Cuban cigars are currently the most popular and expensive tobacco products globally, with Cohiba even entering the ranks of the world's top luxury items. Today, setting aside its naturally advantageous geographical environment, let's try to analyze how Cuban cigars have step by step become a best-selling luxury item worldwide from several different perspectives.
1 Global Inflation
The year 2020 marked a turning point for Cuban cigar prices. Before 2020, Cuba had already hosted over 20 editions of the Habanos Festival, with the highest-priced cigars at the auction on the last day of the festival reaching only several hundred thousand dollars per box.
However, since the Cohiba box sold for a historic price of 2.4 million euros at the 2020 Habanos Festival auction, Cuban cigar prices have skyrocketed uncontrollably.
2 Inherently Possessing "Luxury" Attributes
Many industries, such as Rolls-Royce in automobiles, Patek Philippe in watches, and Hermès in handbags, have established benchmarks for luxury products. Even the spirits industry, which is closest to the tobacco industry, has set luxury standards, such as Romanée-Conti in wines, Macallan in whiskies, and Maotai in Baijiu.
Cuban cigars, inherently scarce, possess all the genetic traits to be crafted into "luxury items." Cohiba, as the best-quality Cuban cigar, is intentionally being developed by Habanos S.A. to represent the pinnacle of luxury in the cigar industry, thereby driving Cuban cigar prices to new heights.
3 Symbol of Status
Throughout Cuban history, many notable figures have contributed significantly to elevating Cuban cigars to global luxury status. For instance, pivotal figures such as the Cuban leader Castro have propelled Cuban cigars to worldwide prominence.
Additionally, figures like Winston Churchill, King Edward VII of England, or the renowned Hollywood director Darryl F. Zanuck actively endorsed Cuban cigars, making them the premier choice among celebrities and politicians of that era.
4 Elaborate Cigar Etiquette
In the early 19th century, cigar smoking had developed complex etiquette norms, which were further endorsed and strengthened by European nobility, contributing to the sophistication of cigar smoking as a means of class distinction. Restricting the enjoyment of cigars to the affluent and leisurely nobility made cigars a social tool among the elite.
Subsequently, like all luxury items, a plethora of well-designed, premium-quality, and expensive cigar accessories emerged, including cigar mouthpieces, cigar boxes, cigar ashtrays, cigar lighters, cigar jackets, and so on, further solidifying the luxury status of cigars.
Becoming a luxury item was not an overnight process for Cuban cigars; on the contrary, it was a long and arduous journey compared to other luxury items. Initially popular among European nobility and notable figures, Cuban cigars were expensive but not scarce.
Today, premium handmade Cuban cigars are not only expensive but also extremely scarce, especially after the sharp price increases post-2020. Once luxury item prices rise, they rarely decrease, with top-tier luxury item prices regularly increasing each year, especially for highly scarce varieties.
