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TOBACCO BUSINESS INTERNATIONAL
JULY/AUGUST 2015
T
imes are a-changin’ for this
Jacksonville, Florida-based 150-
year-old tobacco company.
As the largest manufacturer of cigars
worldwide, Swisher International has a
long and venerable history in the cigar
business. Best known for its popular
machine-made, mass-market cigars,
the company also makes cigarillos,
pipe tobacco, smokeless tobacco and
e-cigarettes. Two years ago, Swisher
made something of a splash with
the announcement of a move into
premium cigars—a category that the
company had edged out of little more
than a decade ago.
Today, its Royal Gold premium
cigar division has contracts with
various factories in Nicaragua
(including Drew Estate), Honduras
(Plasencia) and the Dominican
Republic (Reyes) to make premium
cigars. Its lineup encompasses
the Royal Gold Kismet (made by
Augusto Reyes in the Dominican
Republic), Royal Gold Casino Gold
HRS (made by Nestor Plasencia in
Honduras) and the mixed filler Gold
Strike (made by NACSA in
Nicaragua).
The company followed those
launches up by partnering with
Drew Estate last year to produce the
Nirvana Cameroon Selection. Then,
on October 20, 2014, it surprised some
in the industry with the acquisition
of Drew Estate Tobacco Company’s
brands—ACID, Herrera Esteli, Liga
Privada, My Uzi Weighs a Ton, Nica
Rustica and Undercrown—as well
as Drew Estate’s La Gran Fabric
factory. The transaction underscored
the company’s commitment to both
building a premium cigar business
and, more broadly, expanding its
presence in the industry. To find
out more about those plans,
TBI
checked in with John Miller, senior
vice president of sales and marketing
for Swisher International, about the
Swisher International:
Expanding Its Repertoire
Coming off of the
acquisition of Drew
Estate, Swisher is
continuing to build its
premium cigar arm.
John Miller, SVP of
Sales and Marketing,
Swisher