Tobacco Business

[ 50 ] TOBACCO BUSINESS [ MARCH / APRIL | 21 ] Each member of the team has a unique connection to or experience with cigars. Willis began smoking cigars with his father while he was in his early 20s. Bush’s first experience with cigars occurred when she was just a teenager in Panama and she tried a cigar left out by one of her uncle’s friends. Howard had his first cigar with his brother while at a friend’s house. He can still recall the aftertaste of the cigar and how it lingered for two days after he smoked the cigar. Redmon began smoking cigars while playing golf in order to shift his attention away from the game, which he says could still use more of his attention to this day. Holland began smoking cigars with others on the team, while Streat would smoke cigars with his college and military buddies on the weekend. Hurt also began smoking cigars on weekends as a way to help relax and reflect during quiet moments after a busy work week. Ground the Pound From the early days of the company, the team had a vision for what Emperors Cut would become and the type of products and services it wanted to bring to market. Before any product was actually available, the team set out to establish a few guiding principles to help guide them through the creative process. These principles touched on all the cornerstones of a good business and strong brand, including quality, customer service, accessibility and innovation. Once the “guard rails” of the brand were clearly defined, the team set out to develop concepts that represented their upcoming brand. The team also decided to use a small test group to test how their brand and vision would resonate with customers before they launched the product on the market. Coming up with the different blends was also a collective team effort. Each blend would start with a concept, and the process would progress much like that of baking a cake: Different tobaccos were combined to achieve a unique flavor profile that the team felt its customers would enjoy. The concept blend would then be allowed to age, and it was later smoked by the team member so they could decide if they had a winning blend on their hands. The team is continuously experimenting with different blend concepts throughout the year in anticipation of the future. Top: Darryl Redmon and Maurice Holland at an Emperors Cut in-store event. Middle: Emperors Cut's Nicaraguan Original Natural Pleasure, presented in four different sizes. Bottom: Darnell Streat in Estelí, Nicaragua. These principles touched on all the cornerstones of a good business and strong brand, including quality, customer service, accessibility and innovation.