Picture choosing your own premium cigar from a fully stocked humidor while you fill your tank. And it's a smoke you want to smoke, not some rocket dog. Think Montecristo, Oliva, Cohiba, Rocky Patel, or other aficionado-approved cigar. CigarBros founder Remon Mansour is making it easier for you to buy cigars where you already go—non-traditional cigar sellers, like gas stations, convenience stores, liquor stores, lounges, casinos, golf courses, etc. The company provides a patented stand-alone climate-controlled humidor, which is how it keeps cigars fresh, then keeps it stocked with premium smokes. Hear all about it in this cigar talk with Boveda's Drew Emmer.

NEW! JUST IN TIME FOR THE HOLIDAYS. Check out the affordable Personal Humidor on the CigarBros website. Practical cigar storage for the cigar lover in your life.

What is Boveda? Cigar retailers preserve the flavor and character of their hand-rolled cigars with CigarBros Commercial Humidor. At home, use Boveda in your humidor to keep cigars well-humidified or they can be hard to light, burn to too fast, or get moldy. With Boveda in your humidor, you'll enjoy full flavor from every cigar. Boveda has been keeping cigars tasting great for more than 25 years. Age and store premium cigars with Boveda in your humidor. No humidor? Pick up a Boveda Humidor Bag for easy, portable cigar storage.

Get more cigar tips and news from Boveda emails: https://hubs.la/Q01BLsBF0

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00:00 Never risk your cigars, use Boveda

00:30 This is Box Press

04:54 How retailers can keep cigars fresh

06:27 Stand-alone humidor changes how and where you buy cigars

07:25 Buy cigars from a self-contained humidor in a liquor store, convenience store, gas station, casinos, hotel, golf course, etc.

09:18 How to buy a cigar if you're a new cigar smoker

10:30 If someone has a bad first cigar experience, it's game over

11:25 Getting started with cigars

15:46 Does this take business away from brick-and-mortar cigar stores?

21:01 Try Boveda Humidor bags once to keep your cigars in perfect condition

21:50 Cigar gift bag that's a portable travel humidor

23:36 How to store cigars at home without the hassle—CigarBros Personal Humidor, which comes preloaded with Boveda

(mellow music)

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(mellow music continues)

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(mellow music continues)

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- There's a story inside every smoke shop,

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with every cigar, and with every person.

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Come be a part of the

cigar lifestyle at Boveda.

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This is "Box Press."

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- Remon Mansour, CigarBros.

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It was fun yesterday

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walking at the other end of the pavilion

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seeing this massive display of CigarBros,

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and seeing you with your team

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and thinking about the experience.

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How many years ago at TP would've been?

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It would've been?

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- Yeah, I think it's been

four years, about four years.

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- So before the pandemic and all that?

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- Yep, yep, yep.

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- And you had an idea?

- That's right, yep.

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I remember I walked up,

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of course, we've distributed

Boveda for a long time.

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And I saw you at the booth,

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looking at Boveda, and I went

and introduced myself to you,

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and had a conversation

and I shared my idea.

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- Well, and you had diagrams,

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and you had schematics

of what your idea was.

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And you said, I think specifically it was,

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"I want to create a

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self-contained humidor that can be placed

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in non-traditional locations

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to distribute cigars."

- That's right.

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- And, "I want Boveda to be involved.

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We wanna have the

preservation aspect of it

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handled for the consumer."

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And there's a lot of people

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that have a lot of ideas.

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And, I don't know,

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there was just something

about your earnestness.

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Yeah, I told Jay [Fifield] about it,

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and then you started dealing with Jay.

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And I don't know that

it happened instantly,

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but you went from that concept

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to rolling out a beta test, at least,

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in a relatively short period of time.

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I mean, you had to order things

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and deal with all the details.

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But I think within a couple of years

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you had started

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this CigarBros.

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- Yeah, yep.

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- It wasn't called CigarBros back then.

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- So me and my brothers own a few-

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- Cash & Carry.

- Two Cash & Carry's

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in San Diego.

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And I think when I met you,

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I don't even think we

had a name for it yet.

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I wanna say it was early,

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maybe it was February, 2019, I wanna say.

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And we had just received

our first prototype,

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and we're still in the testing phase.

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And remember, we had a humidor program

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in San Diego since 2004, local one.

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And I've always been intrigued

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with kind of the challenge

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of getting cigars placed in

just non-traditional places.

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And when you see, you know,

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the trend in those places,

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it's rewarding for a guy like me.

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Me and my brothers, we launched,

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you know, a ton of stuff

with every category,

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you know, beverage, candy, snacks.

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And the birth of this idea

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was, as we were expanding

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our cigar selection out of Cash & Carry

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and taking a look at our

current humidor program locally,

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I said, "Man, it hasn't changed,"

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since 2004 to 2019, it didn't evolve.

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So the idea came to me

in 2018 where I said,

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"You gotta have more variety,

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but it's gotta be fresh,

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and there has to be no question."

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But how do you do that?

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Where do you start?

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That's all I knew.

