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The Café Crème Express line extension targets smokes who are “time poor or in a restricted venue” | |
INTERNATIONAL. Scandinavian Tobacco Group subsidiary Henri Wintermans Cigars UK last night unveiled Café Crème Express, a line extension to the Café Crème family of miniature cigars.
The launch took place at a major trade and press function in Paris to also celebrate the distribution “˜homecoming of Café Crème’ (formerly handled by Imperial Tobacco UK) to Henri Wintermans Cigars UK, which became effective on 10 January 2009.
The new cigars are smaller than traditional miniatures. The company said they have been developed in response to changing market conditions, allowing smokers to still enjoy a cigar even if “time poor or in a restricted venue”.
Café Crème Express is available in the UK local market from 1 April in two variants, Original and Blue. A third, Arome, will follow soon. The distinctive, crush-proof tins of ten reflect the authenticity of Cafe Crème’s heritage, the company said.
The UK domestic recommended retail price is £3.29. Executive Vice President Christian Hother Sørensen said that travel retail will follow once local market distribution has created demand for the new product.
The company said that Café Crème is the leading brand in the UK and global miniature cigar market, generating around 59% of total sales. Café Crème Blue is the number one miniature cigar brand in the UK.
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Café Crème Express builds on a long and successful heritage of innovation | |
Henri Wintermans Cigars UK Managing Director Huw Williams told guests: “We are passionately dedicated to the future of the UK cigar category.” The company sold over 200 million cigars in 2008, he said. “In Scandinavian Tobacco we have the scale of a global player and in Henri Wintermans UK we have expertise and focus.”
Williams said the UK market, in common with other global tobacco markets, faced serious challenges and a downturn in volume. But Café Crème was growing its business, he said, driven by its heritage of innovation. “It takes bravery to lead and define the trends,” he said.
Café Crème was the first miniature cigar in the UK to offer a tin, a milder variant and a flavoured variant, for example, he pointed out. “Others have followed but the advantage always lies with us.”
Unveiling the new line. Henri Wintermans Cigars UK Head of Commercial Marketing James Higgs commented: “Café Crème Express supports the consumer migration towards the miniature cigar segment.” The concept of a “shorter smoke” had already proven hugely successful with Café Crème Express’s like-for-like group launches, Piccolini in France and Finos in Spain and Italy, he noted.
Café Crème Express would add incremental sales to the cigar category and the miniatures sector and would raise awareness of the Café Crème franchise he said. It would also attract new cigar smokers, add a new price segment and reach out to those seeking a value for money smoke.
He noted: “We are extremely excited at the launch of Café Crème Express and expect it to be immensely popular with adult cigar smokers.
“Sales trends show that consumer behaviour has shifted in favour of miniature cigars as the smoking ban has limited the number of smoking opportunities. As such, Café Crème Express caters for those consumers who wish to enjoy a cigar but find themselves time and venue restricted.”
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Coming home: The evening was a dual celebration of of the launch of Café Crème Express and the repatriating of Café Crème’s distribution to Henri Wintermans Cigars UK from Imperial Tobacco UK |
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Scandinavian Tobacco Group Executive Vice President Christian Hother Sørensen briefs guests about group activities |
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Henri Wintermans Cigars UK Managing Director Huw Williams spoke of the company’s passion for the cigar category |
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Head of Commercial Marketing James Higgs: Supporting the consumer migration towards the miniature cigar segment |
[comments]
COMMENT: As product launches go, they don’t get much better than this. Here was a welcome – and rare – statement of belief in the tobacco category generally, and the tobacco sector specifically.
The merits of Café Crème Express – from margin benefits to changing market conditions – were well marshalled and conveyed in an atmosphere that was celebratory on the one hand and candidly honest about trading challenges on the other.
Café Crème has been a big success in the cigar market over recent years and it enjoys a useful presence in travel retail. One can see this line extension working well – it’s attractively priced and packaged and it is very much a product of its time.
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