PCA 2023: Founders Cigar Co.

Although Founders Cigar Co. did not have a new booth or any new cigars to show off at the 2023 PCA Convention & Trade Show, that did not mean that the company had no news to share. In fact, there have been a number of major changes for Founders, including a major update to its packaging and a change in where the company’s cigars are being made.

The first major change is a packaging refresh for the company’s bands and boxes designed by Humberto Arias of Cigar Package Design that incorporates more dynamic coloring along with deeper historical references. Angelo Fraboni, co-founder of Founders Cigars, told me that in addition to the brighter colors, there are a number of different new elements that have been added to the bands, including a depiction of three different seals: the middle seal features the Liberty Bell surrounded by 13 stars signifying the original 13 states, the left seal is the seal of the Continental army that fought against the British and the seal on the right is a depiction of the Great Seal of the United States.

In addition, the company is incorporating new boxes that share the colors of each new cigar band while also being designed to help save space on retailers’ shelves when they start shipping in about eight weeks. The boxes, which weren’t in Las Vegas, are said to include dual-split lids featuring detailed information about each cigar, including the size, vitola and blend. Those boxes will hold 25 cigars arranged in five rows of five cigars instead of the 20-count boxes arranged with two rows of 10 cigars that the company previously used.

Finally, the company has shifted production of the bulk of its cigars to Tabacalera Las Lavas S.R.L. in the Dominican Republic, the factory that is best known for being the home of Casa Cuevas. The company’s Signature Dual Wrap, Franklin Connecticut, Douglass Habano and Roosevelt Maduro are the lines moving to Las Lavas, while the Hamilton Candela is remaining at MJ Frias Cigar SRL, which produced the other cigars prior to the move.