Packaging

[mazolaman]

A couple of mentions in various posts recently,and a mention in the Sancho Panza review got me thinking about this.

Being a cynical sod,I care only about the cigar itself,and view the shiny packaging etc as a move away from the tradition of Cuban cigars.

A bit like I view the multitude of fat ELs,and the removal of traditional vitolas.

Bah humbug.

How much do bands,boxes and insignia matter to you?

[Colt45]

I had similar thoughts when Smithy mentioned packaging in the SP review. While I do appreciate the artwork along with the respective

historical significance, to be totally honest, I've never really paid that much attention.

[CaptainQuintero]

I buy exclusively down to taste, if the cigars come in a nice looking box or cabinet then that's just a bonus for me. I'd still buy the cigars I love if they came in a plain cardboard box if they tasted the same, but it is nice when cigars are presented in a way which makes you want to treasure them.

I've started taking the bands off cigars before smoking recently and I've found that it makes me concentrate on the flavours I'm tasting instead of looking for flavours associated with the band, been a really positive experience so far!

[Matt Day]

I would say half and half there is an advantage to having good packaging mainly in the fact u make the box more attractive to the ill-informed purchaser on the shelf in a casa del Habano etc. so I think better packaging would help Sancho panza with the uneducated purchaser and maybe would also make the box more attractive to someone who is browsing however it would make no difference to an experienced buyer

[Stalebread]

When the topic of packaging comes up I think about Malcolm Gladwell. In his book Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking (2005) he talks about what he calls sensation transference. If you're interested in the role that packaging plays, it's worth taking a look at, if you haven't already.

He sites work done with, among others, Christian Brothers brandy, 7Up, and a couple of brands of ice cream. What the evidence points to -- at least the evidence that Gladwell is using -- is that most of us dont make a distinction on an unconscious level between the package and the product. The product is the package and the product combined.

To paraphrase: clever packaging does not allow a company to put out a bad-tasting product. The taste of the product itself matters a great deal. The point is that when we put something in our mouth and in that blink of an eye decide whether it tastes good or not, we are reacting not only to the evidence from our taste buds and salivary glands but also to the evidence of our eyes and memories and imaginations, and it is foolish of a company to service one dimension and ignore the other.

[Guest rob]

Rather than view it as a bonus if my favourite cigars just happen to also come packaged in attractive packaging - I'd prefer if they came in plain, simple and cheap packaging in order to help keep the purchase costs down.

Though having thought about it.... I may be regretful of that wish because sales of them would likely fall and they would no doubt end up on a deletions list.

[Lotusguy]

Nice packaging does add to the experience for me. I display some of the nicer boxes in my house

Having said that, if the cigar is crap, it's crap - no matter how well they are packaged. Unfortunately, the Upmann Noellas come to mind for me...

[TonyV]

Only care about the quality of the cigar.Though some varnished boxes are nice to look at,any box that protects the cigar is okay by me.Having a reputable vendor makes that easy to say.

[ronin]

I don't smoke the band nor the box. The only thing that matters to me is construction and taste.

[zappaFREAK]

I do not buy for the package but I do enjoy some of the more exceptional packaging such as behikes. I also like jars but will not buy them if I do not like the cigar!

[Rushman]

Nice packaging does add to the experience for me. I display some of the nicer boxes in my house

Having said that, if the cigar is crap, it's crap - no matter how well they are packaged. Unfortunately, the Upmann Noellas come to mind for me...

. I have two Noella jars for sale!!! Moderators, more of a joke than an actual proposed sale.

[riazp]

I could care less about the packaging, its the cigar that matters to me. Those damn aussie stickers annoy the hell out of me though! A nice looking box adds to the experience, I too enjoy diplaying some of my nicer boxes. Ramon Allones comes to mind, love the color scheme and the cigars are f'n fantastic to boot

[Ginseng]

When the topic of packaging comes up I think about Malcolm Gladwell. In his book Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking (2005) he talks about what he calls sensation transference. If you're interested in the role that packaging plays, it's worth taking a look at, if you haven't already.

He sites work done with, among others, Christian Brothers’ brandy, 7Up, and a couple of brands of ice cream. What the evidence points to -- at least the evidence that Gladwell is using -- is that most of us don’t make a distinction — on an unconscious level — between the package and the product. The product is the package and the product combined.

