Category: Cigars

Habanos Announces Habano Festival Dates

Credit: Timothy S Donahue
The dates for the XXIV Edition of the Habano Festival, have been announced. The exclusive cigar event is to be held in Havana from Feb. 26 – to March 1, 2024.
Habanos, S.A., the state-run distributor of global Cuban cigars, said in a release that its annual event is “in an international and exclusive atmosphere,” and it will include a wide-ranging program of activities combining the knowledge of the Habano and the exciting culture, including the ending final evening gala dinner and famed humidor auction.
“In this XXIV Edition, the best specialists, distributors and aficionados will enjoy all the activities that along with the best gastronomy and music have made this famous event: visits to renowned Habanos factories, plantations, seminars with interesting lectures, exclusives pairings, contests and three very special nights where they will get a sneak preview of the latest Habanos, S.A. novelties,” the release states.
Habanos, S.A. is already “working to make this event memorable for the expectations of aficionados with the passion and magic that they have come to expect from each new edition.”
More details on the Habano Festival will be announced soon and registration will be open to the public.

November 6, 2023
New Habanos Vitola for Duty-Free Shops

Habanos S.A., the state-run distribution arm of Cuban cigars, announced a new size of the Hoyo de Monterrey called the Destinos.
The new vitola will be exclusive to duty-free shops at travel ports around the world, excluding the United States.
The Destinos measures 5 and 7/10 (145mm) x 49 and was unveiled during the TFWA World Exhibition & Conference in Cannes, France. This is an event for duty-free retailers.
“The Hoyo de Monterrey Destinos travel humidor is a perfect choice for Habanos-loving travelers who enjoy thick-gauge vitolas and appreciate the light strength that is a hallmark of the Hoyo de Monterrey brand,” a Habnaos representative told Tobacco Reporter. “This is a great opportunity to enjoy all the aromas and flavors of Hoyo de Monterrey’s blend anywhere in the world.”
Within the general Cuban naming system, this will be known as the sutiles and is reportedly the first Cuban cigar made in this size.
It will be available in “travel humidors” in counts of 20 sticks. There was no timeline for release or pricing given.
October 6, 2023
DOJ Appeals FDA Premium Cigar Decision

The premium cigar industry recently declared victory in the fight against oversight by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Celebrations may have been premature.
The U.S. Department of Justice has filed an appeal on behalf of the FDA for a decision handed down from the United States District Court for the District of Columbia that fully vacated the Deeming Rule as it applied to premium cigars, according to media reports.
The lawsuit was filed by the Cigar Association of America, the Cigar Rights of America (CRA) and the Premium Cigar Association. The case focused in part on the rulemaking process, which requires the FDA to inform the public about upcoming regulations and solicit feedback on those proposed rules.
In last month’s decision in Cigar Association of America et al. v. United States Food and Drug Administration, Judge Amit P. Mehta made a sweeping, albeit expected, ruling that granted relief to the three cigar industry trade groups that sued the regulatory agency in 2016 on behalf of the premium cigar industry.
The news confirms industry fears that warning labels, premarket tobacco product application (PMTA) review of cigars and other limitations that have impeded the ability of cigarmakers are still a possibility.
Recently, the FDA acknowledged the decision and one of its impacts, telling cigar companies that it did not plan to assess user fees for “premium cigars” sold during Q4 FY23.
The Department of Justice, which represents FDA on legal matters, had 60 days to appeal the ruling. It’s unclear whether the agency will ask a court for a stay, which could reenact the deeming regulations for “premium cigars” as the appeal process works itself out.
September 30, 2023
U.S. Premium Cigar Imports Drop

