Cigar news you can use: Helping the industry

It has been several weeks now since the world seemed to shut down due to the outbreak of Coronavirus. Humidors and cigar shops are dark, lounges are empty and cigar factories have halted operation—all in response to this current pandemic.

Earlier this month, Crowned Heads LLC and ACE Prime Cigars announced that they had formed a strategic alliance where Crowned Heads would handle distribution of ACE Prime’s products. The partnership, though, has gained a new dimension with an initiative they are co-launching called Bulb, a subscription service which is designed to help retailers “keep the lights on.”

The premise is this: By subscribing to the online Bulb platform, members receive a monthly box of cigars delivered to their home, along with online access to exclusive content such as live streaming with special guests; cigar deals; videos and more. Bulb will then pass along the profits by sending a check every month to the participating retailers based on orders received.

“At a time of such uncertainty and instability, TheBulbBox.com is a potential lifeline to local businesses,” ACE Prime co-founder Luciano Meirelles said in a press release. “Bulb will do all the work, including generating the marketing, creating momentum and fulfilling the subscriptions. For cigar retailers, this is an opportunity to re-engage regulars, acquire new customers and continue to provide a sense of community.”

There are five tiers to a Bulb subscription, which will range from around $50 to $360:

• Bulb Access: A free subscription to content
• Bulb Basic: Access to content, plus 5 premium cigars
• Bulb Lite: Access to content, plus 10 premium cigars
• The Bulb Box: Access to content, plus 20 premium cigars
• The Bulb Box Prime: Access to content, plus 40 premium cigars

Retailers can sign up at TheBulbBox.com/Retailer to receive a unique identification code they can dispense to their customer base. Subscribers will then place their orders by logging onto TheBulbBox.com using this code where they then select a participating local store on the website or by allowing a geolocator to choose a nearby retailer and their allotted code will be automatically sent to the customer.

Crowned Heads, distributor of brands such as Headley Grange; Four Kicks; and La Coalición; and ACE Prime, maker of the Pichardo cigar lines and the M.X.S. signature cigars for NBA players, are making their entire inventory available through the Bulb program, including new releases. The cigars included in the subscription box will be a mix of brands selected by Huber and Meirelles. According to Meirelles, other cigar manufacturers will be added at a later date.

“Local cigar retailers are a real life social network across the country. We are creating something that will connect the cigar family at a time of crisis, and this is only possible because of the existing trust and loyalty of the customers and the retailers,” said Jon Huber, co-founder of Crowned Heads.

Bulb will be launching on Thursday, April 23 at 8 p.m. EST with a special virtual “herf and chat” livestream with Huber, Meirelles and special guests. The full price list will be announced at the launch party.