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That if someone's gonna carry cigars,

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or actually if someone's gonna buy cigars

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and be happy about it,

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that there has to be enough selection

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to choose from the best brands.

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And then, the freshness

cannot be a question.

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You just gotta know that it's fresh.

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And so that's when I got to work.

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And the birth really,

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in 2018, was an acrylic

version, vertical standing.

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And we did a prototype and all this.

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But, just personally, I didn't

pull the trigger on that,

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because I wasn't comfortable

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with the idea that

someone is gonna be happy

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to constantly buy from an acrylic humidor.

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That the freshness can't be a question.

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You just gotta know that it's fresh.

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So I figured there's gotta

be these self-contained,

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climate-controlled units.

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And so we went out and sourced one.

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I actually flew out to China,

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this is the factory, the

best one we can find,

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that was willing to modify it

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to be more commercial grade,

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do the vertical, pull-out drawers,

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and everything that's

geared for commercial use.

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And then, got my prototype.

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And then, that's what

I showed you in 2019.

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And no intention really

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of going outside of San Diego with it.

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- Right.

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- But just wanted to see if we can change

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how and where cigars are being sold.

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Like, how far can we push it?

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And, man, you were so gracious.

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Like, you know,

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as a entrepreneur, it's

tough, it's very lonely.

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It's a tough journey when you got an idea

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and you're trying to go after it.

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And you guys were just,

I told you about it.

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And I said, "Hey, I think

there's a place for us

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where, you know, Boveda and

freshness is hand-in-hand,

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and that's what we're trying to provide."

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And so the teamwork was awesome.

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And we really, really

appreciate it from day one.

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- Well, and it's intriguing,

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because where my mind went

in listening to your vision

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was this is really cool

to have the opportunity

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to stand up a self-contained

humidor in a liquor store,

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in a convenience store, at a golf course,

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I mean, depending on the market.

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But I thought about how many places

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I've seen displays of cigars where,

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or even if I'm wandering around Las Vegas,

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if I see somebody selling cigars,

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today, there's more properly

humidified storage facilities

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for cigars in the casinos

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in Las Vegas than there used to be.

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But you used to buy a 15, 20, $30 stick

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from somebody walking around

a vendor in the casino,

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and you'd light it and

you'd go, "This is awful.

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Because it's not protected,

this is just terrible."

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And I think of those

different liquor stores

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that have a limited

selection behind the counter

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because it's an impulse buy

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for somebody that's coming

in on a Friday night.

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You know, it's just not intentional.

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It's just not right.

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I mean, congratulations.

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I mean, looking at these

beautiful displays,

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substantial, I mean, the

investment that you've made

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in the vehicle that you're

delivering this service,

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and you're selling a service.

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You are the source for these cigars.

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And you're giving people,

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literally giving people,

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the vessel that they're going to use.

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And it has to be durable,

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and it can't just be there for...

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It's not just a self-liquidating display

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that's gonna be thrown out

in 30 days or whatever.

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So what an adventure.

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- Yeah, from the beginning,

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and even till now, my focus has always

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been on kind of the early stages

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in someone's relationship with cigars.

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I remember my own personal experience.

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My first time smoking a cigar

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was at the Gaslamp District

in Downtown San Diego.

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And it was at a cigar lounge,

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and I'm a college student.

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And, you know, I was always

intrigued with cigars,

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never had one.

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Walked into a lounge,

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walked into their walk-in humidor,

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and I purchased an ACID Kuba Kuba.

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- Which is common for a

lot of college students

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for their first cigar experience.

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- Exactly, exactly right.

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And, with the guys,

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and I just remember enjoying it so much,

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and that's it.

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Ever since then, it's that feeling.

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And that's kind of the

feeling I get when I enjoy it,

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it just takes me back to that every time.

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And so, in the flip side,

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we know this, if someone

has a bad experience

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their first time, it's game over.

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You're so turned off.

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You know, I've heard it a million times-

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- Yeah, "I turned green, I

got sick, I didn't like it.

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I never wanna do that again."

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- Exactly, and so I think

that's a combination

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of the wrong stick

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or the wrong freshness.

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So you gotta have the right

cigar and it's gotta be fresh.

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And then, it's all about the atmosphere

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and, you know, environment.

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But when it's done right,

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that first experience is magical.

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And you ask any cigar guy,

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they always remember their first cigar.

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They always remember

that first experience,

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what it felt like.

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So that's what I chase.

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That's kind of what was the birth of this

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and what fuels us to

continue to always think

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about those early stages.

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My customers, we've learned,

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is not necessarily the seasoned cigar guy.

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So now that we've expanded to 25 states.

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We're primarily in the liquor store,

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gas station, convenience

store, hotels, golf courses.

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A lot of the guys, it's on the go,

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or it's the guy that never

really thought about cigars,

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never even considered

going to a cigar lounge,

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picking up his bottle of

Jack Daniel's and saying,

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"You know, let me try a cigar."

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And so we, on purpose,

made it approachable.

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Displayed in a way where they

can choose the right cigar.

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So likely we recommend if you're new,

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try a mild, mild to medium.

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A lot of ours we do our own tubing

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so they can see what they're buying

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rather than blind to, you

know, just guessing their way.