Credit: Timothy S. Donahue
The Cigar Association of America (CAA) has released a report showing that U.S. imports of premium cigars from January-July 2023 are down 3.4 percent compared to the record pace that was set in 2022.
Through the end of July, CAA estimates the U.S. imported 252.81 million cigars, compared to 261.63 million in the same period during the year before.
While the numbers are down compared to last year, the trend line for the first seven months of the year is actually closer to 2022 than the Q1 numbers. More importantly, the numbers are still significantly above pre-Covid-19 levels, reports Halfwheel.
On a month-by-month basis, imports rose in four of the seven months, though March and April were down a combined 11.7 million cigars, or 14.41 percent compared to 2022. Addittionally, there were 6.5 million more cigars imported in May and July, or 8.33 percent over last year.
Nicaragua remains the dominant supplier of premium cigars to the U.S., accounting for roughly 55 percent of imports through the first seven months, according to CAA. However, those imports are down 4.2 percent compared to last year.
The CAA breaks down individual imports from seven countries and all were down except the Dominican Republic, which the group estimates has shipped 3.37 million more cigars compared to the same period last year, an increase of 4.8 percent.
September 28, 2023
Court Tosses Premium Cigar Regulations
Photo: Olena
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has vacated the Food and Drug Administration’s deeming regulations for premium cigars, reports Halfwheel.
As a result, the deeming regulations introduced by the agency in 2016 do not apply to cigars that meets all of the following criteria:
It is wrapped in whole tobacco leaf
It contains 100 percent leaf tobacco binder
It contains at least 50 percent long filler tobacco
It is handmade or hand rolled
It has no filter, nontobacco tip or nontobacco mouthpiece
It does not have a characterizing flavor other than tobacco
It contains only tobacco, water and vegetable gum with no other ingredients or additives
It weighs less than 6 pounds per 1,000 units.
The lawsuit was filed by the Cigar Association of America, the Cigar Rights of America (CRA) and the Premium Cigar Association.
The case focused in part on the rulemaking process, which requires the FDA to inform the public about upcoming regulation and solicit feedback on those proposed rules.
Contrary to the FDA’s assertion when it announced its finalized rules in 2016, the agency received feedback, according to Judge Amit P. Mehta. Specifically, the CRA in a comment to the proposed rules cited a finding from an FDA-funded study indicating that cigar smokers do not have higher “all-cause” mortality rates than nonsmokers.
According to Halfwheel, the cigar industry is likely to ask the FDA to reimburse the user fees it has paid the agency, which the publication estimates at about $100 million per year for both premium and non-premium cigars.
The FDA still has the option to deem premium cigars as regulated tobacco products, but it must complete the process that it failed to complete properly from 2014 to 2016.
August 9, 2023
A Growing Household

Photos: Annick Vernimmen
The Vandermarliere Family of Cigars is expanding.
By Stefanie Rossel
Cigars are a “gourmet” niche within the tobacco industry, but in the mass market cigar segment, sales keep growing. According to Statista, the global cigar revenues segment will amount to $22.43 billion this year, and the market is expected to increase at a compound annual growth rate of 4.28 percent between 2023 and 2027.
With a revenue of $12.7 billion in 2023, the U.S. is the world’s largest market for cigars, followed by the U.K., China, Germany and Italy. One reason for the recent growth, Statista analysts say, is the fact that cigars have started gaining popularity among younger adult consumers in many countries, reversing a decades-long downward trend.
One cigar company that has been growing in line with global market development is VCF of Zwevegem, Belgium. Founded in 1926, the family-owned business has a long tradition as a manufacturer of high-quality cigars and cigarillos. In the 1970s, VCF’s predecessor became the owner of the J. Cortes brand through the acquisition of the Belgian cigar manufacturers Neos Cigar. Chairman Guido Vandermarliere reinvented the brand, with a characteristic deep-blue packaging and select tobacco varieties.
For many years, the company traded under the name J. Cortes, which turned the firm into a global player in the 1980s. In 2016, it took over U.S.-based Oliva Cigar Co., a family-run manufacturer of hand-rolled cigars with whom the Vandermarliere family had long-standing ties. It then brought J. Cortes and Oliva Cigars together under the umbrella of VCF—the Vandermarliere Family of Cigars.
Today, Oliva Cigars is the parent company for all of VCF’s handmade cigars whereas J. Cortes is the overarching brand for all of the company’s machine-made products. The takeover of Oliva Cigars turned the United States into VCF’s most important market overnight. VCF now caters to more than 85 markets with both handmade and factory-made cigars.
“Historically, France has been very important for our family, and the U.S. for the Oliva family,” says VCF CEO Fred Vandermarliere, who leads the company in the third generation. “When looking to Europe, we are strong where we have our own sales teams. This is the case in the Benelux, France, Spain, Germany and Italy.”
Growing the Business

