Historic Dutch Masters Brand Gets Major Refresh
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Dutch Masters is making the biggest change in the brand's 100-year history, including a major refresh to its iconic logo. The move is considered key to meeting current adult cigar smokers' lifestyles and preferences.
"While classic never goes out of style, we're taking the opportunity presented by a changing marketplace to make Dutch Masters even more relevant to today's adult smoker," said Al Dejewski, senior vice president of marketing for Commonwealth-Altadis Inc., maker of Dutch Masters.
The redesign of the Dutch Masters packaging still features its recognizable and distinctive logo, which has featured Rembrandt's 1662 "The Syndics of the Drapers' Guild" painting since 1912. The brand is adding "Crafted to Burn Slow" messaging on the new packaging to emphasize its use of traditional natural leaf cigar wrappers, according to Dejewski.
In addition to refreshing the brand's traditional imagery and wording, Dutch Masters is expanding its product range with new variants designed to match category growth and the changing demands of today's adult smokers. Four new variants to Dutch Masters' line of three-pack cigarillos will be unveiled, including Sweet Green, Cognac X.O, White Grape and De Luxe. These new variants join the popular Palma, Chocolate, Green, Sweet, and Wine variants.
Refreshing the iconic logo, burnishing its reputation as the natural leaf expert and introducing new variants to round out the brand's dynamic range are just the beginning, Dejewski said.
"The Dutch Masters brand has a lot of exciting consumer and trade programs launching in 2015 that will continue revitalizing the brand and maximizing growth," he added. "Dutch Masters has worked hard to become America's No. 1 natural leaf wrapper cigar, and we're pleased to continue this path with exciting new offerings."
The new Dutch Masters packaging and variants will begin shipping to wholesale in late January and are expected to start appearing on retail shelves in late February.
Fort Lauderdale-based Commonwealth–Altadis Inc. is a U.S. division of Imperial Tobacco Group. Its portfolio includes USA Gold, Montclair, Dutch Masters, Backwoods, Phillies and Phillies Krome.