufacturers. "Habanos, Unique since 1492" is the latest tag line, and their brand identity marches on.

The mystique of Cuban cigars

Cuban cigars have benefited from other ancillary bonuses. During the 1860s, in an effort to avoid prohibitive U.S. tariffs on goods of Cuban manufacture, "Clear Havanas" or cigars manufactured in the U.S. from Cuban tobacco became popular. The manufacturers of these cigars touted the superior quality of the Cuban tobacco and further cemented its differentiation in the public's eye. Often machine made, these clear Havana cigars made up the majority of cigars consumed during this period.

More recently, the embargo against goods of Cuban origin, in place in the U.S. since 1962, has resulted in an interesting situation for American smokers. Ostensibly prohibiting the importation of Cuban cigars into the U.S., the embargo has serendipitously created a phenomenal demand for the "forbidden fruit" among American cigar smokers. The lure of Cuban cigars is so strong, it is estimated that over 6 million Cuban cigars a year are illegally imported into the U.S., and some estimate that over 90% of the cigars sold as Cuban in America are fakes!

The offering of rare and difficult to find releases of cigars, especially the more recent Edicion Limitada vitolae, has shown that Habanos SA is willing to learn new tricks. Whether, as some say, the Cuban cigar is truly better than all others, one thing is certain. The manufacturers, importers and vendors of Cuban cigars have done a masterful job of building and maintaining a valuable brand.

Roger Farnsworth (ElkTwin) is a husband, father, globally recognized marketing sage and erstwhile gentleman rancher with a slightly irreverant view of life. Roger has enjoyed cigars on six continents and in 18 time zones. His musings on technology can occasionally be found in respected periodicals and trade journals.