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July 12, 2010
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Thoughts on Re-Packaging
In yesterdays article, I pointed out a Cigar Aficionado story that our good friend Carlos directed me towards in regards to a new Don Pepin Garcia project. At the end of my post, I asked what the readers of Stogie Review thought out the re-blending of a cigar that was on the market.
As a result some excellent discussion was stirred up. I would like to extend yesterdays question a bit and ask your thoughts on re-packaging. I got to thinking about this after reading one of the many excellent comments to the original question.
Cigarfan of Keepers of the Flame:
I wonder what it was like fifty years ago when cigar smokers found a cigar brand they really liked and smoked it for the rest of their lives… today there are so many brands, brand extensions, and blend changes that it’s hard to keep up. I went into a cigar shop a couple weeks ago and asked about the new Aroma de Cuba blended by Pepin and the shop owner wanted to have me committed.
New blends are great, but I wish the manufacturers would at least give them new names instead of recycling the old ones.
Nowadays we have far too many choices to be as brand loyal as people were over fifty years ago, however we do have those cigars that are near and dear to our hearts. Would changed packaging make any difference in your purchasing habits?
cigar had a new look (same blend) would it change your decision to buy?
If the cigar blend was the same but the look was different as in, band, box, etc. it wouldn’t bother me. Although, if the price was higher due to the new look, that I wold have a problem with.
Now that I think of it, when Camacho revamped their look, was there a price hike?
as long as I knew the blend was the same I would still buy… however, if the packaging changed I think the general assumption would be that the blend changed as well. Unless it was advertised as having the same blend how would you know.
If it’s a something I like, I would still buy it. If the new packaging spoke to my specific sensibilities then I might buy it (but very likely only one time). I would also be upset if the price went up directly because of the new look.
I am not sure it would make a difference to me. I am a fan of naked cigars. Not having a band puts all the attention on the cigar itself, thus raising the level of importance of the quality of the cigar. Of course that is not always the case, and is not a rule at all, but in an ideal situation that makes sense.
Out of this world packaging is pretty lame though…there’s one cigar manufactures that is has some wacky boxes and glass tubes. I guess that it does not matter that much, but I prefer the old fashioned look of a regular old wooden box.
Cheers-
Thomas
Absolutely not although I would wonder if the blend had changed if they updated the packaging.
Look at the CAO Vision. The cigar was’t great and I think that if they got rid of that goofy box it came in, the price would go down a few bucks. Not that it would matter to me but, if you’re a fan of those, do you really have to buy that humidor box everything you want a box worth?
I do like to see a nice band on my smokes but a super fancy box is too much (unless it is supported by refill-packs so you don’t need to rebuy the box each time.) I imagine that much cigar pricing is somewhat arbitrary and is not so lean that a slight increase in packaging costs necessitates a price increase. More sales of a lower margin item might be more profitable than maintaining lower sales of a higher margin item. If styling is changed to appeal to modern tastes or expectations, then OK. However, if the change is used as a diversion to play with pricing, then its bogus.
A different look would make me wonder if it was reblended or if the crop used that year was different. Overall I wouldn’t care, but it would make me wonder if something else was changed that wasn’t visible to the eye.
the new la aroma is actually called the edicion especial, its not really a reblending, just an additional line
It seems to me that most re-boxing of late is due to one of two reasons. Either, they are done with the original super-fancy box and going to something more typical. Or, they are going from a 25/box to 20/box and still asking the same price.
I don’t mind the former, but the later just sucks. It is like the incredible shrinking candy bar.
I hate 20 count boxes, and they do keep me from buying. Even with no blend change and even with a cigar I’ve kept on hand for years.
Did I hear right or is the Oliva Serie V packaging getting a makeover?
Actually, the new La Aroma is both…new addition to the line and it is reblended.
The original LaDC contains Cuban seed Nicaraguan and Honduran tobaccos.
The new LaDC contains Nicaraguan and Ecuadorian tobaccos.
I can understand why manufacturers try to do it… it’s expensive to think up and market a totally new brand, the only problem is once I have a bad experience with a brand I almost never go back to it, blend change or not.
A new look to a favorite cigar wouldn’t bother me, assuming the blend was the same, and there wasn’t a major price hike.
For example, the new Dona Flor’s are keeping the same blend, using different tobacco sellers, and they added a foot band. They did up the price a little, and it bugs me, but damn they are good cigars…