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So from the rating, and the

brand, and the flavor notes,

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they could make their best educated guess.

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And then, the beauty is if

they made a good choice,

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the reward, like, no one guided them.

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They guided themself,

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they took it home, they enjoyed it.

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And that feeling, I

experienced it as well in wine.

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- Sure.

- Go to Costco

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and no one's there to help you.

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You kind of make your best

guess based on region,

240

00:12:57,690 --> 00:13:00,900

and based on maybe some

ratings, and things like that.

241

00:13:00,900 --> 00:13:02,340

But when you take one home

242

00:13:02,340 --> 00:13:05,490

and you enjoy it, it's a

rewarding feeling, right?

243

00:13:05,490 --> 00:13:08,220

And that's kind of the beginning

244

00:13:08,220 --> 00:13:10,920

relationship with that category.

245

00:13:10,920 --> 00:13:15,120

So you say, okay, maybe,

you're a Dominican guy,

246

00:13:15,120 --> 00:13:16,230

maybe you're a Nicaraguan,

247

00:13:16,230 --> 00:13:19,143

maybe you like these shades

versus others or sizes.

248

00:13:20,376 --> 00:13:22,583

And that's the birth,

that's kind of the start.

249

00:13:24,259 --> 00:13:27,180

And that's where my mind is constantly at,

250

00:13:27,180 --> 00:13:31,230

my mind is constantly at,

what's happening there?

251

00:13:31,230 --> 00:13:32,070

Who's that guy?

252

00:13:32,070 --> 00:13:34,170

What is he picking up?

253

00:13:34,170 --> 00:13:38,610

And what can we learn from

that so that we can continue

254

00:13:38,610 --> 00:13:42,420

to kind of guide people and

build their relationship?

255

00:13:42,420 --> 00:13:43,710

When I had this idea,

256

00:13:43,710 --> 00:13:47,010

and I took it to, you

know, the guys at Altadis,

257

00:13:47,010 --> 00:13:48,420

I took it to the guys at General,

258

00:13:48,420 --> 00:13:50,010

the guys at Oliva,

259

00:13:50,010 --> 00:13:52,533

the guys at Rocky, the guys at Gurkha,

260

00:13:53,460 --> 00:13:55,860

they were all open to ideas

261

00:13:55,860 --> 00:13:58,704

and welcoming for a young guy, you know?

262

00:13:58,704 --> 00:14:03,704

And they were all there with

me and with this concept.

263

00:14:04,320 --> 00:14:09,000

And so it's crazy

264

00:14:09,000 --> 00:14:10,230

how far we've come,

265

00:14:10,230 --> 00:14:11,587

but it couldn't have been done without,

266

00:14:11,587 --> 00:14:13,112

you know, the support of you guys.

267

00:14:13,112 --> 00:14:16,800

- So how old were you when

we had that encounter?

268

00:14:16,800 --> 00:14:21,483

- Yeah, so let's say

it was four years ago.

269

00:14:22,770 --> 00:14:24,640

I was about 36, 35, 36.

270

00:14:26,820 --> 00:14:29,430

- So, I mean, I'm just so excited

271

00:14:29,430 --> 00:14:31,380

to walk over and look at your display

272

00:14:31,380 --> 00:14:34,710

and see this map of the territories

273

00:14:34,710 --> 00:14:37,893

that you've been able to serve,

274

00:14:39,150 --> 00:14:40,890

and the way this has grown for you.

275

00:14:40,890 --> 00:14:43,890

Is it exceeding your expectations

276

00:14:43,890 --> 00:14:45,360

of what you thought at the outset?

277

00:14:45,360 --> 00:14:48,840

Because you were thinking

Southern California, local,

278

00:14:48,840 --> 00:14:51,140

because that's where

your Cash & Carry serves.

279

00:14:52,560 --> 00:14:54,480

Did you carry all these cigars

280

00:14:54,480 --> 00:14:56,880

in the Cash & Carry in the first place?

281

00:14:56,880 --> 00:14:58,680

- Yeah, yeah, so we had the relationships.

282

00:14:58,680 --> 00:15:01,650

We knew the brands.

- That's significant.

283

00:15:01,650 --> 00:15:06,650

- But, you know, when I

approached them with this concept,

284

00:15:07,170 --> 00:15:10,497

I said, "This is going to

non-traditional retailers."

285

00:15:11,940 --> 00:15:15,270

And we bounced around ideas a lot too of,

286

00:15:15,270 --> 00:15:17,160

what should we place,

how should we place it?

287

00:15:17,160 --> 00:15:22,160

And I did not expect

288

00:15:22,590 --> 00:15:24,333

a growth like this by any means.

289

00:15:25,440 --> 00:15:26,823

And it's crazy,

290

00:15:27,960 --> 00:15:31,470

every territory we've gone

in, we've learned that,

291

00:15:31,470 --> 00:15:36,470

you know, after about

a year, it just starts,

292

00:15:36,750 --> 00:15:40,560

you know, this retailer's

brother, or cousin, or friend-

293

00:15:40,560 --> 00:15:41,393

- Well, and they see it

294

00:15:41,393 --> 00:15:43,950

and it's almost like a referral program.

