PCA 2023: Integra Specialty Products

Integra is one of, if not the main competitor to Boveda in both the cigar and marijuana markets. While I have very little understanding of the marijuana space, I very much believe that the battle between the two companies is very different there than in the cigar market. Boveda has been around for more than 25 years and the cigar market was its main market for almost all of that time, though depending on who I talk to at Boveda, the marijuana market is either level with or has already eclipsed the cigar space. More importantly, Boveda is entrenched in the cigar market in a way that it probably isn’t in the marijuana space.

While both Boveda and Integra aim to provide portable, disposable, two-way humidification packs that regulate humidity within a certain range, they do so in different ways. Boveda uses salt’s natural properties to regulate humidity, while Integra uses film. I’ve been following Integra before it really got going in the cigar space and have used the company’s products over the years with increasing levels of success. For me, one of the very annoying parts about Integra up until this year is that the company kept tweaking its product but rarely ever mentioned what it was doing. Some of these have seemed like small changes, while others have been major updates to the products. Unfortunately, even I’m unsure how to tell whether I’m getting the most updated version. That said, it seems like the constant tweaking has settled down, so perhaps it’s finally time to try another Integra review.

For the record, neither company is probably thrilled with me directly comparing the two. 

Integra’s booth has not changed in quite some time. It’s open, well-lit, modern-looking and was pretty busy for Day 4. With Perdomo’s booth scaled down from its heyday, Integra’s video wall now seems like one of the largest of any booths. Because of the marijuana space, both Boveda and Integra likely do more trade shows than any cigar company, and I think the booth set-ups of both companies show that. This booth is a lot more professional-looking than most of the booths used by cigar companies.

Integra Boost for Tubos

Integra has a new smaller pack that is designed specifically for cigar tubes.

This is a B2B product, meaning it won’t be offered to consumers or retailers directly. Instead, it’s targeted at cigar companies. While Boveda still has the vast majority of the cigar B2B business, I’ve noticed Integra showing up in STG products recently, including the new Cohiba Spectre.