VCF grows its own tobaccos to help guarantee a consistent flavor and quality.
VCF has been expanding its sales and distribution networks in the latter two countries.
In July 2022, VCF acquired two German cigar companies, Woermann Cigars and Wolfertz—transactions that set the stage for VCF to become one of the leading premium cigar distributors in Germany, which is one of the largest markets for non-Cuban cigars outside the U.S. In addition to selling its own brands, Woermann is also a distributor. Wolfertz, too, is a leading cigar distributor in Germany; the company has been distributing Oliva Cigars since 2010. VCF’s German cigar business, which was operated by four different German distributors before, was transferred to the new organization in January 2023.
In June 2023, VCF announced a partnership with Cuban American cigar manufacturer EPC, under which VCF will start distributing EPC cigars in Italy.
“In Italy, we only cover the sales part,” explains Vandermarliere. “Since the early 2000s, we have been investing in a local sales team. Germany is a different story. It’s a big cigar country, and there is no real central distribution. Entering the market there was always rather difficult, so we never really put much effort into it. That changed since Oliva and Olifant joined the family. Suddenly, we had a stronger portfolio and more leverage. It opened our mind to think about alternative solutions. We talked to all our partners, and finally Woermann and Wolfertz decided to join our family, making us stronger to survive the heavy legislation that was coming to us. Concerning sales, we are strongly convinced that keeping focus is important for the company and the sales team. Consistently hitting the same nail over and over again is in my opinion the real key to success, even though it’s not always fun.”
New Processing Centers