295

00:15:43,950 --> 00:15:46,260

- Yeah, exactly right.

296

00:15:46,260 --> 00:15:47,700

- So the intriguing thing to me

297

00:15:47,700 --> 00:15:51,270

is I would suspect you had

a little bit of pushback

298

00:15:51,270 --> 00:15:52,927

possibly from a few people saying,

299

00:15:52,927 --> 00:15:54,330

"Oh, you're gonna steal business

300

00:15:54,330 --> 00:15:56,310

from brick-and-mortar retail.

301

00:15:56,310 --> 00:15:58,563

We can't do this because"

blah, blah, blah.

302

00:15:59,430 --> 00:16:03,600

But really you're not,

303

00:16:03,600 --> 00:16:08,100

if anything, you're indoctrinating people

304

00:16:08,100 --> 00:16:11,160

to an experience that's

gonna perhaps cause them

305

00:16:11,160 --> 00:16:12,427

to go to a brick-and-mortar retailer.

306

00:16:12,427 --> 00:16:14,910

- Exactly, yeah.

- And that's okay too,

307

00:16:14,910 --> 00:16:17,800

because you're serving those retailers

308

00:16:18,960 --> 00:16:21,450

that's a part of your service area,

309

00:16:21,450 --> 00:16:24,450

at least in Southern

California where you're based.

310

00:16:24,450 --> 00:16:26,160

But now you've gone national.

311

00:16:26,160 --> 00:16:28,020

I mean, you've gone,

312

00:16:28,020 --> 00:16:29,220

how far have you gone?

313

00:16:29,220 --> 00:16:30,750

I mean, I didn't study the map.

314

00:16:30,750 --> 00:16:32,700

I mean, it's grown significantly.

315

00:16:32,700 --> 00:16:36,060

I don't know to what extent, but how many?

316

00:16:36,060 --> 00:16:39,840

- So last year, when we were here at PCA,

317

00:16:39,840 --> 00:16:41,763

we were licensed in five states.

318

00:16:42,600 --> 00:16:43,950

We just started distributing-

319

00:16:43,950 --> 00:16:46,680

- Five states last year?

- In the West Coast.

320

00:16:46,680 --> 00:16:50,310

And then, based on just

interest from retailers,

321

00:16:50,310 --> 00:16:54,720

we would open up distribution

licenses in more states

322

00:16:54,720 --> 00:16:56,100

and continue to add.

323

00:16:56,100 --> 00:16:57,960

Right now we're licensed in 25.

324

00:16:57,960 --> 00:17:00,990

We have humidors in 25 states,

325

00:17:00,990 --> 00:17:03,870

and I think we have eight states pending

326

00:17:03,870 --> 00:17:04,830

just waiting for distribution.

327

00:17:04,830 --> 00:17:05,963

- Massive growth.

- Yeah, unreal.

328

00:17:08,005 --> 00:17:09,630

I'm blessed, yeah.

- How fun.

329

00:17:09,630 --> 00:17:10,890

- Thank God, it's been-

330

00:17:10,890 --> 00:17:12,090

- How'd the brothers take it?

331

00:17:12,090 --> 00:17:13,770

That was your pet idea, right?

332

00:17:13,770 --> 00:17:16,740

And I can imagine in a family,

333

00:17:16,740 --> 00:17:19,860

I used to work with my

brothers and there's all,

334

00:17:19,860 --> 00:17:24,120

I mean, no one's harder

on you than your brothers

335

00:17:24,120 --> 00:17:25,260

with your ideas.

336

00:17:25,260 --> 00:17:27,840

I mean, and nobody's gonna

go to battle with you either

337

00:17:27,840 --> 00:17:29,880

and help you like a brother.

338

00:17:29,880 --> 00:17:31,693

How did they take it?

339

00:17:31,693 --> 00:17:33,720

- You know, since the beginning,

340

00:17:33,720 --> 00:17:35,550

fully supportive, man.

341

00:17:35,550 --> 00:17:40,550

And we have this relationship

342

00:17:40,590 --> 00:17:44,020

where, you know, I can

always go to my brothers

343

00:17:45,810 --> 00:17:47,700

and I can discuss ideas,

344

00:17:47,700 --> 00:17:50,340

and they just kind of help

me think things through.

345

00:17:50,340 --> 00:17:51,670

You know, I've got an idea

346

00:17:53,311 --> 00:17:56,070

and they're like a compass, literally.

347

00:17:56,070 --> 00:17:58,060

We take an idea and they love it

348

00:17:59,130 --> 00:18:02,010

and they've got an instinct.

349

00:18:02,010 --> 00:18:03,030

I have three older brothers,

350

00:18:03,030 --> 00:18:04,740

so I'm the youngest of the four.

351

00:18:04,740 --> 00:18:08,707

And they all have this

instinct where they just know,

352

00:18:08,707 --> 00:18:11,223

"Hey, absolutely, we love it, we got you.

353

00:18:12,690 --> 00:18:15,360

Maybe tweak it that direction."

