Established in 2013 by Alexander Wong, a seasoned cigar enthusiast with over 30 years of cigars experience, Cigar Kingdom began selling Cuban cigars before branching out to include a number of New World brands.
The initial site has since expanded to four cigar shops and Alexander’s daughter Rosanne and son Auston are also now part of the business. The growth has also prompted a re-brand, with the entity soon to rebrand as House of CKC.
To cater to growing interest in New World cigars and feedback from customers that there was a growing gap in what Asian palates preferred, the business has launched its own line of cigars.
“We conducted a small survey involving a sample size of 150-200 core customers in early 2023 to gain insights into their preferences regarding cigars,” said Rosanne Wong. “The survey focused on four main aspects, including: preferred flavour notes, ideal cigar size, intensity level and key factors in cigar selection.”
Complementing this survey research from long term sales data analysis and observation over the past 10 years the family business accumulated data from 50,000+ active members.
“Combining our survey results with a decade of customer purchasing data provides valuable insights into the preferences of cigar lovers in Hong Kong and the broader APAC region,” said Rosanne.
Based on this, the retailer has released four cigar lines to cater to local palates, with Alexander Wong leading the development of each.
The King, is a toro sized medium-to-full-bodied cigar featuring a Criollo San Andrés Triple Maduro Wrapper with Criollo San Andrés and Viso Habano Nicaragua binder and fillers.
The Bishop, available in robusto and petit corona vitolas, is a medium to full-bodied cigar featuring a Brazilian Arapiraca wrapper with Dominican and Pennsylvania Ligero filler and Dominican binders.
The milder Knight robusto features an Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper, Dominican Olor filler and binder.
The Rook showcases a bold character and includes Brazilian Arapiraca wrapper, Dominican Olor and Brazilian Mata Fina fillers and is available in a robusto and petit corona size.
Rosanne notes The Knight and The Bishop have been very well received so far, while the King’s larger format resonates with customers with more time on their hands to enjoy a larger cigar.
To complete the chess-themed series, Queen and Pawn cigars are coming soon.