The takeover of Oliva Cigars turned the United States into VCF’s most important market overnight.
Regarding its production facilities, VCF hasn’t been idle either. The company, which sources its tobaccos from all over the world, works in three locations: In Sri Lanka, it runs a tobacco processing factory, to which it sends all leaf tobaccos. Once processed, the leaves are sent back to Europe and made into cigars at VCF’s Belgian manufacturing plant in Handzame. Zwevegem is the company’s logistics center, where most of its cigars are packed, stamped for tax purposes and eventually distributed all over the globe.
In the past two years, VCF’s manufacturing focus has been on hand-rolled cigars. The company invested millions of U.S. dollars in two state-of-the-art processing centers in Nicaragua for its Oliva Cigars division. Las Llantas in Condega and Las Mesitas in Esteli, situated about 40 km apart in the northwest of the central American country, became operational in December 2021 and 2022, respectively.
The idea behind the ventures was to be able to closely monitor every step of the production so that soil, tobacco and handling reinforce each other to create a first-class product for cigar aficionados. For the same reason, VCF has also purchased farms in Nicaragua and is now growing its own tobaccos.
“We are strong believers that’s it’s essential,” says Vandermarliere. “If you want to produce a premium cigar, it is necessary to control every part of the process. Having your own fields and growing your own tobaccos are a few of the steps that guarantee a consistent flavor and quality for now and for the future. The fields also provide a certainty of supply and have an ecological benefit. It enables you to test new seeds, new variations, working with less pesticides and water, etc. But this doesn’t exclude the collaboration with local farmers; it enforces it. We start to gain knowledge in our own fields and are then helping the independent farmers as much as possible to follow our tests when they are successful.”
The new facilities have jointly created jobs for 1,400 local workers. The project has also boosted the local community, an important consideration in the company’s philosophy. In addition to creating the best possible working conditions for its employees, VCF has started a number of initiatives in Nicaragua, such as setting up a preschool with the Oliva Helping Hands Foundation. “Besides that, we have been doing charity for many years and all over the planet, with a focus on youth and the next generation,” says Vandermarliere. “We want people to have a chance at a better life, and it all starts with education. We have supported mobile schools in Sri Lanka and Nicaragua. There’s also the Procigar Initiative, which provides better housing for the local communities that we support every year.”
Smaller Carbon Footprint
On the other side of the Atlantic, VCF has reintroduced tobacco farming in Flanders, the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium. It’s another move to support the community; with its initiative, VCF hopes to revive knowledge about tobacco cultivation and the seed species that promote biodiversity in the region. But it also contributes to more sustainable production, says Vandermarliere. The main reason, he says, is to shorten the supply chain. “It is true that the crops are quite small and the Belgian soil does not grow every kind of tobacco,” says Vandermarliere. “The leaves have a specific flavor, but blended with other tobacco, you can definitely use them. Moreover, it helps us to secure our stock.”
Sustainability plays an essential role in the company’s strategy. In 2022, VCF received its first annual certificate from Voka, Flanders’ chamber of commerce and industry, for having eliminated 100 tons of plastic and 600,000 cardboard outer packagings from its production chain. The company also analyzed its mobility and has started switching to hybrid and electric cars. The measures were only the first in a series; in 2021, VCF signed a sustainability charter and, in consultation with Voka, set itself 20 sustainable action targets linked to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals—all of which it achieved.
“Sustainability has always been very important to us, even long before it became a marketing asset,” says Vandermarliere. “Everything we do, we do for the next generation(s), so there is no other way than the sustainable way. Our further plan is to make every layer of the business sustainable. It is on top of our agenda because we want people to enjoy our cigars 100 years from now. Sustainability is not only about land but also about people and the market.”
The new plant in Nicaragua, according to Vandermarliere, is a great example of the company’s vision on sustainability: “First of all, it has a small ecological footprint. Secondly, the working conditions for our people are great. And finally, it’s such a beautiful building, which hopefully helps to ensure the lifespan of the building.”
With more than 7,500 employees worldwide, VCF manufactures more than 450 million cigars annually. Vandermaliere says he is not expecting radical growth of the cigar market, as the premium cigar market has always been stable. His company, he adds, is a family that sells relaxation. Fittingly, Vandermarliere is similarly relaxed about the future: “In all our history, we never planned any of the great milestones. Things happen as they do, and things seem to cross our path very naturally. This is part of our long-term vision to survive. If we find families with a similar philosophy and values to whom we can bring added value and vice versa, we will consider collaborating. Indeed, a lot happened in the last five years, but it is equally possible that nothing will change in the next five years.”
Stefanie Rossel is Tobacco Reporter’s editorial contributor. An experienced trade journalist, she combines sharp reporting skills with in-depth knowledge of the tobacco and vapor industries. Prior to joining Tobacco Reporter, Stefanie was editor-in-chief at Tobacco Journal International, where she worked for a decade. Fluent in English, German and French, Stefanie covers tobacco news around the world. She is based in Germany.

