Bellatto also relies on other like-minded cigar brand owners to help him not only promote La Barba but also to change how people perceive the boutique cigar category as a whole. Bellatto met Matt Booth, owner of Room 101 Cigars, back in 2008. Later, he met Caldwell Cigar Co.’s Robert Caldwell. The three men have not only formed a partnership but have become close friends who constantly exchange ideas and support each other’s brands and business endeavors.
“It seemed natural from the beginning. Matt and I became friends when he started in the cigar business, and he is a source of inspiration to me and has a wealth of knowledge in this industry. He has never once hesitated to help me, answer my many questions or support me every time,” Bellatto says of his working relationship with Booth.
“In 2012, I was blending my first version of what would become La Barba Red, and Robert was working under the Wynwood [Cigars] brand, doing some radically different things I’d never seen before,” says Bellatto. “There was just something mutual that we recognized in each other, and we both knew we wanted to work together and collaborate. Eventually, Robert introduced me to Henderson Ventura, which led to our second line: La Barba Purple. Ironically, because of the success of that, he started to distribute my cigars after I couldn’t keep up with growing demand on my own. He believed in me and the brand, and continues to do so, when almost no one else did. I can’t say enough about Robert and Matt and will support them no matter what.”
Surrounding himself with people who are passionate about what they do and how they’re doing it has been crucial to Bellatto’s success. Passion, he says, is infectious, and everyone who has been involved in La Barba—past and present—has worked off one another’s creativity.
Embracing the Boutique Title
Since launching the La Barba brand, Bellatto has strived to create blends that surprise and challenge the cigar category rather than follow trends seen throughout the industry. The most important thing to Bellatto is to make cigars people like so much that they’re compelled to share them with other family members and friends. Inspired by those family dinners that came to define his younger years, he’s worked hard to bring that same “family-style” mentality to his brand and products, crafting shared experiences through exceptional cigars. He credits his father for teaching him the importance of patience, relationships and how great products often stand the test of time. His father, who spent years as a retailer, also taught him how to spot fads and encouraged him never to chase them but rather to create his own.
Bellatto keeps his father’s advice in mind and focuses heavily on the quality of his products. This is where being a boutique brand as opposed to being a big brand is an advantage.
“I feel personally responsible to each person who buys and smokes our product, and I always encourage feedback,” he says. “The bigger you get, I think, the harder it is to feel that strong personal responsibility because the layers of the business further insulate you from your customers. The challenge will be, as we continue to grow, to find a way to maintain that close relationship, and I will strive every day to make that happen.”
Consistency is another quality Bellatto feels is important for his brand to exude. From the product itself to in-store support, he has found and observed that the most successful brands over the years are those whose consistency helps to build relationships, and those relationships are what help to sell the products. You can have the best-tasting cigar in the world and achieve short-term success, but without those relationships with retailers and customers, long-term success may remain elusive. In addition, for homegrown brands like La Barba, authenticity goes hand-in-hand with delivering a high-quality and consistent product.
This story first appeared in the November/December 2018 issue of Tobacco Business magazine. Members of the tobacco industry are eligible for a complimentary subscription to our magazine. Click here for details.
– Story by Antoine Reid, an editor and digital content director for Tobacco Business Magazine. You can follow him on Instagram @editor.reid.
