Marketing and distribution specialist China International Duty Free (CIDF) will launch a range extension for its travel shopping-exclusive ‘china’ tobacco range at TFWA Asia Pacific Exhibition.
China Jinsheng, developed by CIDF and Jiangxi Tobacco, was created to cater to the primary purchase drivers of Chinese consumers in global travel retail. The range extension comprises three new variants and follows the launch of the king size in 2017.
CIDF Executive Chairman Fred Combe said: “The addition of these three new variants not only premiumises the range, but also expands our portfolio offering of format innovations such as superslim, capsules, recessed filters and resealable packs.
“Consumer reaction was very positive after we launched china in key locations such as Singapore, Hong Kong and Dubai and therefore we put a lot of work in to ensure the full range would live up to the standards we had established.”
Combe continued: “We continue to see strong demand from Chinese consumers for global travel retail-exclusive products such as china and due to our strong business relationships with China National Tobacco Corporation (CNTC), we are very fortunate to be able to produce them in China – benefiting from CNTC’s world-leading standards in tobacco packaging and stick production. There is so much more to these products than simply their attractive ceramic packaging.”
The superslim variant, priced at US$33 per carton, targets Chinese consumers who purchase for self-consumption but wish to upgrade from existing VFM superslim brands.
China 9 + 1 and China Red are hand-made in limited quantities and “sit comfortably” above the superslim and king size variants, said CIDF.
9 + 1 features nine white ceramic packs, each containing premium leaf 74mm sticks with recessed filters. The tenth pack, shiny gold and blue ceramic, contains an entirely different cigarette which features an organic jasmine-flavoured capsule and gold tipping paper.
China Red, the flagship variant in the newly-expanded range, is said to be one of the most sought-after products in the Chinese tobacco market. It was developed to honour the origin and history of China and was only released in limited quantities in the domestic market. China Red is now available exclusively through CIDF in selected international travel retail locations.
In related news, CIDF is now the official distributor and marketer for seven CNTC manufacturers across more than 30 countries and almost 100 markets. The company said the travel-exclusive Mao Cigarillo continues to perform well in the super premium segment and its hallmark Ashima series “continues to shine.”
Commenting on the work CIDF has been doing with CNTC behind the scenes in the Next Generation Product space, Combe said: “We can’t go into big detail publicly just yet but the ascent of the heat-not-burn category has not gone unnoticed and we have been working closely with CNTC on helping bring to market and distribute a suitable offering in the space.
“I encourage our existing retail partners and those interested to come seek us out on this point and we would be happy to go through the roadmap in more detail and discuss timings.”
