Kaane American International Tobacco, the leading cigarette manufacturer in the UAE, is looking for agents to help it market super slim variants of its two popular brands Sir and Gold Mount in the Far East as it expands its global presence.
Kaane has a production capacity of 100,000 master cases a month at its 16,000 m2 Jebel Ali factory, the highest of any cigarette manufacturer in the region. Its cigarette making lines include three high speed G.D. lines and it has the capacity to make super slims and 10-packs. One of the high speed lines has a laser fitted on the cigarette making machine, allowing perforations to be included on the tipping paper as required for ultra-light cigarettes. Kaane manufactures its own filters on Hauni KDF 2 AND KDF 4 units. Kaane manufactures its own brands on its lines, as well as offering contract manufacturing.
"We have launched super slim variants of Sir in our key markets such as Africa, Iran and Iraq," G. R. Mehta, Kaane American’s managing director told Tobacco Asia. "Iran and Iraq have shown a high potential for ultra-light cigarettes, and we are focusing on those markets. The online laser can convert any cigarettes we manufacture into ultra-light variants."
Kaane is now looking to expand into the Far East, which it sees a particularly promising market for super slims, and is currently looking for agents in the region.
"We noticed that most of the local Far Eastern brands use local tobacco, Mehta revealed. "Certainly, there is a niche market we can supply, a certain percentage of smokers are used to the brands of multi-national corporations that use high quality tobacco and ingredients, giving potential for Sir and Gold Mount to penetrate Southeast Asian markets. Our brands offer a high quality alternative at a very reasonable price. Our super slims incorporate a very high quality US blend. Very few other manufacturers can compete with the quality and specifications of our products, so this gives the company an edge in Far Eastern markets. We are also looking into the CIS and Duty Free markets in Europe, and we are looking for potential importers there as well," Mehta said.
The majority of the tobacco Kaane uses in its brands is sourced from Zimbabwe and Brazil.
The packaging incorporates gravure printing, done in the Far East. "Gravure printing is difficult to copy, so it is a major deterrent against counterfeiters, and it lends a clean and attractive appearance to the product," according to Mehta. "Many of our contract manufacturing clients also require gravure printing, so this is an added an advantage for all parties. The BOPP overwrapping is sourced in Germany. The production quality of both Sir and Gold Mount brands is therefore very impressive and attractive."
The actual cigarettes themselves also reflect a passion for quality.
"We always maintain a high standard of tobacco quality," Mehta said. "We consider ourselves to be in the same league as any other MNC. Most of the ingredients we use, including cigarette and tipping paper, acetate tow and tear tape, are imported from Europe to maintain very high quality. We also have a highly sophisticated QC lab in order to control quality all the time in the factory and on the production line."
Kaane manufactures and distributes both Virginia and US blends of its brands, depending on the destination market.
"Specific blends change for different markets," Mehta told us. "While it may share the same brand name, a cigarette could be a Virginia or a US blend, depending on specific market preferences."
