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kaizad hansotia THE MAN BEHIND THE LEGENDARY GURKHA CIGARS
CEO Kaizad Hansotia January 2010 | www.ExecDigital.com
Face to Face Kaizad Hansotia 3
Face to Face with
Kaizad Hansotia T
The man behind the re-birth of the legendary Gurkha, the ‘World’s Finest Cigar’ By Kevin Doyle
he story of Gurkha Cigars blends the history of British Colonialism in India and one modern businessman’s desire to develop and market a product unlike any that had come before it. It is a tale best told while relaxing in a plush chair with a fine cigar and your beverage of choice. While traveling in his native India 20 years ago, Miami-based entrepreneur Kaizad Hansotia – a man called Kaiser by everyone with a history in the premium watch business – discovered and purchased his first Gurkha cigar. In short order, he bought the entire inventory and the struggling brand for the astonishingly low sum of $143. “I didn’t know anything about the company. I wanted to buy boxes of cigars to give as corporate gifts. Then, one thing led to another and I bought the company,” says Hansotia. “Our
customers and clients liked them. They quickly grew from being corporate gifts to our clients wanting more for their stores, so we started producing cigars as gifts. I had no clue about this business, no pedigree at all.” What Hansotia did have was an acute understanding of marketing and packaging – and an idea that ran contrary to accepted industry practices. “What I knew was that this business had been done the same old way for a long time and the only reason was because that’s the way it had always been done. Well, that’s not good enough and we decided to do it differently. We wanted to come out with small batches of very high-end cigars,” he says. While competitors initially scoffed, they can no longer doubt Hansotia. Gurkha has more than 40 distinct smokes and, in general, produces between 500 and 1,000 boxes of www.ExecDigital.com | January 2010
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Face to Face Kaizad Hansotia 5 each per year. The company is valued at $35 million and its high-end products are sought after by A-listers worldwide, ranging from Saudi princes, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and New York Yankees’ star Alex Rodriguez to, Hansotia says, “90 percent of Hollywood” including Harrison Ford and Matthew McConaughey. Gurkha’s top-shelf HMR – featuring a 15-year Connecticut Maduro wrapper with 12-year-old Dominican binder and filler aged with one bottle of the world’s finest cognacs – sells for $15,000 a box. This year the company will also produce
com) and you are immediately struck by its elaborate and attractive design. Hansotia understands the importance of striking presentation and that starts with the image of a smiling Gurkha warrior shown testing the edge of his massive knife against a finger. “When you see our packaging in person it will floor you. When we first started, we were coming out with cigars in glass tubes with melted wax and different cognacs. People said it was amazing but back then cigars were $6 or $7 and we were at $20. They said it couldn’t be done but the thing with cigars is, you sell them once
“ Everything is limited. If we release 1,000 boxes a year, for example, that’s only 20 boxes per state. They come in and they’re gone” The
“Evil” Cigar
- Kaizad Hansotia, CEO
three boxes of the Maharaja, carrying a $500,000 and if the customer doesn’t like price tag per box. “One is going to Russia, one to it, you’ll never see them again,” China and one to India,” Hansotia says. Hansotia reasons. While competitors persisted A BIT OF HISTORY in using cardboard or cedar At the height of British rule in India, the Gurkhas boxes, Hansotia upped the ante. were acclaimed for their bravery and strength Some Gurkhas, for example, come fighting in both the Indian Army’s Gurkha in a lacquered red mahogany box regiments and the British Army’s Brigade of with a piano-like sheen. Others are Gurkhas. They were, in effect, a 19th century delivered in ornate, decorative tins. All version of Special Forces operatives. of them feature elaborate bands that They also were quite adept at making their are heavy on gold and silver accents. own cigars from the local tobacco. Fondness for these legendary Nepalese colonial fighters PRODUCTS AND inspired the British to name their own cigars PROCESSES Gurkhas. Hansotia retained and revived the name Much like fine wine requiring the best as an homage to the Gurkhas’ fabled history. grapes, exquisite cigars result from procuring and aging the best tobacco BUILDING THE BRAND an average of five to 10 years. “Wine Visit the company website (www.gurkhacigars. is all about the grape. Out of 100 bales www.ExecDigital.com | January 2010
The “Evil” Cigar
“ These are very, very strong and are for only the most experienced smoker. They will knock you on your … These are not for the new smoker”
Connecticut may surprise most. “It is the best of the best in the world. They’ve been growing tobacco for more than 200 years - Kaizad Hansotia, on the new Evil and Assassin cigars and they do it consistently. The of tobacco, we may choose one. It’s all about climate is fantastic, the soil is rich and full of the quality of the tobacco and controlling the nutrients, and they have the money to spend on production. Everything is limited. If we release fertilizer and to rotate their crops,” he says. 1,000 boxes a year, for example, that’s only The company maintains production venues 20 boxes per state. They come in and they’re in Honduras, Nicaragua and the Dominican gone,” Hansotia says. Republic and an 8.000sf distribution center in Hansotia scours the globe for tobacco. His Miami. Hansotia says, “We’re always on back insistence the best in the world is produced in order. That’s not good, but it’s a double-edged
January 2010 | www.ExecDigital.com
Face to Face Kaizad Hansotia 7
Packaging and presentation are part of the reason for Gurkha’s success sword – it keeps our demand up. This is a natural process and we don’t rush it. When the cigars are ready, they’re ready.” Hansotia develops all the blends himself but recently allowed his sales managers to try their hands at the craft. The results produced the popular and potent Evil and Assassin cigars Hansotia says “are very, very strong and are for only the most experienced smoker. They will knock you on your … These are not for the new smoker.” Hansotia ranks the Grand Reserve (“It’s a mild to medium cigar”), the Shaggy (“it has a nutty, fruity flavor”) and the Anniversario 1807 (“It’s very European and creamy”) as the company’s most popular sellers. The boutique line featuring HMRs, the limited edition 20th anniversary Archive, The Beauty, and The
Beast are also in high demand. Hansotia favors the Elegance as well as the Black Dragon and recommends either the Red Rothchild or the Grand Reserve for the novice smoker. What’s the best way to enjoy a cigar? “Why, with your friends and a nice meal of course. Just like a beautiful bottle of wine, you want company there to enjoy it with you.” And don’t expect Hansotia to rest on his laurels. The company has introduced a limited line of coffee and espresso. “Every year we will do something new, whether it’s introducing new products or new tobaccos, introducing variations, or changing our price points. We’re always looking to evolve, to do something different, and that distinguishes us,” he concludes. www.ExecDigital.com | January 2010
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