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TOBACCO BUSINESS
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013
F
rom hipsters in pork pie hats
and skinny ties to mid-century-
furnished bars piping out Sinatra
classics, retro style is everywhere these
days. Another recent trend that was hot
in the ’60s is pipe smoking.
Fifty years ago, pipe smoking was
at its peak and out-sold smokeless
tobacco in volume. Why was that? One
reason was the implementation of the
Surgeon General’s warning on smoking
and the subsequent ban on TV ads
for cigarettes—which suggested that
pipe smoking was not as harmful as
smoking cigarettes. Pipe smoking was
also an indicator of a certain lifestyle,
signifying a more bohemian, artistic
bent, most recently witnessed in the
creative character Paul Kinsey in the TV
series
Mad Men
, who stands apart from
the more stressful, corporate, cigarette-
smoking characters.
Back then, it was also more accepted by
smokers’ family members, who found the
aroma much more appealing than both
cigarettes and cigars. Today when I host
pipe events, I meet many people who
express the wish that their partners would
switch to pipe smoking. I believe the
entire industry needs to emphasize this—
the trade media, tobacco manufacturers
and importers, as well as pipe makers.
We can learn a lot from examining the
premium cigar segment and how cigars
were catapulted into sudden popularity
and became a fad in the early to mid-’90s.
The premium cigar companies decided
to invest in the growing segment, and
while the growth is not what it used to
be, premium cigar smoking still enjoys
great sex appeal today.The category surge
was partially attributed to the media
bringing key cigar-smoking celebrities
to the forefront and to cigar companies
investing heavily in areas such as image
advertising, dynamic trade show booths
and appealing accessories, but retailers
investing in humidors, novelties, etc. also
played a part. Currently premium cigars
make up the key segment for tobacconist
stores.
While I’m happy to see that some
premium cigar companies are venturing
into the pipe tobacco business, we
also need the pipe makers, tobacco
manufacturers, importers and retailers to
invest more in the business. Let me stress
the importance of a few things: consumer
advertising; new product extensions that
are unique; creative, even sexy point-
of-sale material for the stores; retailers
devoting ample space for pipes, tobacco
brands and pipe accessories; and, finally,
retailers behind the counter who smoke
pipes themselves!
We are currently experiencing a
growth in pipe sales, fuelled in part
by younger adult men who find the
pipe-smoking experience appealing—
somewhat because of the ritual, and
partly because pipe smoking is and
always has been a relatively inexpensive
way of smoking.
However, I also see this as a blessing
in disguise. For years pipe smokers have
gravitated toward inexpensive tobaccos
because of their ready
availability, especially
in cheaper drug
store brands or loose
tobaccos. I believe
the cheaper products
have undermined the
segment by making
profitability an all-
too-important issue
from manufacturing to retail, and have
consequently convinced smokers that
pipe smoking is cheap! We need to move
away from this focus on affordability and
make pipe smoking a brand experience
that’s associated with a lifestyle of
appreciating the finer things. By making
superior products worth the investment,
we can once again make pipe enjoyment
emblematic of a choice of luxury. Take a
look at the picture in the
Lifestyle
section
of
The Wall Street Journal
’s September 14
edition: a 20-something male in classic
modern clothes with a pipe in his mouth
projecting a lifestyle of elegance and
savoir-faire. We need more of this kind
of imagery!
We should endorse the new younger
adult smokers who embrace pipe
smoking by giving them an experience
that underscores the sophisticated
associations which make pipe smoking
sexier…the spouse will love it too!
TB
Erik Stokkebye’s new line of premium
tobacco is called 4th Generation in honor of
his family heritage.
How Do We Make
Pipe Smoking Sexier?
Pipes have the same trend potential as cigars—let’s leverage it!
By Erik Stokkebye
