64 TOBACCO BUSINESS | MARCH / APRIL | 22 chose to use. Supreme Leaf only comes out twice a year, each time with a different vitola. Rare Leaf is available more frequently but is only sold to Aganorsa Select account partners that account for only 10 percent of the company’s total customer base. Another aspect that sets Aganorsa’s tobacco and cigars apart from others is the seed varietals it grows. Aganorsa has become known for its ability to supply the market with high-quality Corojo ’99, Criollo ’98 and most recently Corojo 2012. These seed varietals thrive in part due to the exceptional quality of the land Aganorsa grows its tobacco on with the use of traditional methods of cultivation used by the company’s team of Cuban and Nicaraguan agronomists. Being able to control the entire cigar making process—from growing the tobacco to curing, fermentation, aging, blending and rolling—gives Aganorsa the true advantage in the competitive cigar industry. The Corojo 2012 wrapper was key to one of the company’s most recent releases, Cerberus. This wrapper added a light spice and rich, smooth body to the cigar and blended well with Aganorsa’s Corojo ’99 and Criollo ’98 varietals. Releases like Cerberus have added more complexity to the company’s profile, giving retailers even more quality product selections for their customers. The Best Cigar You’ve Never Heard Of Like any business, Aganorsa Leaf must face and address several challenges in its quest to dominate the cigar category. One of its biggest issues in recent years has been brand awareness. Prior to 2018, the company was known by a different name: Casa Fernandez. When the decision was made to transition the company’s public name to Aganorsa Leaf, it was decided that the change also had to be reflected in the company’s packaging. “If someone is excited to try Aganorsa but sees a cigar called Casa Fernandez, he probably isn’t going to make the connection between the two,” says Reilly. “We still have a ways to go, but I’m proud of how our packaging has dramatically improved and become more identifiable as Aganorsa.” Communication and education has been key to the company’s marketing strategy in recent years, and Reilly has used both social media and video to help tell Aganorsa’s story. “The best cigar you have never heard of is one you don’t purchase,” he says. “Social media has been crucial in connecting with both our retail partners and consumers, especially as travel was limited throughout COVID. I encourage everyone reading this to subscribe to our YouTube channel, ‘Aganorsa Leaf Experience,’ follow us on Facebook and Instagram, and join our private Facebook group ‘Aganorsa Acolytes.’ We put out a lot of great content on social media which would be hard to convey otherwise.” Another challenge the company has faced in recent years is the increase in demand for premium cigar products. For Aganorsa, the increased demand makes balancing the desire to fulfill orders with the company’s need to maintain quality a major focal point. It’s understood that if the company can’t meet demand, retailers and consumers alike will be frustrated and could take their business elsewhere. On the flip side, if a company chooses to meet high demand by making business moves like reducing the quality of its products, that creates an even worse problem. Aganorsa is vertically integrated in terms of cigar production and distribution, making this challenge vastly more manageable and less of an issue than other tobacco businesses may face. “Our capacity is pretty high,” Reilly states. “We are one of the largest leaf growers in Nicaragua, and we have facilities that can potentially manage significantly higher production. The key is doing that in an organic, healthy way. Trying to scale too quickly can lead to problems. For that reason we stopped taking on new private label business last year as a way to focus on the quality and growth of our own brands and existing partners.” When working with retailers, Reilly and Aganorsa’s sales team doesn’t employ the usual tactics like having a prepared elevator pitch. Meeting with new potential retailers, much like Aganorsa’s production process, is a process where the strength and power is all in the details. Questions are asked to help Reilly and his team understand the store and its customers. Terence Reilly has led the marketing efforts to rebrand Casa Fernandez to Aganorsa Leaf, including bolder, new packaging for recent releases like Supreme Leaf and Cerberus.
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