August 1, 2023
Flavor Ban Will Create Unregulated Markets

Photo: Tobacco Reporter archive
The Cigar Association of America (CAA) has published a new analysis showing the significant negative impacts the Food and Drug Administration’s proposed ban on flavored cigars would have on public health and law enforcement activities.
“Making flavored cigars illegal will not eliminate the demand for flavored cigars; it will only criminalize their sale and create illicit markets,” said CAA President David M. Ozgo in a statement. “The nation has seen this with marijuana and our failed experiment in alcohol prohibition in the 1920s.”
Earlier this month, the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee approved language in the FDA’s 2024 appropriation that would effectively block the agency from enforcing the proposed ban, Ozgo said. “We applaud the appropriators for recognizing how damaging FDA’s proposed ban on flavored cigars would be.”
According to the CAA, the existing regulatory system for flavored cigars was designed to ensure that legal tobacco products are manufactured to meet established standards, undergo quality control measures, and prevent inclusion of unregulated ingredients that could pose health hazards to consumers.
Criminals, however, do not care about regulatory standards or quality control, Ozgo noted. The analysis shows how illicit tobacco products sold through criminal enterprises often contain dangerous contaminants such as asbestos and rat droppings.
“Further, FDA claims it will only enforce the flavored cigar ban against manufacturers and retailers, not against individuals,” the CAA wrote in a press note. “However, the report notes that nearly all states have cigar excise taxes, and all 50 states have laws that treat unlicensed tobacco sales as a serious crime.”
In written comments submitted to FDA, many law enforcement groups opposed the ban, including the National Association of Police Organizations, Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association Foundation, National Narcotics Officers Association Coalition, National Troopers Coalition and the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives.
The groups pointed out they don’t enforce FDA law, but they do enforce state laws requiring that excise taxes be paid on cigars. Shifting resources to police a new crime—sale of untaxed flavored cigars—will mean reduced efforts to combat other criminal activity, according to the law enforcement groups.
The analysis also raises concerns that law enforcement efforts would fall disproportionately on minority populations. The National Black Chamber of Commerce stated in its FDA comments: “…enforcement of local laws against these transactions (flavored cigars) will certainly bring African Americans, already the subject of over policing, into further confrontations with law enforcement personnel.”
The Congress of Racial Equality also opposed the ban in its public comments, noting that the deaths of Eric Garner and Michael Brown at the hands of police involved tobacco enforcement. Michael Brown’s initial infraction was related to cigars and Garner’s to the sale of untaxed tobacco.
May 29, 2023
VCF to Distribute EPC Cigars in Italy

Ernesto Perez-Carrillo (left) and Fred Vandermarliere | Photo: VCF
VCF will start distributing EPC cigars in Italy.
Fred Vandermarliere of VCF and EPC founder Ernesto Perez-Carrillo will officially announce the partnership on June 23 in Florence.
EPC’s cigars include acclaimed brands such as Encore Celestial, Majestic (voted cigar of the year by Cigar Aficionado in 2018), Pledge Prequel (Cigar Aficionado cigar of the year in 2020) and Pledge Sojourn, along with a sampler of three cigars called Triumph.
Each of these was created by Perez-Carrillo, who VCF describes as one of the best master blenders in the world
Created out of the merger between J. Cortes and Oliva in 2016, VCF has cooperated with EPC in the past. For example, Perez-Carrillo helped VFC resurrect the cult hero brand Aliados by recreate the original blend from his mentor Rolando Reyes Sr.
VFC has great expectations of the partnership between its leaders. “It is no coincidence that these titans share a vision and cooperate on several projects,” the company wrote in a press release. “It reflects a similarity in the way in which both parties look at the craft and its heritage, at the industry that is built on it, and on the answers that may guide its future.”
May 25, 2023
VFC Opens Processing Center in Nicaragua

The Vandermarliere Family of Cigars (VFC) inaugurated its Las Mesitas tobacco processing center near Esteli, Nicaragua, on Jan. 27.
Together with the Las Llantas facility, Las Mesitas will store, process and ferment tobacco for Oliva Cigar Co.’s Tabolisa factory.
“As manufacturers of the world’s finest cigars, we are also guardians of quality, on an everlasting quest to find perfection,” said VFC CEO Fred Vandermarliere during the opening ceremony, where nine members of the Vandermarliere family cut the ribbon. “We are now well-equipped for that mission.”
According to Vandermarliere, Las Mesitas and Las Llantas each embody the company’s goal of offering cigar lovers the best product time and again. “They close the circle of production from seed to cigar and assure the entire loop is structured to aim for maximum quality. We control every aspect of the premium item you fire up to enjoy a unique moment,” he said.
Employing 320 people and featuring state-of-the-art technology, the Las Mesitas complex represents not only a major long-term investment, but also a boost to the local community.
“You can’t talk about quality that stems from exceptional origin and is forged by exceptional people without talking about fairness,” said Ernesto Milanes, head of the tobacco operations of the Longfiller group. “We invest in the local community because we want every premium cigar to connect everyone involved: from farmer to worker to aficionado. That’s the other circle—the circle of purpose.”
The company’s support of the local community is a long-term commitment, according to Fred Vandermarliere. “One lifetime is only a short period of time, but what we build, survives us; it serves many generations to come,” he said.
May 16, 2023
Returning to Cuba
The Cuban cigar industry is flourishing despite several challenges, including weather and factory staffing.
By Timothy S. Donahue

