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TOBACCO BUSINESS INTERNATIONAL
JULY/AUGUST 2015
Company added to our growing portfolio
and fit perfectly with our growth strategy.
The management team of Drew Estate is
independent and will remain that way.
We look forward to collaboration in
developing higher margin products for
traditional cigar outlets.
Recently you came out with Swisher
Diamonds, which is a departure
from the sweet cigar taste that has
distinguished Swisher in the past.
What was the thinking there?
Natural tobacco blends are very
popular and Swisher met that consumer
demand with Swisher Diamonds.
They are everything consumers love
about Swisher without the sweet taste.
Demand for this cigarillo has been
so high that it can be a challenge to
keep up—and that’s the best kind of
challenge to have.
Swisher Sweets continues todebut new
flavors ona regular basis.Howdoyou stay
on top of consumers’ taste preferences?
What trends do you see in flavors today?
Adult consumers enjoy trying new
blends. We know this through our
continual outreach to consumers and
relationships with our retailers. Swisher
has been successful in bringing new
interest and excitement to the cigar
category with our limited-edition
Swisher Sweets. These limited-edition
cigarillos were voted a 2014 Best New
Tobacco Product by retailers and have
resulted in a significant increase in
Swisher Sweets cigar sales in 2014.
We are proud that the success of the
limited-edition blends is boosting the
entire cigar category.
What differentiates your smokeless
products? How is the category
performing for you?
Moist snuff is a highly competitive
category. Our goal with the Kayak
brand is to deliver great taste at a great
price. This has proven successful for us,
so we’re continuing along that path. In
addition to providing a great quality
product, Swisher also is introducing
new package designs and sizes to appeal
to adult consumers.
What trends or preferences have you
observed in consumers over the past
year? Have youmade any adaptations to
your products to address those changes?
“Demand for this cigarillo has been
so high that it can be a challenge
to keep up—and that’s the best
kind of challenge to have.”