The Dilemma of Cigar Brand Coattail Riding: Identity, Reputation, and Creativity in the Cigar Industry
Recently my friend and fellow cigarinspector.com contributor Ray showed me picture of a cigar. My immediate response was “what an odd shape for a Hoyo de Monterrey” but then I saw it was El Principe de Gales by Serafin de Cuba. And that triggered me, why do cigar brands like to ride the coattail of famous Cuban brands instead of being their own brand. Don’t the manufacturers or brand owners see that by doing that, they actually cheapen their own brand and market it as a cheap, poor-quality rip-off without any creativity?
In case of El Principe de Gales it is even worse. El Principe de Gales is an old Cuban brand, dating back to 1853 when a Spanish immigrant, Vincente Martinez Ybor, opened the El Principe de Gales (Prince of Wales) factory in Havana. Reviving an old, discontinued Cuban brand in the new world, there’s nothing wrong with that. But then use the old artwork, or artwork inspired by the original artwork. Do it like My Father Cigars did for Flor de Las Antillas or La Antiguedad, or as PDR Cigars with the El Vinyet, El Trovador and El Criollito. A.J. Fernandez resurrected San Lotano, but with original artwork and there are more examples. But none of them take a Cuban brand name and then slap that name on a copy of a label of another famous Cuban marca. In my mind, that El Principe de Galan by Serafin de Cuba was immediately downgraded to a cheaply made bundle cigar of poor quality.
My experience with brands that want to ride the coattail of countries or other marcas isn’t good. Of course, there are some exceptions. Years ago, PDR was famous for stealing Cuban designs even though the PDR products are good enough not to need these kinds of tactics. Abe Flores must have seen the light, as now all old PDR brands have been redesigned and the new offerings have original labels. And in the case of the resurrected Cuban brands by PDR, these have a rendered version of the original artwork. Artwork bought by Abe Flores on a trip to Cuba. Another exception is Condega, but they are also moving away from the Partagas Serie D#4 design label.
But back to the topic. Why would you, as a brand owner, use the word Cuba in your brand name? First of all, it means that you limit your potential reach as you cannot sell your products outside of the USA. It also shows a lack of creativity. And as I said before, it cheapens your brand. A quite popular budget brand is Cuban rounds, but with a name like that it will never be able to reach above a budget cigar. Nobody in his right mind would pay $10 or more for a cigar with a name like that.
Alec Bradley has the same problem with their budget offering, spirit of Cuba. Now, ironically, the spirit of the cigar rollers in Cuba is low and what Habanos is producing lacks spirit, which makes the name kind of fitting. But that series, available in three blends, is another attempt to ride the coattail of the Cuban reputation. A reputation that isn’t what it used to be anymore, but more on that later.
Over the years, I have seen and tried many small brands from unknown factories with designs looking like Cohiba, Partagas and other Cuban brands. And honestly, most of these cigars didn’t make it past the first inch because I could not take it any more. So, when I see an unknown brand with a copycat Cuban design, a riff on a Cuban name or a link with Cuba, I automatically cringe.
Even promoting a cigar as ‘Cubanesque’ is something I would not do if I owned a cigar brand. Twenty years ago, Cubanesque would mean it was a high-quality cigar, made with passion and pride, but nowadays when I see “Cubanesque” I think “oh, green tobacco and poorly constructed?”
Of course, there are always exceptions and that’s why it’s good to hear the stories behind the cigar. For example, Arturo Fuente has a line called Casa Cuba. But Fuente doesn’t need to ride any coattail, others ride the coattail of Fuente. And Fuente didn’t create this brand and blend with that In mind. When Carlos Fuente found out he was sick, he had one thing on his mind. Before he would pass away, he wanted to create a cigar that pays homage to his family roots in Cuba. That cigar, the last one he ever blended, was Casa Cuba.
Nicaragua’s coattail
That Cuba no longer has a great reputation is noticeable. Nicaragua now has a better reputation and the riding of the coattail of Nicaragua and Nicaraguan brands has begun. Last year I was at Doha airport and I noticed that the walk-in humidor contained a lot of bundles with a logo and a name that looked a lot like Joya de Nicaragua. But they weren’t made by Joya de Nicaragua, and had nothing to do with the oldest cigar factory in Esteli, Nicaragua.
Even the big Oettinger Davidoff is trying to ride Nicaragua’s coattail. And no, I don’t mean with the Davidoff Nicaragua. Even though that cigar is produced in the Dominican Republic, at least it is a Nicaraguan puro. All the tobacco is Nicaraguan and therefore, it deserves the name Nicaragua. I’m talking about the Zino Nicaragua. Naming that cigar Nicaragua is a slap in the face to the Nicaraguan tobacco industry and is nothing else but trying to fool the cigar smokers. The cigars are not made in Nicaragua, but that doesn’t have to be an issue as long as most or all of the tobacco is Nicaraguan. With the Zino Nicaragua, it is not the case. The wrapper isn’t Nicaraguan, and four out of the five filler tobaccos are not from Nicaragua. Only the binder, and one out of the five filler leaves comes from Nicaragua. That’s too little to fairly call it Nicaragua. And in my opinion, it cheapens the brand. Call me crazy, but I refuse to smoke this cigar just because of the false use of the word Nicaragua, a country that is dear to me.
So to all the brand owners out there, big like Oettinger Davidoff and STG (owners of Alec Bradley) or small like Serafin de Cuba: stop riding the coattail of brands or countries you have nothing to do with. Stop lying to your customers and start being creative. Instead of being insecure and feeling the need to use the reputation of a big brand or country, be proud of your product, create an identity of your own. Just like Cigar Inspector did, we didn’t call ourselves ‘quarterwheel’ or ‘fullwheel’ for a very good reason.
Inspector X