Photos: Timothy Donahue
It was going to be a two-hour to three-hour drive. The rented 16-seat passenger bus had problems the day before, but the driver insisted that the issues had been resolved. Taking the buses provided by Habanos, the manufacturing and distribution arm of Cuba’s state-controlled cigar industry, is more reliable, but the trip often takes more than 12 hours to complete because things move at a slower pace with the Festival del Habano crowd. A small group of colleagues and I decided to rent the private bus instead.
It didn’t turn out well. About 45 minutes into the trip to Pinar del Rio, Cuba’s tobacco growing region on the western side of the island, the bus began to fill with smoke. In typical Cuban fashion, the driver turned around in his seat and said, “Do not worry; this happens all the time.” It soon became too much, however, and the bus had to pull over along the side of the busy Havana highway during morning rush hour. The six passengers climbed down the steps to the side of the road. Smoke continued to billow from the engine.
An hour after being promised another bus would arrive in 15 minutes, we decided to call it a day. We then began the hour wait for two cabs to make the short trip from the city center to pick us up during what was now extremely heavy traffic. Cuba doesn’t have much gasoline, so everything runs on diesel, and the exhaust made the roadside nearly as toxic as riding in the damaged bus. We never made it to the farms. The bus driver assured us that the bus would be fixed by the next day. We never bothered to call to find out.
Maritza Carillo Gonzalez
Travel in Cuba can be complicated. For all of its troubles, however, the island is filled with a passion and love for everything Cuban, including its music, food and, of course, cigars. During the 23rd edition of the Habano Festival, which took place from Feb. 27 to March 3, more than 2,000 cigar aficionados from around the globe came together in Havana to celebrate the Cuban cigar after a two-year hiatus caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Habanos’ new co-president, Maritza Carrillo Gonzalez, said she has had the honor of attending numerous festivals and has seen for herself the passion with which Habanos enthusiasts enjoy and appreciate the event. She said she was excited for its return. “This year has a special flavor,” Gonzalez said. “This is a unique and long-awaited edition in which I take on a new position that I accept with great enthusiasm and responsibility.”
Rising from Ruin

Cuba’s tobacco farms are recovering from the damage sustained in September, when Hurricane Ian made landfall as a Category 3 storm. While Habanos brought festivalgoers to a smaller farm in Pinar del Rio, many media members wandered to other larger, more famous farms in the area. They found that the plants were still small, but farms seemed to be growing and curing plenty of tobacco leaf.
The industry intends to plant 9,500 hectares of tobacco, down from an initial plan of 15,000 ha, according to Enrique Blanco, agricultural director of Tabacuba, the agricultural arm of Cubatabaco, the state-owned tobacco conglomerate. An estimated 2,100 ha of premium shade-grown leaf will be cultivated, which Cuba hopes to use to meet its growing export demands.
In Cuba, the growing process starts in July and August, when the seedbeds are prepared, preferably on loose, well-drained soils. After 45 days of irrigation, the plants reach a height of 13 cm to 15 cm (5 inches to 6 inches) and are ready to be replanted in early October. The plants reach their full growth during the 45 days to 50 days following replanting, and after another 50 days they are ready for harvesting.
Private tobacco producers have been meeting with Cuban authorities over the past few months to secure the state’s help in settling debts and paying for materials to rebuild tobacco drying houses, according to Cubatabaco. Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic as well as other producers have also stepped in to help Cuba recuperate. Several farms have new curing barns, but many more are still needed.
Factory Floors

