Tobacco Business

[ 80 ] TOBACCO BUSINESS [ SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER | 21 ] The Challenges As work began on ATL Cigar Company, the Lamars and Gross were thrilled with how many people in the industry were willing to help them. “COVID was what really took ATL Cigar Company from idea to reality,” says Gross. “With the world on lockdown, we were able to meet everyone we needed to meet over a month last year in Miami. That season helped to put the finishing touch on the concepts, branding and the blends we’d been working on. From there, we went live with production.” The trio learned the most from those who they also saw as mentors, including Aganorsa Leaf’s Terence Reilly, who worked with ATL Cigar Company’s Libertad line; Dave Rivera and Jesus Martinez at Martinez Cigars in New York; and “Cigar Mike” Bennett and Rob Loud in Atlanta, who are both mentors and friends. Other Black- owned brands and companies such as Emperors Cut and Atlanta Cigar Week also embraced ATL Cigar Company and supported its products. ATL Cigar Company is a business built on relationships, and its success so far has been the result of the connections made and support received by the cigar industry. Just as each partner at ATL Cigar Company comes from a different background, each has had a different experience as a brand owner. As a Black business owner within the cigar industry, Leroy has encountered some challenges when it comes to being taken seriously or with opening certain doors. “I’m the majority owner of our business, but Peter and I have an unspoken understanding that he needs to take some meetings and I need to take others. I’m not sure every company has to take those things into consideration.” Janelle’s challenges come in the form of conflicting expectations she faces as a female cigar smoker and business owner. “As a woman, everyone wants to see me on social media blowing smoke, but those who know me know that I care a lot more about getting every last detail right, from our website to our merchandise to the presentation of every box we ship. I think the industry is still learning how to appreciate women beyond their ability to smoke cigars and look pretty.” Gross acknowledges that his partners have had a different experience than he has personally but views their struggles as an issue that has to be worked on as a group and company. “Maybe we are still enjoying a honeymoon period as a new brand, but the way I see it, we are fortunate to do what we enjoy and share a handmade product with people we love. That being said, I’m not surprised that Leroy and Janelle see this issue a little differently than I do. It’s one thing to say that ‘starting a business is a challenge,’ but it’s yet another thing to say that ‘the industry creates roadblocks for people like me.’ That’s a different category, and yes, it’s a real issue that we’ve been working through as a team.” As they worked on their brand, the first conversations addressed how inclusive and accessible ATL Cigar Company and its products would be. It was important for all the partners that the relational approach they take in their personal lives also occurred naturally in the company’s branding. It didn’t matter where the company’s customers would come from–if someone wanted to be part of the ATL Cigar Company journey, they needed to know and feel welcomed within the ATL Cigar Company family. This mentality shaped every aspect of the marketing and branding strategy, from the images used on social media to the verbiage used on the website. In addition to being inclusive, the partners at ATL Cigar Company wanted the brand to be bold and classic, much like Atlanta. Much of Atlanta’s sports teams and monuments use red, gold and black, so that is the same color palette that was chosen for ATL Cigar Company. The Lamars and Gross wanted to also capture how the city refused to be seen as weak as well as its ability to embrace the opportunity to relax, one of the many paradoxes that defines life in Atlanta. The Brands The team wanted their brand to have some swagger as well, but it needed to be to a level that was approachable and still encouraged the level of relaxation most cigar smokers sought and expected from the lifestyle. From there, some historical elements were added to their brand’s look and feel to help connect it more to the community and city. “We were proud of the outcome, but we’re even prouder that our city has embraced our brand as their own and that they feel we are effectively representing ‘the A,’” says Janelle. When it came time to create the actual blends for the company, ATL Cigar Company worked closely with three different manufacturing partners. It was important to work with factories and manufacturers ATL's GoodTrouble was named after late Atlanta congressman and civil rights icon John Lewis. Libertad was blended to encourage the smoker to "shake that load off," according to the company.