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TOBACCO BUSINESS
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Avanti
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AMERICAN-MADE CIGARS
Though Avanti’s cigars were inspired by Italian
brands in the past, its products today are all made
in the U.S. using Kentucky tobacco. Avanti is
the only U.S. producer of dark fire-cured cigars,
which are developed using a process that involves
exposing the tobacco to the smoke of oak and
hickory logs, with a compliment of beech wood,
smoldering on a barn’s floor. This process pro-
duces cigars that are intense and full-bodied, and
that have a unique aroma that sets them apart
from other cigars on the market.
Though Avanti Cigar Company uses ma-
chines in the cigar manufacturing process, hu-
man touch is still crucial in the production of
each cigar. During the growing process, only
the best tobacco leaves are hand-picked for use
in the cigars. Under the leadership of a master
blender, tobacco from at least three different
crop years is used in order to achieve an ide-
al blend. The machines used all simulate the
movement of cigar makers by slowly rolling
the wrapper and filler in order to maintain the
quality of the tobacco. Avanti’s employees play
an important role overseeing the process from
the drying phase through when the cigars are
packaged for consumers.
BROAD RETAIL SUPPORT
For those at Avanti Cigar Company, the key to
selling their products comes down to providing
the market with a premium product at an afford-
able price. When asked how Avanti supports its
retail partners, Luciano Simeone, chief operat-
ing officer at Avanti Cigar Company, respond-
ed that working daily to improve the quality of
their products that end up in stores is the most
important support the company can provide.
From there, increasing the visibility of the com-
pany and its products in cigar stores, offering
good deals on its products and promoting Avanti
through social media all helps.
Avanti works with brick-and-mortar and
online retailers, both considered by the com-
pany to be important to its marketing strategy.
Brick-and-mortar retailers are viewed by Avanti
as ambassadors for the company, speaking and
interacting directly with potential consumers.
With the increase of online retail and a new
generation of tech-savvy smokers, online retail-
ers are viewed as an important partner due to
their wider reach.
For those retailers who are new to the Avanti
brand, Simeone has a few suggestions for pop-
ular products to get started with. “Parodi Am-
mezzati and Parodi Kings are iconic mainstays
for cigar lovers,” he says. “I also would recom-
mend Avanti Cordial, our first flavored cigar
that was introduced in 1970, and DeNobili
Longs, classic long cigars that provide a sophis-
ticated, sustained smoke.”
A COMPETITIVE EDGE
Though Avanti Cigar Company faces the same
challenges as any other manufacturer when it
comes to the U.S. Food and Drug Administra-
tion’s regulations, it’s in a good position going
forward, as 90 percent of its SKUs could poten-
tially meet the requirements to be grandfathered.
This could admittedly give the company a very
competitive advantage that could extend its long
history. The company is prepared to operate in
a much more restrictive market and feels that its
parent company will help it navigate through the
new regulations and changes.
Avanti is remaining tight-lipped on new re-
leases but urges retailers to check out its release
from last year, the Parodi Speciale. “Last year
we launched a new cigar, the Parodi Speciale,”
explains Simeone. “It has a top-grade wrapper
and underwent a special fermentation process
that provides the cigar with a well-rounded and
harmonic taste. We’ve also added two aromas
to the Avanti family: vanilla and licorice.”
TB
AVANTI CIGAR COMPANY CAN
attribute its longevity and evolution to
a series of forward-thinking entrepre-
neurs who each brought something
valuable to the business. It began with
the founding of the company in 1912
by Dominic, Anthony and Frank Suraci,
who took their passion for cigars and
turned it into a business.
In the early 1940s, Frank Suraci,
Jr. introduced much-needed improve-
ments to the machine-making process,
allowing the company to produce more
cigars that maintained the quality of
hand-rolled cigars and Antony Suraci’s
son-in-law Bob Keating made improve-
ments to the company’s sales and mar-
keting efforts. A decade later, Tony Jr.
became the point of reference for pur-
chase and fermentation of Dark Fired
Tobacco and led the company for some
years. By the 1990s, his son, Dominic
Keating, became the president and
face of the company for many years.
GENERATIONS OF
ENTREPRENEURS