Entering a Cuban cigar factory can be overwhelming for the senses. The smell of cured leaf, cigar smoke and hard work can be intoxicating. During the visit to the factories this year, festival attendees had the opportunity to experience two of Cuba’s “Big Four” factories: La Corona, also once known as La Casa de Hierro, and the world-famous Real Fabrica de Tabacos Partagas. The other two major factories are H. Upmann and El Laguito. At La Corona, the factory produces Romeo y Julieta, Hoyo de Monterrey, Cuaba, Por Larranaga, Saint Luis Rey, San Cristobal de la Habana and some Montecristo. Habanos markets 27 premium brands. There are over 400 market names and an estimated 100 factory names.
La Corona’s manager said that daily production averages an estimated 25,000 cigars. Workers strip an estimated 1,200 leaf per day. During the peak of the Covid pandemic, those numbers plummeted by half. “We have returned to close to normal operations,” the manager said. “What is complicated is we had many experienced rollers leave the factory or even the country, and now we must train new rollers, and that takes time.” The manager also said that in 2022, farmers began testing a new variety of tobacco that was more resistant to fungus. “We like the results so far,” he said.
The quality control manager at La Corona claimed that the wrapper imparts little flavor to the cigar. This led to a contentious debate among festivalgoers, and the opinions varied greatly. However, when the manager insisted that the addictiveness of Cuban cigars was due not to their exquisite leaf but to the fact that their wrappers are sorted on the thighs of Cuban women, his statement went oddly uncontested.
At the Partagas factory, other brands are produced as well–everything from Partagas, Cohiba and Romeo y Julieta to Bolivar and Quai d’Orsay. The original factory closed for renovations in 2011; however, after a roof collapse in 2020, the original historic factory was shuttered for good, and all operations moved to the “new” historic building, which is still quite old.
Currently, Partagas has 200 rollers producing about 15,000 cigars a day. However, the tour guide said that on many days there are only 100 rollers or so because, like La Corona, many of them have left for other factories located closer to their homes or have left the country entirely. There is room for 240. Many rollers also switch between factories based on demand for cigars.
The exodus was evident throughout Cuba where even some well-known rollers have left the country. Reynaldo Gonzalez, for example, moved to Mexico, and the Hotel Conde de Villanueva where his La Casa del Habano (LCDH) was located is shuttered with green plywood over the entranceways. Alejandro Gonzalez Arias left the Hotel Comodoro to open a cigar lounge in California. The Comodoro store is now operated by two talented female rollers.
Robust Sales

In 2022, Habanos generated $545 million in revenue, nearly 2 percent more than in 2021. Habanos reported a turnover of $568 million in 2021 (Habanos did not define its 2022 turnover, only revenue), up 15 percent growth over the previous year. The company’s largest markets for cigar sales are Spain, France, Germany, China and Switzerland, consecutively.
The company also boosted its retail presence in 2022. Habanos now has 157 LCDH stores, 17 Cohiba Atmosphere locations, 1,264 Habanos Specialists, 2,744 Habanos Point designated stores and 587 Habanos Lounge and Habanos Terrace locations.
Last year, Habanos announced a new “global pricing standard,” which greatly increased the prices of Cuban cigars around the world. The company has already announced at least two additional price increases for 2023. The price increases have impacted the costs of Cuban cigars greatly. In 2018, for example, a box of 10 Cohiba Talisman Limited Edition 2017 cigars cost $600. Today, that same box can cost anywhere from $2,350 to $2,850—if they can be found. Cohiba Robustos were selling at multiple locations in Cuba for about $1,700 a box, meaning each cigar was selling for just under $70 each. In 2019, the box of 25 cigars was less than $300.
The company is confident in its pricing strategy, according to Jose Luis Lopez Inchaurbe, development vice president of Habanos. “The process of implementing the new price homogenization strategy takes time. As in every market, the procedures and the regulatory situations are different,” Lopez said. “So, the price increase has not been made at the same time in every market. Then we are now evaluating how the demand has been impacted by this step. In any case, it’s clear that some brands and references have responded better than others. But we see this as a normal situation of the compensation of the demand by market.”
Luis Sanchez-Harguinday, co-president of Habanos, said that the company has “big expectations” for the coming year, adding that two factors will make the most impact. “First of all, because we trust in the power of our initiatives that we have, product initiatives and other activities that we are planning for the year,” he said, “and this is a great weapon that we have, and it’s all the enthusiasm, the hard work, the spirit and passion devoted by all the participants in the value chain of our business, starting by the Cuban Tobacco Research Institute, going through the farmers, the tobacco growers, the Cuban industry, of course, the workers at Habanos, and finally, the unique and exclusive distribution network that we have.”
Evening Events

