Camacho Cigars has announced a huge rebranding effort that will essentially re-launch their core line brand.  The brand describes this as “the most brazen move in their nearly 50 year history“. The rebranding effort not only involves a new logo and new packaging to their cigars, but it will consolidate some of their existing lines as well as upgrade four of their existing blends.

The brand will have a national unveiling June 20th in Dallas, Texas.  The new Camacho products will officially go on sale at the 2013 IPCPR Trade Show in Las Vegas in July.

At the center of the rebranding effort is the slogan “The Bold Standard”.  This slogan is reflected in the brand’s identity as the new logo is meant to give Camacho Cigars a “bolder” identity.   On the logo is a scorpion.  Camacho Cigars says the scorpion “is a fusion of both the old school heritage and modern day vibe of the brand. The Scorpion mark, a nod to Camacho’s aggressive and entrepreneurial spirit, personifies a number of core characteristics of the brand”  The new logo is incorporated to the banding and packaging to reflect this bolder identity.

In regards to the “Bold Standard” campaign, Dylan Austin, head of marketing for Camacho explains: “The core values and DNA of who we are have not been altered, the volume has been cranked and the focus has been intensified. Our new image is a strong representation both of what we were and who we have become. It’s a badge of honor to be worn by the powerful, elemental person who seeks to live his life the way we do – all-out and full throttle..”

Bold as a Philosophy

The brand has gone further and adopted the “Bold Standard” as an integral part of its philosophy.  It ties boldness with the company’s rich history and the brand’s new direction.  A recent graphic on the company’s Facebook page contained the following text which they describe as their manifesto:

“From the beginning, Camacho has stood for intense pleasure unleashed. For more of what cigar lovers love and more of what cigar haters hate.  If we had a soundtrack it would be loud.  Loud enough to wake the neighbors and make big dogs howl.  Austere?  Subtle? Pretentious?  Not so much.  Just pure power.  Delivered with the skill and passion of a F-18 super hornet exploding off the deck of a carrier.  These aren’t Grandpa’s cigars from ancient film noir.  These are full-color, all-American style cigars that effortlessly deliver full-frontal, all-out flavor.  Flavor amped up to heights that old-school cigars have never dared climb.  We see it this way: If you’re gonna have a cigar, have a damn cigar.  One worthy of a glass of Jack.  After shredding the Baja 1000 in 20 hours straight.  If you live this large, you’ll find your cigar here.”

The Camacho “Bold Standard” Manifesto

 

The “Bold Standard” in Action

In a lot of ways Camacho was already well on their way to embracing the “Bold Standard”.  It was in 2009 when the brand brought in Room 101 Brand’s Matt Booth.  Booth was a jewelry designer based out of Los Angeles, California.  He was a colorful character well-known among the L.A. Rock scene and definitely fits in with the “bold” culture of Camacho.

In 2012, Camacho brought in NFL Hall of Famer Mike Ditka to be the face behind a new line of cigars. Ditka is known for his outspoken and fiery personality and is another natural fit into the “Bold Standard”.  The company has also brought in screenwrtter Rob Weiss.  If you don’t know Weiss, he wrote for the hit television series “Entourage”.  The brand has referred to Booth, Ditka, and Weiss as “The Board of the Bold”.

As Austin says, “Coach, Booth and Weiss are guys that live the Camacho way of life, they do it pedal to the floor everyday and pull no punches. Each of them anchors what we stand for down to the core, all of them have accomplished great things in life because of their boldness.”

Consolidation and Reblending

While Room 101 and the Ditka lines embrace the “Bold Standard”, attention has turned to applying this to Camacho’s core lines. The brand has taken a look at its existing lines and consolidated them to six.  Lines that have been discontinued include the 10th Anniversary, Coyolar, Select, SLR, and SLR Maduro.  The six lines going forward will be the Camacho Connecticut, Camacho Criollo (formerly Camacho Havana), Camacho Corojo, Camacho Corojo Maduro, Camacho Diploma, and Camacho Triple Maduro.   The Camacho Connecticut and Camacho Triple Maduro blendss will remain the same. while the remaining four are being reblended.

In regards to the re-blending lines, Austin says “We did an immense amount of work on the blends. It wasn’t about reinventing what people had come to love; it’s been about getting back to what they had come to love and making additional upgrades along the way. Impact is the most important component of our cigar-making philosophy, along with consistency.”

The following sections take a closer look at these composition of these six lines.

Camacho Corojo

Camacho Corojo (Image from Camacho Cigars Facebook Page)

The Camacho brand is perhaps best associated with authentic corojo tobacco.  The Camacho Corojo remains a all-Corojo puro.  The big change is that its wrapper now comes from a fifth priming – and three primings are used in the filler.

