Tobacco Business

[ 62 ] TOBACCO BUSINESS [ SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER | 21 ] package, and then ship rare and exclusive cigars to over 400 shops nationwide and now in Europe too. We release these special cigars ev- ery first Friday of the month. Then, we alert our customers to the fact there is a cigar they cannot get anywhere else, not even on our website. It has driven so much traffic to these LCA brick-and-mortar retailers. We are renewing a ton of these shops with so many new faces. No oth- er major online retailer would share their client base with local shops. I know I’m losing a ton of money on the deal, but honestly, without the local shops, this community will fade away. I am probably most proud of this effort. If any shop in the U.S. is interested in joining the LCA, please email clark@privadacigarclub.com . What type of consumer and manufacturing partner are you going after and targeting with your business? Ben Rotem: I wouldn’t say that we are going after any consumers specifically. If you love cigars, family and trying new things, our club is the right fit for you. When working with manufacturing part- ners, we want to work with someone that views our relationship sim- ilarly—as family. We are not simply looking to “do business.” We want to work on projects with likeminded people. Berezowski: Our consumer profile is indefinite since we’re trying to reach every single cigar smoker, both new and experienced. We are always looking to work with validated brands in the industry that have established themselves through investment of time, energy and resources. My Cigar Pack’s placement strategy adheres to the needs and wants of these validated brands and manufacturers, and our product offering ranges anywhere from un-banded sub-$5 cigars with the same quality of those limited editions you may find yourself paying $12 for to our $35 flagship five-cigar subscription. Imber: We target a few different types of consumers, including peo- ple that have smoked cigars for a long time and are searching for some new brands and/or new profiles to try. We also have a large chunk of new cigar smokers as part of our membership. These peo- ple love rating and reviewing cigars as they hone in on what their palates want. Desind: The short answer is that Privada targets passionate con- sumers. The long answer is that we don’t target any one type of per- son. Privada has grown organically from the beginning. We have seen waves of different demographics at certain times, but really Privada is for everyone. The requirements are respect for the craft and passion for the product. That’s it. Same with the manufacturers. We shine light on the passionate artisans more than anyone ever has. We pair the passion of our people with the passion of the manufac- turers, and the marriage is sublime. The result is that we get better products than most companies. When a manufacturer gets hundreds of DMs [direct messages] and emails from Privada members thank- ing them for the special products, guess what they do? They come back with even better products, and the members perpetuate that love. What is happening at Privada and now Farm Rolled and the LCA [Limited Cigar Association] is something no one has witnessed in really any business except wine and craft beer. I am blessed to be a part of it. What does your subscription box service cost the consumer? Imber: We keep it very simple: three, five or 10 cigars a month. You pay based on the quantity you want, and we make sure the cigars line up with your palate and the quality you desire as a cigar smoker. Desind: There are no options for pricing with Privada Cigar Club. It’s one package each month. There is so much time that goes into scouting the cigars, researching the story of each one, often designing the bands and naming them and then pairing and reviewing each one that we really never had time to create any tiers. Once the club reached a certain point and I realized how much money our members actually spend on cigars each month, I wanted to say thank you by rewarding them with an entirely different subscription. The second subscription is the opposite of Privada and is called Farm Rolled. It brings you daily smokes at an amazing price. I didn’t want to degrade the brands we carry, so instead of doing the whole thing where you sell cigars way below MSRP—which damages the brands and hurts brick- and-mortar shops—I decided to go directly to the factory and not put bands on the cigars. You basically get a lot of the same cigars you buy in stores for anywhere from $10 to $15 for just $5 a piece, unband- ed. It turned out to be a great experience and very educational. It is shocking how much influence the band has on a smoking experience!