The most attended experiences during the Habano Festival are its three evening events, held on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Each of the three evening events celebrates specific brands or releases, and the Monday opening night event commemorated the Montecristo Open line. It was held at Club Habana, a historic beach resort that opened in 1928. This year’s event featured a show with drones depicting scenes of farmers, cigar bands and cigar brand names. The event can most easily be described as a street festival on a boardwalk at the beach on the grounds of a historic resort.
Wednesday’s evening event is a little different from Monday’s event but has many of the same qualities. Held at the El Laguito Reception Hall, this experience was dedicated not only to the Bolivar marca but also to both Habanos Specialist and LCDH stores. The evening marked the release of Bolivar’s New Gold Medal cigars. This event is a giant, fancy pool party where everyone is dressed up and no one is swimming.
It was rumored that for the first time in the Habano Festival history, the company had an LCDH outlet at Monday’s evening event that was selling the newly released Open Slam. However, at the Wednesday event, participants witnessed firsthand the LCDH table selling boxes of 10 of the Bolivar New Gold Medal cigars for $250. It was a madhouse, and people waited the entire evening in some cases to buy a box of the new cigars at a seriously reduced price reserved for the festival. There is no timetable for when the cigar will be released to the public.
Friday’s gala dinner event is the premier event of the festival and is traditionally held at the Pabexpo Fairgrounds. This experience is a sight to behold. The 2023 evening paid tribute to the Partagas brand with the launch of the Linea Maestra, the brand’s most premium line. Only an estimated 1,200 people are permitted to attend. The gala was also honored by the attendance of Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel, who signed the Cohiba humidor for the festival’s humidor auction, bringing back an old tradition popularized by Fidel Castro during the first editions of the festival.
Castro last signed a festival humidor in 2006, when five humidors sold for a total of $725,000. It was also the final time Castro was able to attend the event. Famous for his ability to orate at length, Castro’s presence at the early events caused a mixture of awe and trepidation by some guests—awe at the opportunity to share a room with such a historical figure and apprehension about missing an early morning flight. Only a few journalists, including Tobacco Reporter, were allowed on the floor where the gala was taking place this year, as all the other journalists were relegated to platforms at the far ends of the room for nearly the entire evening.
The highlight of the closing event is the humidor auction, which has brought in record amounts of money for Cuba’s healthcare system the past few years. This year would be no different. The 2023 humidor auction generated a record $11.89 million in combined sales. This shattered the festival’s previous auction record of $4.71 million in 2020. This year, a Cohiba humidor was sold for $4.45 million, almost equaling the entire 2020 auction. It is the most expensive humidor ever sold at auction. According to sources, the buyer of the Cohiba humidor is one of the new Chinese partners of Allied Group, which owns 50 percent of Habanos.
It is impossible to truly know Cuba without visiting Cuba. For those in the cigar industry, there is no better time to travel to the country than during the Festival del Habano. For all its difficulties, it is still an amazing adventure. As one Cuban-American who has been in the tobacco industry for 35 years and was attending his first festival this year said, “It’s an amazing place. The people and the atmosphere are intoxicating. It’s also easy to see how a trip to Cuba could be going along great, and then suddenly, everything just falls apart.”
Timothy Donahue is the assistant editor of Tobacco Reporter. Since joining our team in January 2013, he has become not only an expert on the traditional tobacco business but also a well-respected voice in the rapidly developing vapor industry. Tim spends much of his time on the road, attending conferences and interviewing industry representatives. His networking skills, work ethic and quick mind are valuable assets to our diverse audience.

April 1, 2023