32 TOBACCO BUSINESS | NOVEMBER / DECEMBER | 22 much work is required to maintain what’s been created and how easy it is to lose everything. “No matter how hard you work—like we’re on top now, and we’re doing very, very well—but you can do one wrong thing, and it all comes tumbling down. You have to maintain, and you have to keep knocking on doors, and you’ve gotta keep promoting. One thing is the quality of what we make … it’s got to be one of the best in the industry because we don’t cut corners. If the cigar’s not good, I don’t sell it.” Part of making good cigars is knowing what the market wants from a cigar. When creating a new cigar, the Espinosa Cigars team first begins with the wrapper. This, Espinosa explains, is the easiest part of the process. When they know what wrapper they’re working with, the real work begins. How are they going to make this cigar different from the others in the company’s portfolio? “I don’t want two cigars that taste the same,” Espinosa states firmly. Figuring out who they are targeting with the cigar is an important step in the blending process. Espinosa doesn’t make many mild cigars because through social media he noticed that most of his company’s followers were discussing and posting about medium to full-bodied cigars. Another realization he had from social media is that his company’s followers aren’t the type to buy a cigar solely based on it being a name brand; instead, their customers typically look for flavor and variety, something they often find in a boutique cigar. Once they know the wrapper, the strength and the customer they’re targeting, the Espinosa Cigars team will make a lot of blends that will then be set aside for a certain period of time before being shipped to the U.S. Why? Because another thing Espinosa and his team have learned over the years is that a cigar tastes different in Nicaragua, where the company’s La Zona factory is located, than it does in the U.S. While he doesn’t have control over when and how a consumer chooses to light up an Espinosa cigar, he does make sure only the highest quality products make it onto store shelves. Cooking Up a Hit with Guy Fieri A big part of Espinosa’s business are the cigars the company makes for others. What makes Espinosa Cigars the go-to for many who are seeking a manufacturer for their product is the fact that, regardless of whether the cigar is a Espinosa-banded product or it will be sold and promoted by someone else, it still has to abide by Espinosa’s simple rule: It can’t be garbage. Quality is everything, and that’s something both Espinosa and his business partners have come to realize and accept. “Here’s the thing that a lot of people don’t understand: I make more money making cigars for other people than I do for myself,” Espinosa explains. “I want those companies to succeed, OK? People will say, ‘Wow, this cigar you make for so-and-so was great. Why didn’t you make it for yourself?’ And I’ll say, ‘Because that’s what they wanted.’” When working with others, the blending process begins with a simple question: What do you want? To create a cigar, the intended strength is an important characteristic to establish early on. When making cigars for another person or company, Espinosa makes it known that the cigar’s success comes down to their actions, not Espinosa’s. It’s up to the client to promote the cigar, to spend the money that’s necessary to advertise it and to pay salespeople to sell it to retailers. When making a cigar for Espinosa Cigars, these responsibilities fall on him; he has to pay for the bands and packaging, commissions on sales, for the marketing of the product. He Before launching Espinosa Premium Cigars, Erik Espinosa was a sales representative, which gave him a unique perspective on the premium cigar business.
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