354

00:18:15,360 --> 00:18:18,000

And so they helped to unlock these ideas.

355

00:18:18,000 --> 00:18:21,960

And, man, we still work

together every day.

356

00:18:21,960 --> 00:18:26,013

It's a blessing, you

know, it's unbelievable.

357

00:18:27,780 --> 00:18:29,580

- It's a really cool story.

358

00:18:29,580 --> 00:18:32,973

And I got choked up when I

was talking to you yesterday,

359

00:18:34,110 --> 00:18:36,780

because you turned in

front of your whole team

360

00:18:36,780 --> 00:18:39,813

and you said, "This is the

first guy that believed in me,

361

00:18:40,710 --> 00:18:42,267

or believed in this idea."

362

00:18:45,600 --> 00:18:47,950

What an absolute privilege

363

00:18:48,840 --> 00:18:53,550

to be in the room to

notice the enthusiasm,

364

00:18:53,550 --> 00:18:58,113

the earnestness, the passion

that you had for this idea,

365

00:18:59,040 --> 00:19:02,220

to not just blow it off,

to just encourage you.

366

00:19:02,220 --> 00:19:04,920

To hook you up with the

right guy in Jay Fifield.

367

00:19:04,920 --> 00:19:07,320

I mean, he's the right guy

368

00:19:07,320 --> 00:19:09,300

to go through this process with you.

369

00:19:09,300 --> 00:19:11,250

I mean, what an absolute privilege

370

00:19:11,250 --> 00:19:12,720

for us to be involved in it.

371

00:19:12,720 --> 00:19:17,340

And what a great opportunity

for Boveda to be a part of,

372

00:19:17,340 --> 00:19:20,490

I mean, you guys are a rock-solid

373

00:19:20,490 --> 00:19:22,683

group of people, the family.

374

00:19:24,120 --> 00:19:25,620

For us to be involved,

375

00:19:25,620 --> 00:19:28,890

for us to be able to share our story

376

00:19:28,890 --> 00:19:33,030

and share the freshness

journey with that vehicle

377

00:19:33,030 --> 00:19:36,690

going out from five states to 25 states

378

00:19:36,690 --> 00:19:41,037

with eight pending, that's wonderful.

379

00:19:42,300 --> 00:19:44,790

I mean, it's a great privilege for us.

380

00:19:44,790 --> 00:19:46,860

And then, we're standing there yesterday

381

00:19:46,860 --> 00:19:50,197

and you point this out and I'm like,

382

00:19:50,197 --> 00:19:52,450

"Well, wait, I'd never heard about this."

383

00:19:52,450 --> 00:19:54,810

(Remon chuckles)

Right?

384

00:19:54,810 --> 00:19:56,433

When did you guys dream this up?

385

00:19:57,750 --> 00:20:02,750

- So I've had this idea

for a couple years,

386

00:20:02,760 --> 00:20:05,910

and, you know, I like to stick

387

00:20:05,910 --> 00:20:08,040

to what I know and stick to my business.

388

00:20:08,040 --> 00:20:08,873

- Well, there's plenty.

389

00:20:08,873 --> 00:20:10,890

You gotta really focus to do that,

390

00:20:10,890 --> 00:20:13,980

to do the remote-located,

391

00:20:13,980 --> 00:20:15,633

full-size humidors.

- Yeah.

392

00:20:17,700 --> 00:20:21,090

But, you know, the

conversations me and Jay have,

393

00:20:21,090 --> 00:20:24,240

every time it's,

394

00:20:24,240 --> 00:20:25,890

and I always share this with him,

395

00:20:26,940 --> 00:20:28,277

I like simple,

396

00:20:29,155 --> 00:20:34,110

I like the simple fixes of life.

397

00:20:34,110 --> 00:20:35,913

I like easy.

398

00:20:41,027 --> 00:20:42,930

Me and him, the ideas we kind of bounce

399

00:20:42,930 --> 00:20:45,210

around and the discussions we have

400

00:20:45,210 --> 00:20:49,410

where I constantly say is,

401

00:20:49,410 --> 00:20:50,790

especially in the early stages

402

00:20:50,790 --> 00:20:53,460

of a guy's journey with cigars,

403

00:20:53,460 --> 00:20:57,243

is we gotta guide them,

404

00:20:58,380 --> 00:21:01,290

and guide them always the best way we can.

405

00:21:01,290 --> 00:21:04,620

And it started with the Boveda small bags

406

00:21:04,620 --> 00:21:06,573

and the medium-sized bags where,

407

00:21:10,140 --> 00:21:12,390

they buy it once, try it once,

408

00:21:12,390 --> 00:21:13,740

and you realize it works,

409

00:21:13,740 --> 00:21:16,470

and this is the right way

to keep your cigars fresh.

410

00:21:16,470 --> 00:21:20,500

That's it, it's just such

a simple, easy solution

411

00:21:21,390 --> 00:21:25,140

that can be more complex

than it should, right?

412

00:21:25,140 --> 00:21:28,560

And so for us and our partnership is like,

413

00:21:28,560 --> 00:21:30,540

how do we remind guys?

