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TOBACCO BUSINESS INTERNATIONAL
MARCH/APRIL 2015
N
ever one to rest on his
laurels, JM Tobacco’s
Anto
Mahroukian
moved quickly when he
spotted swelling interest in
Nicaraguan cigars. “The crop
of tobacco coming out of the
country was really good and,
as a result, Nicaraguan tobacco
was getting really popular,” he
says, explaining the birth of his
new JM’s Nicaraguan line. “The
tobacco is stronger and sweeter,
so it’s a cigar more geared
toward veteran smokers, versus
the milder JM’s Dominican.”
Debuted
at
the
2014
IPCPR trade show, the line
was an instant hit, with both
versions—a Sumatra and a
Maduro
wrapper—quickly
embraced by cigar smokers. JM’s
Nicaraguans sport the same
vibrant packaging as its sister
cigar, JM’s Dominican, but with
a trim in the same blue used in
the Nicaraguan flag. Like the
company’s flagship product, the
cigars come in eight sizes, are
packaged 50 to a box and retail
for between $4 and $5, placing
them in the value premium
category.
Because the cigars have
a
different
taste
profile,
Mahroukian wasn’t concerned
that the new product would
take market share from JM’s
JM Tobacco’s
NicaraguanVenture
By Jennifer Gelfand
Building on the company value premium
offering, JM Tobacco has debuted a new
Nicaraguan line.