Tag: Vandermarliere Cigar Family

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
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
For the Long Haul

Photo courtesy of VCF
Despite declining sales and considerable regulatory pressure, smokers are likely to still enjoy cigars 100 years from now.
By George Gay
It is instructive to read what the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says about the first report of the U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory Committee on Smoking and Health, which was published in 1964. According to the CDC’s website, the committee concluded that cigarette smoking [my emphasis] was a cause of lung cancer and laryngeal cancer in men, a probable cause of lung cancer in women and the most important cause of chronic bronchitis. And the CDC goes on to say, in the next sentence, “The release of the report was the first in a series of steps, still being taken more than 40 years later, to diminish the impact of tobacco use [my emphasis] on the health of the American people.”
It is noticeable how the CDC’s piece glides effortlessly from cigarette smoking, said to be the proven cause of these diseases, to the more general tobacco use. Clearly, since no distinction is being made between cigarette smoking and tobacco use, which could include, for instance, the consumption of snus, there was never any hope that regulators and the anti-tobacco community were going to recognize the more nuanced divide that separates cigarette smoking and cigar smoking.
It cannot be denied, however, that there is a world of difference between cigars and cigarettes and the way in which they are smoked, something that is given tacit recognition in many countries where the two products are separated by definitions and tax levels. Cigars and cigarettes are produced largely from different materials in different ways, so it is not surprising that they don’t look alike, they don’t taste or smell alike and they are consumed differently, including, in respect of cigars, less frequently. Additionally, cigars have a different, more limited consumer profile to that of cigarettes, with the former being enjoyed mainly by older men.
And while cigarette smoking is a habit, some say an addiction, cigar smoking can reasonably be seen as one of life’s simple pleasures, verging on a hobby among some people. Fred Vandermarliere, the CEO of VCF (Vandermarliere Cigar Family), which owns owners of J. Cortes and Oliva Cigars, said in an email exchange that taking an hour out of a day to smoke a cigar alone or with friends had the effect of clearing his head—it was a type of destressing that was similar to, though not the same as, the relaxation he enjoyed while cycling. But he said that cigar smoking, like all indulgences, should be enjoyed in moderation. “Don’t smoke, but enjoy,” he added.

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Lopped in with cigarettes
The case of mistaken identity that has seen cigars bracketed with cigarettes has been a major obstacle for the cigar business because it has meant that, in large part, cigars have suffered at the hands of regulations developed with cigarettes in mind. In the U.K., where, according to Scott Vines, the managing director of Tor Imports, regulation has banned the display of tobacco products in all shops except the country’s 120 specialist tobacconists, there has been a big reduction in stores stocking handmade cigars (HMCs). This is unsurprising. You don’t have to be an expert to realize that a business that relies partly on regularly offering new products and limited editions, as the cigar business does, needs more retail exposure than is the case with cigarettes.
But all is not lost. Vines said his company, as part of “the ongoing battle,” lobbied the government via its industry body, the Imported Tobacco Products Advisory Council, and had gained some notable exemptions, such as that concerning what otherwise would have seen standardized packaging applied to larger cigars. This exemption, though seemingly insignificant, is seen as being a very important one for the handmade cigar community. As Vandermarliere pointed out, cigars comprise a niche product with low volumes but high numbers of formats, which means that the introduction of government-mandated pack changes and track-and-trace requirements, for instance, are more detrimental in respect of cigars than in the case of cigarettes, where higher volumes help spread the costs of such changes.
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For Vines, with sales concentrated in the U.K., a huge hurdle is provided by a system of yearly duty increases that has pushed U.K. cigar taxes to the highest level in Europe. High taxes inevitably mean high retail prices and, in this case, an increase in consumers buying through the websites of companies based in countries with much lower taxes and retail prices. Purchases from Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland and the U.S. are said to make up most of this trade, which some estimates put at more than 30 percent of the U.K. market.
Given these issues, it’s not surprising that cigar volumes are declining in the U.K., though much of this decline is occurring in respect of sales of machine-made cigars (MMCs), while sales of HMCs are said to be “holding up.” Along with the retail-display restrictions and increases in taxation, downward pressure on cigar sales has been created too by the country’s system of high product-registration costs and, especially, the 2007 introduction of a ban on smoking in public places.
Partly because of this fall in volume, but also because of a switch to cigarillos from larger vitolas [Cuban formats], the value of cigar sales in the U.K. is also decreasing, though this fall in value has been partly offset by the yearly increases in duty, which inflate sales prices. Now, about 70 percent of all cigars smoked in the U.K. are cigarillos, which sell at a lower retail price than do HMCs and larger MMCs.
Declining volume sales were reported also by J. Cortes, which operates around the world but whose main markets are the U.S., France, Spain, Belgium, Italy and the Netherlands, though Vandermarliere also made the point that sales of premium HMCs were fairly stable while those of other cigars were declining. In part, Vandermarliere said, the decline was down to the cigar industry’s tobacco heritage, which meant that it attracted government regulations in the form of smoking restrictions, for instance. But he suggested that the industry was partly to blame for government interference because in producing some products that looked similar to cigarettes it was blurring the cigar/cigarette distinctions.