414

00:21:30,540 --> 00:21:35,540

How do we remind the people

and how do we encourage them

415

00:21:35,730 --> 00:21:40,470

is just don't discourage yourself

416

00:21:40,470 --> 00:21:42,360

and don't hassle.

417

00:21:42,360 --> 00:21:45,873

Try Boveda, stick your

cigars in this bag, it works.

418

00:21:47,700 --> 00:21:50,550

And then, it's, for example,

419

00:21:50,550 --> 00:21:53,430

you wanna gift someone some cigars.

420

00:21:53,430 --> 00:21:55,020

And I always share this with Jay,

421

00:21:55,020 --> 00:21:57,090

it's like, I do it myself,

422

00:21:57,090 --> 00:21:59,760

I'm going to someone's party

or, you know, a gathering

423

00:21:59,760 --> 00:22:03,060

and I wanna take some

cigars as a gift to them.

424

00:22:03,060 --> 00:22:03,990

But there's nothing better,

425

00:22:03,990 --> 00:22:06,660

you stick it in a Boveda bag

and now you give it to him.

426

00:22:06,660 --> 00:22:08,580

It's like he doesn't have to worry.

427

00:22:08,580 --> 00:22:09,570

And he knows it's fresh-

428

00:22:09,570 --> 00:22:10,830

- He doesn't have to have a humidor.

429

00:22:10,830 --> 00:22:15,630

- Yeah, and it's like, just

that relief that added,

430

00:22:15,630 --> 00:22:17,610

just, you feel great about it.

431

00:22:17,610 --> 00:22:22,610

And so this is my kind of perception

432

00:22:23,280 --> 00:22:26,340

and why I value Boveda so much.

433

00:22:26,340 --> 00:22:30,543

And so this product,

434

00:22:32,940 --> 00:22:35,610

the birth of this was kind of like,

435

00:22:35,610 --> 00:22:39,640

now that we have the humidors growing,

436

00:22:41,010 --> 00:22:42,780

the locations growing,

437

00:22:42,780 --> 00:22:46,470

and we have the restocks

438

00:22:46,470 --> 00:22:48,720

all pretty much automated,

439

00:22:48,720 --> 00:22:49,980

they scan a QR code,

440

00:22:49,980 --> 00:22:51,720

it takes them to a portal,

441

00:22:51,720 --> 00:22:55,170

and it's a easy, easy

purchasing, easy shipping.

442

00:22:55,170 --> 00:22:56,640

Ship, you know, same day,

443

00:22:56,640 --> 00:22:58,200

we pack and ship all the orders

444

00:22:58,200 --> 00:22:59,970

and it's going nationwide.

445

00:22:59,970 --> 00:23:04,470

So now that the products are

in the hands of the retailers

446

00:23:04,470 --> 00:23:06,480

and they've got an audience,

447

00:23:06,480 --> 00:23:10,743

now our focus is continue to

turn towards the end consumer.

448

00:23:11,610 --> 00:23:15,210

And what we've learned

449

00:23:15,210 --> 00:23:18,660

is a big majority of our end consumers

450

00:23:18,660 --> 00:23:19,800

that are picking up the cigars

451

00:23:19,800 --> 00:23:23,640

from these retailers are

very new to the industry,

452

00:23:23,640 --> 00:23:25,950

just starting their relationship,

453

00:23:25,950 --> 00:23:29,700

but are now buying them more often

454

00:23:29,700 --> 00:23:32,133

and are ready to start taking them home.

455

00:23:33,090 --> 00:23:36,870

And what I wanted to do

456

00:23:36,870 --> 00:23:40,230

is have them be able

to store a good amount

457

00:23:40,230 --> 00:23:43,563

of cigars at home without the hassle.

458

00:23:45,690 --> 00:23:49,170

It's a protected humidor

459

00:23:49,170 --> 00:23:51,090

that's just as simple as it can get.

460

00:23:51,090 --> 00:23:52,090

And it's affordable.

461

00:23:53,280 --> 00:23:54,450

You're brand new to cigars.

462

00:23:54,450 --> 00:23:57,090

You're not ready to dish

out a few hundred dollars

463

00:23:57,090 --> 00:23:58,290

for a humidor.

464

00:23:58,290 --> 00:24:00,510

And then, you have to season

it, and you gotta learn.

465

00:24:00,510 --> 00:24:03,823

And then, you know, cigars dry out.

466

00:24:03,823 --> 00:24:05,700

And so we wanted that solution.

467

00:24:05,700 --> 00:24:10,700

So I had this concept,

I shared it with Jay.

468

00:24:10,710 --> 00:24:15,390

I said, "Jay, I'm doing this

and I want you with us."

469

00:24:15,390 --> 00:24:18,930

And showed him the, you know,

470

00:24:18,930 --> 00:24:20,697

what my design looked like,

471

00:24:20,697 --> 00:24:22,893

and where Boveda stood.

472

00:24:23,790 --> 00:24:28,530

And no hesitation, he's like, "We're in."

473

00:24:28,530 --> 00:24:31,290

And it's like, you know, how cool is that?

