InterTabac 2018 Fair Marks 40th Anniversary

InterTabac 2018 Fair Marks 40th Anniversary

InterTabac 2018 posted noticeable growth in both emerging categories, as well as traditional tobacco, as international participation continued to rise.

» STAFF REPORT

The 2018 InterTabac trade show looked back on a 40-year history this year, one that has firmly placed it in the leading market position among global tobacco trade fairs.

A total of 625 exhibitors from 54 countries showcased their products and services at the Dortmund Exhibition Centre from 21 to 23 September, an increase of about 12 per cent compared to the previous year.

“InterTabac is today the world’s flagship trade fair of the industry and confirmed that again in 2018,“ said Sabine Loos, CEO of Westfalenhallen Dortmund GmbH, which hosts the event every September. In all, 12,500 trade visitors from representing every continent were guests in the exhibition halls. Besides InterTabac, InterSupply—the trade fair for the production of tobacco goods and e-cigarettes—was co-located in Hall 3B for the fourth time. InterTabac itself occupied more exhibition halls than ever before and, for the first time, the Westfalenhalle event arena.

Since its founding, InterTabac has grown from local to regional in scope, and in recent years has expanded markedly into an international forum of the industry. In 2018, 45 per cent of all trade fair visitors came from abroad, and the percentage of foreign visitors has never been higher. It again increased by four percentage points in 2018 compared to the previous year.

Trade visitors to Dortmund came from a diverse range of markets including the USA, Canada, Brazil, Chile, and Colombia, as well as Africa, including

Morocco, Egypt, and Nigeria. Asian visitors came from countries including China, India, Indonesia, and Hong Kong. The Middle East was represented by visitors from Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. There were also visitors from Australia and New Zealand. European markets, of course, were widely represented with visitors from France, Great Britain, Italy, Austria, Poland, and the Benelux countries.

In addition to the many international guests at the fair, there were also once again trade visitors represented from almost all German states. Larger visitor groups came from, for example, Lower Saxony, Bavaria, Baden-Wurttemberg, Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate.

InterTabac caters strongly to the purchasing and information needs of the industry. Within the scope of a visitor survey conducted by an independent exhibition market research institute, 91 per cent of the trade visitors stated that their visit to InterTabac was worthwhile. The percentage of visitors who rated InterTabac even better than the year before increased, expressing satisfaction with the presence of market leaders.

The largest visitor groups in 2018 again came from the retail sector, followed by the wholesale and industrial sectors. The largest professional groups were again entrepreneurs, managing directors, and departmental managers, with nine out of ten declaring involvement in purchase decisions at their companies in an advisory, co-deciding, or decision-making capacity.

The range of products and services at InterTabac is one of the trade fair’s hallmarks, and product preferences were reflected by InterTabac’s extended range in the halls covering Next Generation Products (NGP) this year. In 2018, visitors were mainly interested in: cigarillos/ cigars/cigarettes, e-cigarettes/e-shishas, liquids, smoking accessories and cigarette paper, Next Generation Products, and fine-cut tobacco.

In fact, InterTabac 2018 showcased NGPs on a record-sized exhibition area extending across the Westfalenhalle event arena and Halls 2 and 3A. Visitors were also able to access the trade fair directly from the main entrance of the Westfalenhalle event arena if they wanted to get straight to the NGPs.

“It is good to know that the trade fair takes the industry’s growth into account,” said Dustin Dahlmann, Chairman of the Board of the German Alliance for Tobacco-Free Enjoyment (Bündnis für Tabakfreien Genuss). Jan Mücke, Managing Director of the German Association of the Cigarette Industry (DZV), said, “InterTabac was able to grow again this year. The ever-increasing product variety ranging from classic cigarettes, cigars and pipe tobacco to shishas, new tobacco heaters and e-cigarettes shows a lively and highly innovative industry that offers the right product for all sorts of smoking and vaping enjoyment desires.”

More attendees also visited InterSupply, featuring 114 exhibitors from 35 countries exhibiting, primarily interested in raw tobacco, flavours and additives, packaging materials and machines for the production of ecigarettes and tobacco goods. TPI

Per Georg Jensen, Mac Baren Tobacco Company’s pipe tobacco expert and master blender, discusses blends with visitors at the stand of the company’s German importer, Arnold André.

2018 Cigar Trophy Winners

The 2018 Cigar Trophy Awards, which are among only a few in the industry determined by consumer voting, were presented by Cigar Journal Magazine on Friday, Sept 21, at the 2018 InterTabac Trade Fair in the presence of the biggest names of the industry. Only four of a total of 18 awards were determined by the Cigar Journal jury, and those honors were not directed at specific cigars or brands. The winners were:

Charity & Community: Pronica, initiated by Sasja van Horssen and Joya de Nicaragua, donates to charities a portion of proceeds per cigar sold. Outstanding Art: Subculture Studios, the artists’ collective founded by Drew Estate, was distinguished for its “aesthetic accentuation.” Ambassador: The German city of Lorsch, whose tobacco project is bringing the cultivation and processing of tobacco back to the center of society, The award for the promotion of cigar culture. Lifetime Achievement: Carlos Fuente Jr. received this prestigious award in recognition of his life’s work.

During the month of June, Cigar Journal readers were asked to nominate their top candidates in five categories of cigars, and to then vote for a winner from the finalists in eadh of those categories. The 2018 winners were:

Best Brand, Cuba: Bolívar Best Brand, Dominican Rep.: Davidoff Winston Churchill Late Hour Best Brand, Honduras: Alec Bradley Prensado Lost Art Best Brand, Nicaragua: Perdomo Reserve 10th Anniversary Conn. Best Brand, U.S.A.: Cornelius & Anthony Cornelius Best Cigar, Cuba: Montecristo 80 Aniversario Best Cigar, Dominican Repupblic: La Flor Dominicana La Volcada Best Cigar, Honduras: Plasencia Cosecha 146 Toro Best Cigar, Nicaragua: Padrón 1964 Anniv. Series Presidente Maduro Best Value, Dominican Repupblic: Kristoff Original Maduro Best Value, Honduras: Asylum 13 Corojo Best Value, Nicaragua: Oliva Serie O Best Cigar Accessory: PerfecDraw Best Cigar Lounge: BURN by Rocky Patel, Pittsburgh, U.S.A.