How Fred Espinal Turned $500 Into a Cigar Empire

Summary

B2B Breakthrough Podcast: How Fred Espinal Turned $500 Into a Cigar Empire

Release Date: September 24, 2024
Host: Sharon Guy, Alibaba.com

---

Introduction

In this compelling episode of the B2B Breakthrough Podcast, host Sharon Guy sits down with Fredolin Espinal, the visionary entrepreneur behind Espinal Puro LLC and Hanley Cigar Company. Fredolin shares his remarkable journey of transforming a modest $500 investment into a thriving cigar empire, offering invaluable insights into entrepreneurship, brand building, and the nuances of the tobacco industry.

---

From Humble Beginnings: Launching Espinal Puro

Fredolin Espinal's entrepreneurial journey began in April 2019 when he decided to venture into the cigar business with limited resources and no prior experience. Reflecting on his initiation, Fredolin states:

"I started my business with no experience. I've had a lot of struggles... I had 500 bucks in the bank, just bought my house, and I'm like, you know what? It's time for me to open something, something for myself."
[00:47]

With an initial investment of $500, Fredolin registered his company, purchased his first 80 cigars, and personally handled the intricate details of the product, such as cutting the bands by hand. This hands-on approach laid the foundation for his commitment to quality and attention to detail.

---

Crafting a Distinct Brand Identity

A pivotal aspect of Fredolin's success lies in his thoughtful brand symbolism. The company's logo features a crowned rooster, a symbol deeply rooted in Latin culture. When explaining the elements of his brand, Fredolin elaborates:

"The rooster represents the culture, Latin culture... The crown means that it's a royalty. It's a different standard."
[05:47]

This emblem not only signifies cultural pride but also underscores the premium quality and royal standard Fredolin aims to uphold with his cigars. The name "Espinal Puro" further emphasizes purity and heritage, combining his family name with a commitment to pure, high-quality tobacco products.

---

Ensuring Quality: From Factory to Product

Maintaining superior quality has been a cornerstone of Espinal Puro's philosophy. Fredolin discusses his meticulous process in selecting and collaborating with factories:

"We go through a process of selecting... what wrapper I want... there's a little process. I ask questions."
[07:14]

Initially partnering with a cousin of his wife, Fredolin faced challenges when his cigars did not meet his standards. Undeterred, he took a more hands-on approach, frequently visiting factories and involving a panel of discerning smokers to ensure each cigar met his exacting criteria. This dedication to quality distinguishes Espinal Puro from larger brands that might overlook such details due to high demand.

---

Innovative Marketing Strategies: Leveraging Influencers and Events

Navigating the competitive cigar market required Fredolin to adopt unconventional marketing tactics. During the pandemic in 2020, he pivoted his strategies to include influencer collaborations and event sponsorships. Fredolin explains:

"I started connecting with some famous DJs, I started sending them cigars... I started putting some billboards up and started doing events."
[10:30]

By gifting cigars to influential artists and sponsoring events, Fredolin successfully increased brand visibility. Additionally, utilizing Instagram for brand awareness proved effective, as visual platforms allowed him to showcase his cigars' premium nature and connect with a broader audience.

---

Building a Community: Personal Touch and Cultural Integration

Fredolin emphasizes the importance of personal interactions in fostering a loyal customer base. He believes that genuine, one-on-one engagements are crucial for building trust and community.

"Having that personal interaction, you know, one on one interactions and meeting your people... just being genuine."
[20:14]

Espinal Puro actively supports the Latinx community by sponsoring events and donating to local infrastructure in the Dominican Republic. This commitment not only strengthens cultural ties but also enhances brand loyalty among customers who value community support and cultural integrity.

---

Insights into the Cigar Industry: Small vs. Big Brands

The cigar industry, according to Fredolin, is evolving beyond its traditional demographics. He observes a shift in consumer profiles, noting:

"The demographics has expanded a lot now... you see a lot of the young guys smoking now... they want to feel different."
[16:17]

Fredolin argues that smaller companies like Espinal Puro can outperform larger brands by focusing on quality and niche marketing. He highlights the Dominican Republic as the "world capital of tobacco," emphasizing the region's unparalleled expertise and the advantage it provides in producing superior cigars.