474

00:24:31,290 --> 00:24:33,150

You know, how awesome is that?

475

00:24:33,150 --> 00:24:35,490

And so I got to work,

476

00:24:35,490 --> 00:24:39,330

and this was three months ago, you know?

477

00:24:39,330 --> 00:24:41,760

And so from the concept, the idea,

478

00:24:41,760 --> 00:24:43,897

the prototype, and constantly sharing,

479

00:24:43,897 --> 00:24:45,960

"This is the tweaks that we made,"

480

00:24:45,960 --> 00:24:50,010

and with a goal of

showcasing it here in time.

481

00:24:50,010 --> 00:24:53,310

So we got the samples in just in time.

482

00:24:53,310 --> 00:24:56,370

The first order arrives mid-August

483

00:24:56,370 --> 00:25:00,270

ready to ship to retailers

and to the public.

484

00:25:00,270 --> 00:25:04,770

But it's fun.

485

00:25:04,770 --> 00:25:06,270

- Yeah, and it's self-explanatory.

486

00:25:06,270 --> 00:25:10,590

It's an 80-stick humidor in a closed cell,

487

00:25:10,590 --> 00:25:11,730

what would you call this material?

488

00:25:11,730 --> 00:25:15,060

- It's EPP, expanded polypropylene.

489

00:25:15,060 --> 00:25:18,060

- So the demonstration

490

00:25:18,060 --> 00:25:20,580

that your associate made over there

491

00:25:20,580 --> 00:25:22,230

standing on it was brilliant,

492

00:25:22,230 --> 00:25:26,970

because he stood on this

to show how durable it is.

493

00:25:26,970 --> 00:25:28,593

And then, of course, inside,

494

00:25:29,430 --> 00:25:30,600

in addition to a divider,

495

00:25:30,600 --> 00:25:32,100

there's a space for a Boveda pack,

496

00:25:32,100 --> 00:25:34,350

and it includes a Boveda pack.

497

00:25:34,350 --> 00:25:35,730

I didn't know about this,

498

00:25:35,730 --> 00:25:37,200

Sean and Tim didn't know about this,

499

00:25:37,200 --> 00:25:39,480

Nobody knew about this until yesterday.

500

00:25:39,480 --> 00:25:40,800

Brought it back.

501

00:25:40,800 --> 00:25:42,960

Everybody's oohing and awing over it.

502

00:25:42,960 --> 00:25:46,290

And then, today, one of the

beautiful things that happened,

503

00:25:46,290 --> 00:25:48,003

and I'm so glad this went down,

504

00:25:49,900 --> 00:25:54,900

it just warmed my heart

to watch Manolo Quesada,

505

00:25:54,900 --> 00:25:58,140

one of the finest cigar

manufacturers in the world,

506

00:25:58,140 --> 00:25:59,940

guy's been making cigars for 50 years,

507

00:25:59,940 --> 00:26:01,710

and his daughter, Raquel,

508

00:26:01,710 --> 00:26:05,760

they were here and he noticed this.

509

00:26:05,760 --> 00:26:07,320

It was sitting on the counter.

510

00:26:07,320 --> 00:26:09,930

He noticed it and he says, "What's that?"

511

00:26:09,930 --> 00:26:11,680

And I showed it to him and he goes,

512

00:26:12,517 --> 00:26:15,630

"I have to go get one of

these, I need this for my,"

513

00:26:15,630 --> 00:26:20,430

he travels back and forth from Spain.

514

00:26:20,430 --> 00:26:22,380

And he goes, "I need this."

515

00:26:22,380 --> 00:26:26,367

And I said, "Well, Manolo,

I'll give you this.

516

00:26:26,367 --> 00:26:28,893

And I tell you what would be fantastic,

517

00:26:29,730 --> 00:26:31,140

I gotta tell you the story of this,"

518

00:26:31,140 --> 00:26:33,360

and I call you a kid, you're not a kid,

519

00:26:33,360 --> 00:26:37,080

you're a middle-aged man,

I hate to break it to you,

520

00:26:37,080 --> 00:26:39,780

but I said, "You need to meet this guy."

521

00:26:39,780 --> 00:26:41,190

And he said, "Well, I'll go over there."

522

00:26:41,190 --> 00:26:43,230

And I said, "Hold on."

523

00:26:43,230 --> 00:26:45,180

We sent Mike, Mike came and got you.

524

00:26:45,180 --> 00:26:47,253

You came over, you're very gracious.

525

00:26:48,420 --> 00:26:49,740

Gracious, means gracious.

526

00:26:49,740 --> 00:26:51,723

I mean, this is a beautiful thing.

527

00:26:52,620 --> 00:26:55,380

I told Manolo the story of you.

528

00:26:55,380 --> 00:26:59,340

I said, "The reason why this worked

529

00:26:59,340 --> 00:27:01,510

was because this kid's earnest

530

00:27:02,520 --> 00:27:04,470

and he does what he says he's gonna do,

531

00:27:04,470 --> 00:27:09,470

and he's decent, and he's consistent."

532

00:27:10,200 --> 00:27:12,480

That's you, that's who you are.

