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After 19 years spent working in the financial services
industry, Glen Case was ready for a change. Spend-
ing six months working as an independent sales rep-
resentative for several cigar manufacturers alongside
his wife gave Case the idea to begin making his own
cigars. Thirteen years later, Case still has a passion for
the cigar industry and loves what he does. He also now
has a successful cigar brand, Kristoff, named after his
son Christopher.
Case’s story goes well beyond Kristoff and its brands.
As a leader of a successful boutique cigar company that
continues to see growth, Case has valuable insight into
what it takes for any tobacco business to thrive. It should
be no surprise that much of his advice is founded on les-
sons learned while working in the financial industry—
from how to handle any profits made to how to scale
a business wisely. The foundation for all of his advice
and lessons learned during his time spent working with
cigars comes down to one simple word: passion.
“My passion for Kristoff stems from creating some-
thing out of nothing and the challenge to continue to
grow the business both nationally and internationally,”
Case explains. “It is not only the business aspects of run-
ning Kristoff that motivate me—it is the people I work
with. We have a philosophy at Kristoff, which is that
once you become part of the team, you are truly part of
the family. I am blessed to be able to work with some of
the best and smartest people I know.”
BUILD YOUR BRAND
When Case first started Kristoff, it was just him—and the
brand he created was different from what exists today. In
late 2004, Case launched Exclusive Cigars, which is still
the legal entity of the company he runs today. The first
successful blend, the Kristoff Original Criollo, put the
company on the map and led to the decision to rebrand
it as Kristoff Cigars. While the company now consists of
14 employees, Case remains front and center as the face
of the Kristoff brand.
Case personally makes appearances at events to pro-
mote the Kristoff brand, and his face can often be seen
in various advertising campaigns promoting the brands.
CASE
STUDY
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TOBACCO BUSINESS
[
SEPTEMBER
/
OCTOBER
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17 ]
Drawing on 13 years of experience in
the premium cigar industry,
Kristoff
president Glen Case
outlines how
focusing on quality, consistency and
availability of product can spark
growth and new opportunities
for any tobacco business.
BY ANTOINE REID
Kristoff:
Following
aPassion