First Serbian Cigars Successfully Target Local and Foreign Market Flavor Preferences – Despot Cigars to Get New Line with Tobacco from Honduras and Head for Europe

Cigars are often understood as an elitist hobby, although the price is not an indicator of how much somebody is a true cigar aficionado, Zdravko Brkic of the company Julieta, which is the exclusive importer of Cuban cigars to Serbia, but also the first and only local producers of cigars, says in his interview for eKapija.

– We started developing the Despot cigar brand in 2019 and, slightly less than two years ago, which is how much time had passed from the idea to the realization of the job, Serbia got its first local cigar brand, which is made in Nicaragua – Brkic says.

Serbian cigars are produced in the Caribbean Cigars Trading Company factory in Nicaragua, which makes 15 million cigars a year for serious world brands.

– We are now at a capacity of around a hundred thousand cigars a year, but we expect a further growth, because even that is far above what we projected in the initial business plan. The market has reacted much better than we expected, primarily because we have offered the flavors that our market likes – our interviewee says and adds that the brand still strives to meet the demands of the market.

So far, he says, keeping their finger on the pulse of the market, they have developed three different cigar lines and another two limited editions, and a new line, with tobacco from Honduras, is planned as well.

– The lines differ in tobacco blends, aromas and formats. We currently have 14 different cigar formats in these three series and two limited editions, and in addition to the new line, we are also preparing some limited editions for customers who want to raise the cooperation to another level, so for them we are preparing special cigars which will be sold only there – says the project manager of the company, which has over 800 outlets in Serbia alone and which is also celebrating the 20th anniversary this year.

The previous cigar lines, Brkic notes, are made from tobacco from the Caribbean belt, from Nicaragua and Ecuador, and tobacco grown in America by the Amish is used in one of the series.

Our interviewee also notes that cigars get better if they are rested.

– We want to avoid having what’s rolled today be available for sale tomorrow. Our cigars are now rested in Nicaragua for a minimum of 6 months, and the plan is for the resting period to be increased to one year this year, which is the optimal period – Brkic explains.

Despot cigars are sold in Serbia, but also in the region and abroad, in specialized cigar shops and lounge bars, and new markets are planned as well:

– Our cigars are already being sold in Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and we are planning to enter the market of North Macedonia as well. Also, for a year now, we have been present in the American market, in Africa, we are present in Congo, and the European market is now being planned as well. We are in the final negotiation stage with Hungary, Great Britain is being planned, and there are also interested parties from some other European countries, thanks to our well-regarded presentation at the latest International Trade Fair for Tobacco and Smoking Accessories in Dortmund.

According to our interviewee, Despot cigars have found their place in the market primarily because they offer a tobacco product with a good price/quality ratio, which is very important among smokers.

– The philosophy of enjoying cigars in the world, and even here in the region, has gained on a new dimension. At the beginning of this millennium, cigars made a big comeback. The number of cigarette smokers is dropping, but the number of cigar aficionados is growing, because the difference is essential – cigars require a good place, company, drink and food – Brkic says.

He says that the process of creating a brand is a big job, demanding and expensive and when asked whether that kind of production would be profitable in Serbia, his response is negative:

– In order for the opening of a cigar factory to make sense anywhere in the world, a production volume of at least a million cigars a year is required. That requires a large number of skilled rollers, because it’s all manual production. There is no staff for it in Serbia and it would be more expensive for us to make cigars in Serbia than in the Caribbean, where it’s part of the historical heritage.

Besides, he concludes, the tobacco that grows in these areas is not suitable for cigar manufacturing either.

B. P.

Julieta d.o.o. Beograd

Despot cigars

Caribbean Cigars Trading Company

Zdravko Brkić

cigars

first Serbian cigars

cigar production