The Myth, The Legend, The Beginning
How and why would someone enter the tobacco business? This might even be a question you ask yourself on the tough days. What with all the regulation, profit margins and huge competition being hurled at you on a daily basis, the decision is not for the faint of heart. But as the old saying goes, if it were easy, everyone would be doing it.
Nearly 20 years ago, four partners joined together to form a tobacco company in the rural community of Grover, North Carolina. To set the scene, the partners all came from different backgrounds. Finance, consulting, sales, some tobacco, some not. But the one thing that was consistent across all of them? Entrepreneurial spirit. That essence was ingrained in each of them and culminated into an official business during a long night in 2002. Four men who were determined to change the game were holed up in a hotel room in Charlotte, North Carolina, to hash out the details that would become Cheyenne International. It wasn’t glamorous and it wasn’t easy, but what grew from that night was legendary.
With a business plan in hand, Cheyenne set out to look for an official manufacturing location. As mentioned, the founding partners landed on Grover, North Carolina. A charming yet very small town about an hour outside of Charlotte. The decision to put down roots in Grover was directly related to the fact that since the beginning, the Cheyenne ownership team made a commitment to providing careers in the economically depressed region. Having the right team at the table, so to speak, can make or break you and since day one, Cheyenne has fought tooth and nail to provide above-average benefits to its employees so that they could provide for themselves and their families. Still today, there are many employees who have been with the company since the onset.
The plan, the location and the people. Next up was the product – that one was a biggie. The owners knew one thing for sure: products without quality would be short lived. They also knew that competing for share in the premium cigarette category was a fight they’d never win. Instead, they focused on the 4th tier segment. Quality product, fair price. That was their motto and Cheyenne has since been able to hold their own in the cigarette segment amongst both the large and small competition. One of the biggest turning points for the company was the launch of the Cheyenne Filtered Cigar back in 2004. The brand reinvented a category that was otherwise stale and unexplored and turned it into a flourishing business that really put Cheyenne on the national map. Now known as a leader in the OTP category, Cheyenne has expanded its offerings into other segments like pipe tobacco, snus and moist smokeless tobacco. Offering a diversified portfolio to wholesalers and retailers was key in cementing the fact that Cheyenne was here to stay.
From there, Cheyenne International set out to be the best small tobacco company in America. The company always had a very clear strategy when it came to the relationships it had with its trade partners. They recognized that these days, tobacco companies have to offer more than just good products at a good price. The goal, much like it is with any industry, was to provide solutions to challenges facing wholesalers and retailers. It’s not just about providing a tangible good. It’s about much more than that. As partnerships with large and small accounts emerged, Cheyenne committed to advocating on their behalf. With the tobacco industry constantly evolving, it was important to be involved and avoid the risk of being pushed out. Strict regulatory compliance and a strong government interface effort became more and more of what set Cheyenne apart from other small tobacco companies. To this day, that specific effort is a large part of what has contributed to the excellent industry reputation that Cheyenne is proud of.
Being involved and being a voice for the industry. This is something that has been ingrained in the Cheyenne leadership mantra since the very beginning. As challenges and victories have played out over the years, the corporation has taken on more roles related to those events. It is a player within several industry associations that advocate for wholesale and retail businesses. To this very day, Cheyenne dedicates an abundance of resources to stay committed to its mission of being a compliance-focused entity.
You might say that Cheyenne had all the right pieces in place to be successful, and you’d be right. But sometimes just a little bit of luck during the humble beginnings can go a long way too. With nearly two decades under their belt, a growing portfolio of products, and the best employees in the business, Cheyenne International has no intention of slowing down any time soon.