533

00:27:12,480 --> 00:27:14,820

And I don't know who you

get to blame for that,

534

00:27:14,820 --> 00:27:17,790

mom, dad, whoever, but

that's a beautiful thing.

535

00:27:17,790 --> 00:27:18,987

And he lit up on this.

536

00:27:18,987 --> 00:27:21,000

And he was so touched

537

00:27:21,000 --> 00:27:24,030

when he had a chance to meet

the inventor and talk to you,

538

00:27:24,030 --> 00:27:26,940

and he's got one of these, the guy,

539

00:27:26,940 --> 00:27:30,030

I mean, it's one of the

greats in the cigar industry,

540

00:27:30,030 --> 00:27:33,570

and you've got brands talking about you

541

00:27:33,570 --> 00:27:36,150

and that big, yellow display over there.

542

00:27:36,150 --> 00:27:37,890

And I said something to you yesterday,

543

00:27:37,890 --> 00:27:39,420

and I got choked up thinking about it,

544

00:27:39,420 --> 00:27:42,813

because my old man, amazing human being,

545

00:27:45,000 --> 00:27:47,767

he had a habit of saying to

guys that he hardly knew,

546

00:27:47,767 --> 00:27:50,220

"So tell me about your faith formation."

547

00:27:50,220 --> 00:27:52,777

This was my dad, old school

Catholic guy that would say,

548

00:27:52,777 --> 00:27:55,380

"Hey, tell me about,"

you know, daily mass guy.

549

00:27:55,380 --> 00:27:57,780

And he'd ask people that

and you'd just cringe.

550

00:27:57,780 --> 00:27:59,520

You're like, "Oh my God, dad,

551

00:27:59,520 --> 00:28:01,560

don't embarrass us saying this."

552

00:28:01,560 --> 00:28:03,150

I don't know if you can imagine that,

553

00:28:03,150 --> 00:28:05,670

I know you come from the same tradition.

554

00:28:05,670 --> 00:28:09,607

But he had a hard time saying,

555

00:28:09,607 --> 00:28:12,303

"I love you," right?

556

00:28:13,410 --> 00:28:17,490

But he could say, "Hey,

Drew, I'm proud of you."

557

00:28:17,490 --> 00:28:18,930

You know, something I did in school,

558

00:28:18,930 --> 00:28:20,887

something I did in sports, whatever.

559

00:28:20,887 --> 00:28:22,830

"Drew, I'm proud of you."

560

00:28:22,830 --> 00:28:25,020

That was his way of saying it, right?

561

00:28:25,020 --> 00:28:26,340

And I felt that yesterday.

562

00:28:26,340 --> 00:28:27,547

I'm standing over there and I'm like,

563

00:28:27,547 --> 00:28:32,547

"Remon, I know this sounds

whack, but I'm proud of you.

564

00:28:34,380 --> 00:28:35,700

I'm proud of you for that,

565

00:28:35,700 --> 00:28:37,770

that idea that you saw through,

566

00:28:37,770 --> 00:28:41,760

the ability to plan it, manifest it,

567

00:28:41,760 --> 00:28:44,373

fabricate it, get it out

into the marketplace.

568

00:28:45,240 --> 00:28:47,400

That's awesome."

569

00:28:47,400 --> 00:28:50,850

And this, I mean, it is

an absolute privilege

570

00:28:50,850 --> 00:28:54,250

to be included as part of your story

571

00:28:55,230 --> 00:28:57,000

about your business that you're building

572

00:28:57,000 --> 00:28:58,770

and the way this has gone for you.

573

00:28:58,770 --> 00:29:00,510

It's an absolute privilege.

574

00:29:00,510 --> 00:29:02,970

And I can't thank you enough for that.

575

00:29:02,970 --> 00:29:04,983

- No, man, I thank you, man.

576

00:29:06,390 --> 00:29:09,840

You know, I really,

really appreciate that.

577

00:29:09,840 --> 00:29:14,370

But, believe it or not, it meant a lot,

578

00:29:14,370 --> 00:29:17,887

you know, the encouragement.

579

00:29:17,887 --> 00:29:20,850

"Man, you know, I met this guy at Boveda,

580

00:29:20,850 --> 00:29:22,530

and he believes in this idea."

581

00:29:22,530 --> 00:29:24,120

And so that's fuel,

582

00:29:24,120 --> 00:29:25,380

especially, you know, like I said,

583

00:29:25,380 --> 00:29:28,500

in those beginning days,

it was very lonely.

584

00:29:28,500 --> 00:29:31,380

And so when you got that

kind of encouragement,

585

00:29:31,380 --> 00:29:34,140

that fuel, and it really,

really gets you going

586

00:29:34,140 --> 00:29:35,283

in that direction.

587

00:29:39,060 --> 00:29:39,930

Appreciate you.

588

00:29:39,930 --> 00:29:41,343

- What else is there to say?

589

00:29:43,020 --> 00:29:45,060

Thank you.

- Pleasure, always.

590

00:29:45,060 --> 00:29:47,153

- God bless you, do well.

- God bless you.