VCF’s factory in Belgium
Evolving preferences
Whether the emergence of such products could be justified on the grounds of “consumer demand” is debatable, but it is indisputable that cigar-consumer preferences are always evolving, something else that distinguishes cigar smokers from most cigarette smokers but aligns them with consumers of, say, fine food and wines. Vandermarliere said that, in general, though with the exception of those in the U.S., consumers used to know only about Cuban cigars—as they used to know only about French wines. But preferences and tastes had expanded so as to appreciate the special qualities of cigars from other sources. And he gave as an example Nicaragua Fantastic puros [cigars], made by Oliva Cigars, which was acquired by J. Cortes in 2016 and which propelled the U.S. from almost nowhere to the No. 1 spot on the company’s list of markets.
Vines painted a similar picture when turning his attention to the evolution of the U.K. market. Alongside the switch that had occurred to smaller MMCs, the HMC market had undergone a radical shift in recent years. About 90 percent to 95 percent of the large cigars sold in the U.K. 10–15 years ago had been of Cuban origin, with the remainder being accounted for by all the New World cigar-making countries combined. That had changed considerably with Cuban-origin products now accounting for about 65 percent to 70 percent of the market and New World cigars growing share every year. Indeed, away from London, the share of New World cigars is even higher, with some areas having a 50-50 split. This change is said to have been fueled partly by a consumer desire for new cigar experiences, including the different flavor profiles offered by products from countries such as Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, Honduras and Mexico, and partly by importers improving the range of New World cigars on offer in the U.K.

To help prevent the spread of Covid-19, VCF equipped its employees with these stylish masks.
Coping with Covid
The question arises, of course, as to what effects the Covid-19 pandemic has had on supplies from such origins and, indeed, on sales in consuming countries. With factories in Sri Lanka, the Dominican Republic, Belgium, Nicaragua and Miami, VCF was bound to be affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, and so it was, but the level of disruption varied hugely—from having to close its Sri Lanka facility for five weeks, during which time workers continued to be paid, to only minor issues in the Dominican Republic. On the retail side, while tobacco was seen as a necessary product in almost all markets and was therefore available through general stores, a lot of markets saw the closure of specialized shops, which put downward pressure on sales. And this downward pressure only added to issues that had been encountered in China and Hong Kong since the beginning of the year. In the U.S., however, many consumers switched to online sales, and Vandermarliere was confident that his company would easily weather the Covid-19 storm. Certainly, he said, by being as flexible and agile as possible, and by keeping in close contact with and protecting its staff, VCF so far had been able to continue delivering cigars.
Meanwhile, Vines reported that, along with other businesses classed as nonessential, Tor Imports had had to adapt rapidly to continue trading in “any way considered close to normal.” “Tor Imports took the decision not to furlough any of its workforce but instead work with our customers [retail] even more closely to help deliver the same levels of customer service as prior to these strangest of times,” he said. This meant the company had had to change the way it managed its workforce, with the office and warehouse being operated on a skeleton-staff rota to ensure staff safety and the rest of its people working from home. This led to the discovery of new ways of working, such as with Zoom calls, and an improvement in internal and external communications.
Given this, it is possibly not surprising that Tor Imports seems to have weathered the pandemic rather well, but I hardly expected Vines, in answer to a question, to say that the company had done “remarkably well!” It had delivered above-average sales, he said, partly because customers geared up with a solid online offering had positively thrived during a lockdown that had coincided with unusually good weather for the U.K., allowing many consumers working from home to enjoy cigars.

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It is not surprising that Vines takes a positive view of the future. After all, if you can conjure increased average cigar sales during a pandemic that causes lockdowns around the world, anything is possible. And one of the things that came into its own during the lockdown and that will be retained is the virtual cigar event. Such events, said Vines, had been a huge success, allowing cigar manufacturers to take part in multiple events in the same week without having to travel huge distances.
But another reason for confidence, perhaps, is that Tor Imports has added a second string to its bow. It has its own brand of cigars, Charatan, which it bought from British American Tobacco in 2018 and which is made by Joya de Nicaragua. Expanding distribution of Charatan cigars outside the U.K., coupled with that of Charatan Pipe tobacco, which is already available in Switzerland and Norway, is said to be a key part of the company’s strategy.
Vandermarliere, too, is confident about the future, but he has no illusions. Cigar manufacturers, he said, were operating in a market that was declining under a lot of regulatory pressure, so they weren’t giant tech companies that could look forward to doubling their businesses in five years. Nevertheless, J. Cortes believes that in 20, 50 or even 100 years from now, people would still be enjoying good cigars. And because of that belief, this family company with global reach would continue to invest in the cigar industry. Times would be tough, but then they would be tough for companies in other industries too, he added.
Part of this confidence is down to the way that Oliva Cigars has invested to ensure supplies of tobacco. It has invested in tobacco stocks and even in tobacco farms in Nicaragua, where it is introducing techniques to manage land and water resources responsibly—in a way that will allow tobacco to be grown there for the next 50 years at least.

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George Gay is Tobacco Reporter’s European editor, but his territory spans the globe. Based in London, George has covered the tobacco industry since 1982, initially for a U.K.-based publication and since 2004 for Tobacco Reporter. George’s understanding of industry issues, combined with his keen sense of observation and dry wit, have earned him a loyal following among Tobacco Reporter’s readers.

August 1, 2020