In 2021, Smoke Inn, a retailer in South Florida, released an Advent calendar that was so impressive that it resulted in halfwheel changing the rules for the Packaging Awards to allow for a retailer’s packaging to be eligible.
For 2023, the company added a new offering, the Hanukkah Holiday Box, a nine-cigar sampler created by the retailer made up of part Smoke Inn exclusives, high-dollar limited editions, and at least one cigar that was exclusive to the box. Those nine cigars are a nod to the eight nights of Hanukkah and the candles on the menorah. The ninth candle, known as the shamash candle, is used to light the candles, hence nine cigars.
For the Hanukkah Box, the sampler was presented in a design based on the Star of David, which required two shapes of high-quality cardboard boxes to be used for the individual cigars—both triangles and pentagons—with graphics of candles on the sides. There were also nine corresponding cards that came in individual envelopes and that explained what each cigar was.
The Smoke Inn Hanukkah Box is an impressive evolution of an already remarkable design for a retailer-crated sampler. — Patrick Lagreid.