To paraphrase: clever packaging does not allow a company to put out a bad-tasting product. The taste of the product itself matters a great deal. The point is that when we put something in our mouth and in that blink of an eye decide whether it tastes good or not, we are reacting not only to the evidence from our taste buds and salivary glands but also to the evidence of our eyes and memories and imaginations, and it is foolish of a company to service one dimension and ignore the other.

Thank you very much for sharing your considered thoughts on this. Most edifying, and well stated. :thumbsup:

As for me, at its best, the full experience of the cigar involves every aspect of the Havana from the cigar itself, to the packaging, to some knowledge about the history, the liquid accompaniment, even music from the island. Simply smoking the cigar is an impoverished experience in my mind. I mean, here we are relishing the fruits of a century and more of the Cuban tobacco industry and yet eschewing all of the dress and decoration that has co-evolved with the tube of fermented leaves which is the target of our adoration. As you point out, the cigar is but one aspect of the whole. The most important, perhaps, but organically and rightfully inseparable.

This is a different thing from the question of whether plain versus fancy containers are/should be best, desirable, appropriate. On that point, I seek balance between function, visual and sensory pleasure, as well as a balance between tradition and innovation.

Wilkey

[maverickdrinker]

I smoke cigars, not bands.

[nonameno]

Hello Fellow FOHers',

I too am in the camp where packaging plays no role for me. If comes in a brown paper bag and tastes great, wonderful.

Thank you,

Curtiss

[tdlfoto]

i could care less. i'm not a collector. even that upmann travel humidor with robustos i won here, i ended up keeping the cigars and donating the humidor to be raffled off at the toronto herf.

[Ghabanos]

Same vitola and quality - I am swayed by price

[tempbond]

Some packaging is better looking than others, but I really don't care about the box or the bands when it comes time to decide if I spend some cash on a particular cigar.

The only thing I would like to see is for every cigar box to be made out of spanish cedar and have a slide lid, for 25 and 50 count boxes alike. The only art I would "need" would be the logo burned in the lid, the same as they do for cabinets. And the vitola's name and quantity of course.

I really don't care for the regular paper covered plywood boxes with a razor thin piece of cedar between the two layers of cigars. If the whole box would always be made out of cedar, it would be a great reason to keep cigars in their original boxes, they would always absorb that wonderful aroma. Now I just keep them in there to know what they are and the box date.

The only thing that makes me drool over a cigar is when it has a beautiful wrapper and an enticing aroma. Nice bands are good, but maybe counts for only 5-10% of my visual appreciation at best.

[Stalebread]

Thank you very much for sharing your considered thoughts on this. Most edifying, and well stated.

Just to be clear -- they are not my thoughts, they are Gladwell's.

Edited to add:

and probably not Gladwell's, either. He's the writer but not the person(s) who did the experiments that led to the conslusion.

But you're right, Wilkey, I missed the point of the original question of plain versus fancy. There I go again, over-reacting. Maybe. Just a little.

[bolivr]

Just to be clear -- they are not my thoughts, they are Gladwell's.

Edited to add:

and probably not Gladwell's, either. He's the writer but not the person(s) who did the experiments that led to the conslusion.

But you're right, Wilkey, I missed the point of the original question of plain versus fancy. There I go again, over-reacting. Maybe. Just a little.

Valuable insight never the less.

My 2c is that once we see the label, brand or artwork we cannot un-see it and it has an effect, sure slight and unconscious, on our overall enjoyment of the cigar.

[Ginseng]

Just to be clear -- they are not my thoughts, they are Gladwell's.

Edited to add:

and probably not Gladwell's, either. He's the writer but not the person(s) who did the experiments that led to the conslusion.

But you're right, Wilkey, I missed the point of the original question of plain versus fancy. There I go again, over-reacting. Maybe. Just a little.

Oh, I sort of understood that. Then let me thank you for capsulizing what you read. That in itself takes some effort.

Wilkey

[goalie204]

Before i received a box of Secretos from the czar, i would have told you that i didn't care about packaging. But now that I have seen the horrible glue residue from the sticker ruining my beautiful black cigar box, I can say that i care a little bit about packaging. Just like the CEO of a company wants his beautiful luxury car to be clean and presentable, i want my beautiful box that my cigars are in to be gorgeous too. Yes ultimately the cigars are the most important thing, but it's nice for them to be in a nice box as well. In importance, i would say cigars 99% box 1%, but that 1% still matters

[Torontonian]

Quality is all that matters, of course. But when quality is matched with alluring packaging . . . Think of the Partagas jars from not too long ago.