Blend Profile

Wrapper: Authentic Corojo (5th priming)
Binder: Authentic Corojo
Filler: Authentic Corojo (3 primings)

Vitolas Available

There will be seven frontmarks for the new Camacho Corojo.  The product will be sold in boxes of 20 except for the tube offering which will be sold in boxes of 10.  The brand also has plans for 4 packs for this line.

Robusto: 5 x 50
Corona 5 1/2 x 44
Toro: 6 x 50
Figuardo: 6 1/8 x 42 x 54
Gigante: 6 1/2 x 54
Churchill: 7 x 48
Robusto Tubos: 5 x 50

Camacho Corojo Maduro

Camacho Corojo Maduro (Image from Camacho Cigars Facebook Page)

The Camacho Corojo Maduro offering is undergoing similar changes to its Camacho Corojo sibling – including the fifth priming wrapper.

Blend Profile

Wrapper: Corojo Maduro (5th priming)
Binder: Authentic Corojo
Filler: Authentic Corojo (3 primings)

Vitolas Available

There will be six frontmarks for the new Camacho Corojo Maduro.  The product will be sold in boxes of 20.

Robusto: 5 x 50
Corona 5 1/2 x 44
Toro: 6 x 50
Figuardo: 6 1/8 x 42 x 54
Gigante: 6 1/2 x 54
Churchill: 7 x 48


Camacho Criollo

Camacho Criollo (formerly Camacho Havana) (Image from Camacho Cigars Facebook Page)

The Camacho Criollo is the one line that got a new name.  This cigar has previously been known as the Camacho Havana.  The Criollo wrapper now features is a fourth priming wrapper instead of a third.  The blend now also incorporates Dominican tobacco in the filler.

Blend Profile

Wrapper: Honduran Criollo ’98 (4th priming)
Binder: Authentic Corojo
Filler: Honduran Criollo and Piloto Cubano (Dominican)

Vitolas Available

There will be seven frontmarks for the new Camacho Criollo.  The product will be sold in boxes of 20 except for the tube offering which will be sold in boxes of 10.  The brand also has plans for 4 packs for this line.

Robusto: 5 x 50
Corona 5 1/2 x 44
Toro: 6 x 50
Figuardo: 6 1/8 x 42 x 54
Gigante: 6 1/2 x 54
Churchill: 7 x 48
Robusto Tubos: 5 x 50

Camacho Diploma

Camacho Diploma (Image from Camacho Cigars Facebook Page)

The Camacho Diploma is undergoing the biggest blend change in the Camacho line.  It is moving from an all Honduran puro to a multi-national blend.

Blend Profile

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habana 2000
Binder: Authentic Corojo Ligero
Filler: Corojo, Criollo Ligero,  Dominican Navarette Ligero

Vitolas Available

There will be five frontmarks for the new Camacho Diploma.  The product will be sold in boxes of 10 .

Robusto: 5 x 50
11/18: 6 x 48/54/48
Gordo: 6 x 60
Figuardo: 6 1/8 x 42 x 54
Churchill 7 x 48

Camacho Connecticut

Camacho Connecticut (Image from Camacho Cigars Facebook Page)

As mentioned the Camacho Connecticut will not undergo a blend change.  We include information here for reference purposes.

Blend Profile

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Connecticut
Binder: Authentic Corojo
Filler: Honduran Generoso, Aleman Ligero

Vitolas Available

There will be seven frontmarks for the new Camacho Connecticut.  The product will be sold in boxes of 20 except for the tube offering which will be sold in boxes of 10.  The brand also has plans for 4 packs.

Robusto: 5 x 50
Corona 5 1/2 x 44
Toro: 6 x 50
Figuardo: 6 1/8 x 42 x 54
Gordo: 6  x 60
Churchill: 7 x 48
Robusto Tubos: 5 x 50

Camacho Triple Maduro

Camacho Triple Maduro (Image from Camacho Cigars Facebook Page)

As mentioned the Camacho Triple Maduro will not undergo a blend change.  We include information here for reference purposes.

Blend Profile

Wrapper: San Andres Mexican
Binder: Authentic Corojo Maduro
Filler: Maduro (Honduran, Brazilian, Dominican)

Vitolas Available

There will be five frontmarks for the Camacho Triple Maduro.  The product will be sold in boxes of 20

Robusto: 5 x 50
Corona 5 1/2 x 44
11/18: 6 x 48/54/48
Gordo: 6 x 60
Figuardo: 6 1/8 x 42 x 54

Final Thoughts

The changes with the “Bold Standard” have created an excitement and energy within Camacho’s core brand that has not been seen in a while.   There is no doubt that this will be reflected in Camacho’s booth at the 2013 IPCPR Trade Show in Las Vegas.  While Room 101 and the Mike Ditka lines already were going to have a lot of energy, it is great to see the core line Camacho line also have a high energy level.  A change of this magnitude is always a huge risk, but no doubt the brand seems prepared and poised to handle it.  The rest of 2013 should be very interesting for Camacho.