Tobacco Business

[ 82 ] TOBACCO BUSINESS [ SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER | 21 ] that were responsive throughout the process and also flexible and willing to help the Lamars and Gross craft the blends that matched their branding. Gross, who serves as the company’s head of product, took the lead at this phase, using his knowledge of tobacco, soil and regional characteristics to set expectations with various manufacturers and evaluate proposed blends. Each conversation with a manufacturer was followed by testing, waiting and retesting. Throughout this process, the Lamars and Gross were never afraid of saying “no” or going in a different direction, regardless of who they were speaking to or working with. They had agreed that the company would only go live with a blend that all three of them agreed on and couldn’t live without. Good Trouble is a blend named after former U.S. Representative John Lewis and was produced at Tabacalera Hernandez in Estelí, Nicaragua. The blend’s flavor and medium strength caught each partner’s attention, and though the blend features tobaccos from six different regions, it is still accessible to many due to its lack of ligero. This blend gave ATL Cigar Company a cigar that would appeal to those cigar enthusiasts that preferred mild to medium-bodied cigars. The company’s Libertad line is produced at Aganorsa’s TABSA, also located in Estelí, Nicaragua. Gross considers Aganorsa Leaf to be his all-time favorite producer and was ecstatic when Paul Palmer and Terence Reilly agreed to produce a cigar line for ATL Cigar Company. The Libertad features Aganorsa’s well-known Corojo wrapper and a mix of Criollo and Corojo from Aganorsa’s farms, giving this cigar a world-class flavor and quality. For its Black line, ATL Cigar Company worked with Martinez Cigars, which is based in New York. Initially, there was a fear that a cigar made in America would be too expensive for ATL Cigar Company’s market, but Martinez Cigars was able to deliver a full- bodied cigar that the Lamars and Gross describe as “an absolute home run.” Black’s blend packs a punch with its Mexican San Andrés wrapper that lacks the bitterness that a lot of other full-bodied cigars have. This is attributed to a combination of an uncommon ligero binder and Estelí-grown Gran Reserva filler that has been aged a minimum of five years. Another key ingredient to bringing these blends to life wasn’t a tobacco but a musical source of inspiration. “I have to admit that Outkast was very, very important to our blending process,” admits Leroy. “Every time we whittled our options for blends down to the final one, I had to get alone with Outkast, usually in the back of whatever factory or warehouse we were visiting, and smoke the cigar to their music. If Outkast said the cigar was right, then it was right. But if Outkast said it was wrong…. For me, it was like asking the ATL spirit world for its approval.” The Mission The blends have an obvious important role to play in ATL Cigar Company, but the products provide a way for the company to fulfill its overall mission of bringing people from all walks of life together. While some may feel it is slightly cliché, the team behind ATL Cigar Company views inclusivity as inspiring. Every person has his or her own journey, and when their paths cross and intertwine with others, learning, adaptation and evolution take place. These three byproducts of building a community help create better people by allowing for more understanding, grace and encouragement. This, moreso than a good cigar, is what ATL Cigar Company’s team senses that people in Atlanta and beyond are craving and in need of but don’t always know how to acquire for themselves. “When we go to cigar shops, we get a sense that people in our city and our country want to come together but don’t know how to go about it,” says Leroy. “Well, we’d like to offer you a great cigar, an hour and a half with a stranger and our experience in doing it ourselves. If we start there, we might find ways as a city to do the work together and to get into some good trouble together on a larger scale.” Where some companies choose to market and promote their brands and products as being exclusive or made specifically for a certain type of consumer, ATL Cigar Company is working hard to promote itself as being for everyone. It is working hard to serve as many markets, retailers and consumers as possible, and diversifying its brands and customer base is critical. ATL Cigar Company may have been born in Atlanta, but it’s aiming to reach out and connect with cigar enthusiasts around the world. TB Are you looking to bring more diversity and inclusion into your business? Janelle Lamar, ATL Cigar Company’s director of marketing, recommends making the following three moves. • Listen and trust what you’re told. It is important first to listen to those who are different than you, but trusting them enough to actually buy into their suggestions and ideas is a whole different thing. Old habits are hard to break, but for change to take place, they must be broken. Take a risk and pursue someone else’s idea. • Seek a second or third opinion. Seek more than just one “token” person. Black people are not a monolith. Not all women share the same experiences. Take time to learn from a host of individuals within the demographic you’re seeking to include. • Make changes at the top. If you’re seeing your brand start to stagnate, or even if you’re doing well but are looking for a new spark, try changing how your company’s leadership looks. This is a centuries-old industry with a lot of established brands, but the industry is changing, and you can be part of that change. How to Become More Inclusive

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