Under its current president Christian Adi Njoto Njoo, Indonesian outfit PT. Mangli Djaya Raya (MDR) has become one of East Java’s best known leaf suppliers. In 2020, the company set up PT. Besuki Raya Cigars (BRC), a wholly-owned subsidiary dedicated to helping revive Indonesia’s once burgeoning cigar manufacturing sector, which was all but obliterated after the country’s independence in 1945 from its former Dutch colonizers. Drawing inspiration from the finest New World products, BRC is confident that it eventually will put Indonesia back on the international premium cigar aficionado’s radar.
Tobacco Asia (TA): Christian, it is of course a considerable leap for a tobacco leaf merchant such as MDR to venture into the premium cigar manufacturing business. What was the motivation behind that move?
Christian Adi Njoto Njoo (CN): Well, it wasn’t as much of a leap as you might think. Working in the industry, I have always loved the aroma and smell of cigars. It’s kind of a hobby. Besides, MDR supplies much of its best leaf, especially Besuki, to cigar brands around the world. We have always given some in-house-made cigars to customers, either as gifts or quality samples. But, in 2009, MDR established its own cigar sales division, introducing two commercially produced cigar brands, Airlangga and Brawijaya.
They proved a great success with Indonesian cigar smokers who, up until that point, had primarily been accustomed to Caribbean and Central American brands. The response was so good that in 2020 we decided to set up a dedicated subsidiary, BRC, to further develop that business segment.
TA: I understand that both Airlangga and Brawijaya are still around, but what other brands have you released under the BRC banner?
CN: Well, disregarding Airlangga and Brawijaya, BRC made its grand entrance into the market in 2021 with the release of Rojo Blanco, closely followed by MyLockdown, which was rolled out in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. After these two, we also launched Lauk Daun. All three cigars fall into the mid-level category.
TA: MyLockdown…?
CN: Yes, I know, it’s an odd name for a cigar brand, but believe it or not, it proved enormously popular and continues to be among our bestsellers to this day. Affordable and not too strong, MyLockdown was the first brand that introduced many locals to cigar smoking when they were stuck at home, working remotely. It thus holds fond memories for them and that is why we keep selling it.
TA: That’s an interesting aspect. But then again, BRC also launched its first true premium cigar quite recently, right?
CN: Yes, that’s correct. It was launched only last year and is called El Gaucho. It comes in two variants, the El Gaucho Premium and the El Gaucho Fantástico. I can say with pride that the El Gaucho range is among the finest cigars Indonesia can offer today. I think the timing for its launch was right, too. The cigar market in China has enjoyed enormous growth, and we were quite sure that what is happening in China will probably also happen here in Indonesia.
Living conditions have consistently improved throughout the years in developing countries like ours. People have more disposable income and can afford those little life luxuries, like a good wine or whiskey – or a great cigar. Of course we also noticed that unlike with kretek and other cigarettes, where you already have big established companies in the market, Indonesia’s cigar market is still relatively small. We don’t have a lot of local manufacturers.
TA: Talking about that… how many local cigar manufacturers are there actually in Indonesia?
CN: As far as larger companies are concerned, only a small handful, really. I’m recalling that from memory, so I might be missing some. But in Jember, there now are of course us, BRC, and then Boss Image Nusantara, Dwipa Nusantara Tobacco, as well as state-owned Perseroan Terbatas Perkebunan. In central Java we have Taru Martani, which is the oldest cigar manufacturer in Indonesia.
It was owned by the Dutch, but was taken over by the local government after Indonesia’s independence. Likewise, in central Java, there’s Djarum, which besides its kretek manufacturing arm also has its own cigar division. That also goes for Wismilak in Surabaya. So, those are our primary competitors. But increasingly more small cottage industry operations are springing up everywhere as well.
TA: These are more than I thought. But let’s come back to BRC’s brands. How are they holding up against Caribbean and Central American premium cigars?
CN: To be honest, we still have a long way to go, because compared to them we have less experience. While with MDR we have been in the leaf business for a long time and boast the know-how, cigar tobacco blending and cigar rolling are new skill sets that we acquired very recently. But we keep learning and I am confident that we will catch up in the years ahead.
TA: I see there is a learning curve that you will have to master.
CN: Yes, indeed. The training part is particularly difficult, because all our cigars are handmade and we must rely on the skills of our rollers and cannot compromise on quality.
TA: How did you find your rollers anyway? I mean, Indonesia does not exactly have a ready pool of trained rollers that you could tap…
CN: Actually, we were quite lucky in that regard. There was a small cigar factory located in Jember that produced for export to Europe. However, they closed down in 2009, so we grabbed the opportunity to take over their rollers and their equipment to start producing our inaugural brands, Airlangga and Brawijaya.
Later on, we of course used these senior rollers to train younger ones. After about three months, the new rollers could confidently produce half-coronas, which are very small sized cigars. We then built on that, but it still took several years before we had them at a point where they could start rolling bigger formats and at higher volumes.
TA: That probably also was the catalyst for your decision to launch your first premium brand, El Gaucho. What tobaccos are you actually using in El Gaucho, and do you consider this your flagship brand at the moment?
CN: For El Gaucho Premium, we use tobacco from the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, and Brazil. In fact, El Gaucho Premium does not use any Indonesian tobacco at all. But in El Gaucho Fantástico, we use Indonesian leaf as a filler while the wrappers come from Ecuador. And yes, El Gaucho certainly is our flagship brand right now.
TA: What are its characteristics and to which other cigars can it be compared?
CN: It’s rather reminiscent of a New World cigar. The Premium is medium to full bodied, though a little bit on the light side. The Fantástico, on the other hand, is very aromatic but not overly strong, a good entry level cigar for a new cigar smoker who wants to venture into premium brands.
TA: Are those Cubans and Nicaraguans already shaking in their boots?
CN: Nah, nah, nah, nah, not really. [laughs] We haven’t reached their level yet, but we are very proud about El Gaucho nevertheless. It is, after all, a genuine Indonesian handmade premium cigar that closely matches what the New World can offer – and with our rising expertise it’s getting better and better.
TA: El Gaucho and your other brands are presently only available in Indonesia, though…
CN: That is correct, but we are certainly looking to fan out into overseas markets as well. Which is why we exhibited at InterTabac last year for the first time. It created a lot of buzz for us, yielding quite a few promising leads, even a potential distribution deal.
TA: Is that going to lead to additional brands that BRC wants to create?
CN: For the time being, we will focus on our El Gaucho range, because branding is not an easy thing. We have to firmly establish El Gaucho before we dare contemplate creating a new brand. But… who knows what the future might bring.