Tobacco Business

I needed to hear everything so that I was aware. I’m an information junkie, and so I just asked a lot of questions, and people were willing to answer the questions. — Desiree Sylver Sylver’s self-exploration of cigars began nearly seven years ago and has since developed into much more than a hobby—it’s become her business. Sylver shares how her curiosity about cigars helped build a brand that, while small, has every intention of making a big splash in today’s cigar scene. The Good and the Bad Sylver had no intention of ever starting her own cigar brand. When she reentered the dating scene, her now-fiancé, Rico Reed, also smoked cigars. In addition to traveling together, the two smoked cigars together as well. There was a running joke between them that one of them was going to have to quit smoking because of how many cigars they each smoked each day and how expensive the hobby was becoming. During one of their trips, they came across some cigar rollers who informed them of some current tobacco they had to work with. Sylver and her fiancé explained what they liked and asked the rollers to create a couple of blends for them. Having cigars made specifically for their palates and preferences helped them indulge in something they enjoyed in a more budget- friendly way. These cigars were inexpen- sive to make, but the tobaccos used in the blends were very much premium. Now, Sylver and her fiancé had their own cigars to smoke in addition to those that they would buy in the lounges they spent time in. In the lounge, friends would approach the couple and ask them what they were smoking. After telling them it was a cigar they made, they’d offer some sticks as samples. The friends smoked these special blends and would express how good they were and made the recommendation that they try to sell those cigars on their own. Sud- denly, a business was born. “We heard that so much that we started investigating what that would look like,” said Sylver. “We went to some lounges, and the lounge owners would tell us, ‘Yeah, we would sell it.’ From there, we had to figure out what we needed to do. We talked to a lot of lounge owners, tried to figure out what works, what doesn’t work. The constant thing was that we needed to change the bands on the cigars, and so we did that and we’ve been selling ever since.” There was much work required to start a new cigar company. Sylver and Rico relied on retailers to help them figure out how to successfully launch their brand. They found that most cigar lounge owners were willing and more than happy to answer any questions they had to ask. As they made tweaks to their brands, Sylver and Rico would go straight to retailers to ask for feedback, seeking both good and bad comments and thoughts. “I’d never want to hear just the good stuff because if I’m hearing just the good stuff, then I’m never going to be able to make corrections or updates or anything of that nature,” Sylver explains. “I needed to hear everything so that I was aware. I’m an information junkie, and so I just asked a lot of questions, and people were willing to answer the questions.” Asking other manufacturers for their advice and input on production issues and price point was also part of the process. Early on in her business, Sylver understood how important it was to figure out the manufacturing issues. How much was it going to cost to get future cigars made? Were there any production limitations she needed to be aware of? What shipping time frames should she expect? She knew that her company’s customer service would be defined by how well she would be able to get product to her customers, so these were the crucial questions and problems she needed to solve early on in her business. What it Means Another issue that had to be tackled was what to name their new brand. While speaking with a manufacturer early on, Sylver was “ ” Desiree Sylver, owner of Drunk Chicken Cigars [ 34 ] TOBACCO BUSINESS [ NOVEMBER / DECEMBER | 21 ]