[PigFish]

While this might seem odd coming from me, I can appreciate packaging for what it is worth. I will briefly explain.

If I want a cigar that floats after I have fallen off my jet ski, I buy a cigar in a tubo! I prefer to keep my cigars in slide lid boxes as well. Those are both sound reasons as I see it to endorse certain types of packaging.

The way I read Mazo's post was different however. What I got from the post was that he was asking if you were swayed by the aesthetics of packages? I say yes and no to that.

I see packaging as means to entice a perspective buyer to one product over another. By that, I have reduced it to, "lure the unknowing." Being one of the unknowing, I could be swayed in such a fashion. Therefore packaging may work on me once, and perhaps that is all that matters to some. Once I become one of the knowing, packaging is no more than a storage vessel or a convenience to me.

I love the look of a beautiful red head! A 36 inch rack enhances the package but that may not be enough to keep me coming back if her skull is empty!

I come back to my favorite Cuban cigars for their taste performance and their value. I have a collection of thousands of cigars, not due to boxes or bands... but because of straight performance issues and value for my smoking dollar is one of the issues. With the box and bands costing more than the cigars themselves, I say promote flashy cigars in tubos to attract the first time buyers and suckers. Give the box buyer a break and put his favorite cigars in a 50 cab that the retailers can break down into reasonably price singles, and large cigar consumers can get for a reasonable price. This helps everyone!

I can't help but think that 50 cabs without bands were made for the seasoned cigar smoker like me. They were a means to get the most out of the enclosure dollar cost as I have suggested above. Tabacuba et al is now ignoring my concerns for value with the hopes that new buyers will replace me. They are dead ******* wrong about this. The seasoned smoker has plenty of boxes and sees them as utility items only. He/she wants a good cigar, he knows what he likes and wants and when he buys a box of cigars it is for the cigars and not the box!!!

Those are my thoughts on the matter. -Piggy

[cgarner]

While this might seem odd coming from me, I can appreciate packaging for what it is worth. I will briefly explain.

If I want a cigar that floats after I have fallen off my jet ski, I buy a cigar in a tubo! I prefer to keep my cigars in slide lid boxes as well. Those are both sound reasons as I see it to endorse certain types of packaging.

The way I read Mazo's post was different however. What I got from the post was that he was asking if you were swayed by the aesthetics of packages? I say yes and no to that.

I see packaging as means to entice a perspective buyer to one product over another. By that, I have reduced it to, "lure the unknowing." Being one of the unknowing, I could be swayed in such a fashion. Therefore packaging may work on me once, and perhaps that is all that matters to some. Once I become one of the knowing, packaging is no more than a storage vessel or a convenience to me.

I love the look of a beautiful red head! A 36 inch rack enhances the package but that may not be enough to keep me coming back if her skull is empty!

I come back to my favorite Cuban cigars for their taste performance and their value. I have a collection of thousands of cigars, not due to boxes or bands... but because of straight performance issues and value for my smoking dollar is one of the issues. With the box and bands costing more than the cigars themselves, I say promote flashy cigars in tubos to attract the first time buyers and suckers. Give the box buyer a break and put his favorite cigars in a 50 cab that the retailers can break down into reasonably price singles, and large cigar consumers can get for a reasonable price. This helps everyone!

I can't help but think that 50 cabs without bands were made for the seasoned cigar smoker like me. They were a means to get the most out of the enclosure dollar cost as I have suggested above. Tabacuba et al is now ignoring my concerns for value with the hopes that new buyers will replace me. They are dead ******* wrong about this. The seasoned smoker has plenty of boxes and sees them as utility items only. He/she wants a good cigar, he knows what he likes and wants and when he buys a box of cigars it is for the cigars and not the box!!!

Those are my thoughts on the matter. -Piggy

I agree with Mr. Piggy. Especially about Redheads with 36 inch racks.

I've only bought one cigar item strictly due to packaging and that was the H. Upmann leather travel humidor. I bought it strictly to store and show off in my cabinet. I think that living in a country that prohibits items from other countries can sway people to buy an item that comes with nice packaging that can be used as a keep sake item.