---

Expanding Horizons: International Growth Plans

Looking ahead, Fredolin envisions expanding Espinal Puro's reach into the European market. His strategy involves leveraging existing clients and networking through cigar lounges and brokers:

"I want to become more international... I just approach a lounge, say, hey, how can we get this here?"
[28:21]

By integrating with local establishments and utilizing influencer endorsements, Fredolin aims to replicate his domestic success on an international scale, ensuring that Espinal Puro resonates with diverse consumer bases across continents.

---

Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

Throughout the conversation, Fredolin shares heartfelt advice for budding entrepreneurs, emphasizing resilience and creativity:

"Just because something might not be going right at the beginning... keep going. Think outside the box. Catch attention and just keep working at it."
[29:00]

His journey underscores the importance of perseverance, innovative thinking, and the willingness to step outside conventional methods to achieve business breakthroughs.

---

Conclusion

Fredolin Espinal's story is a testament to the power of dedication, cultural pride, and strategic innovation in building a successful business from the ground up. His approach to quality control, personalized marketing, and community engagement offers a blueprint for entrepreneurs aiming to make their mark in competitive industries. As Espinal Puro continues to grow, Fredolin's insights provide valuable lessons for those seeking their next big business breakthrough.

---

Notable Quotes:

• "It's a lifestyle. So we convert the business into a lifestyle."
  [15:25] - Fredolin Espinal

• "If the product doesn't back it up, that does not make sense."
  [12:10] - Fredolin Espinal

• "Think outside the box. Don't go with what everybody else does."
  [29:00] - Fredolin Espinal

---

This episode offers a rich blend of entrepreneurial wisdom, industry-specific knowledge, and cultural insights, making it an invaluable resource for small business owners and e-commerce enthusiasts alike.

Transcript

[Fredolin Espinal]

The thing is, a lot of countries aren't very well educated on the subject of tobacco. Right. It's not just the big brands that have a quality cigar. Most of the time, big brands have less quality cigars than little cigar companies because of the demand. So the small companies, like myself, we pay a lot of attention to the details, the small details. It's very easy for the details to escape a big company.

[Sharon Guy]

Welcome to the B2B Breakthrough Podcast. We're here to bring you all the best knowledge, insights and strategies from e commerce experts, successful business owners, and the [e-mail] that you'll need to grow your business and achieve your next big breakthrough. I'm your host, Sharon Guy.

[Podcast Host]

Fredolin Espinal is a distinguished entrepreneur and CEO with deep roots in the tobacco industry, primarily through his leadership at Espinal Puro LLC and Hanley Cigar Company. Since founding Espinal Puro in 2019, Fred has dedicated himself to crafting premium cigars that not only reflect his Dominican heritage, but also celebrate and unite the Latino community in New Jersey and beyond. His expertise spans across tobacco product manufacturing, importing and exporting, with a strong focus on maintaining cultural integrity and building intergenerational brand appeal. I'm so excited to dig into your story from all different types of angles. Welcome to our show, Freda Lynn.

[Fredolin Espinal]

Thank you. I am very grateful to be here. You seem like you've been in this and you enjoy this as much as I enjoy what I do for my company.

[Podcast Host]

I think my life has been a huge, serendipitous journey of connecting dots of different cultures and different worlds. And then in the podcasting space, it's connecting with individuals like yourself with really interesting stories.

[Fredolin Espinal]

I can relate a lot to your story. Right. I just fell in love with the style of the business. I can sit down with a person that could be a lot wealthier than I am, and we find a common ground through a cigar. You know, I could be sitting down with a person that's a lot older than me and find common ground. I could find someone that's younger than me and it doesn't really matter where you come from and we, we don't judge each other. It doesn't matter. It's just we just here to smoke a cigar and that's what I really like about it. The Alibaba comes in, right, and gives you that security where if you don't not satisfied with your product, you're going to get it, you're going to get your refund or, you know, whatever it is they try to make it right. And I've had a few instances where that's happened, and it's worked out very well. So, you know, for platforms like that, you know, to have that is great. I created my own cigar company in Dominican Republic.

[Podcast Host]

If we can take a couple steps back and go into how you got there.

[Fredolin Espinal]

I started my business with no experience. I've had a lot of struggles. I still have a lot of struggles, right, with the industry, especially when you have to deal with people on the other side. And this is the scare of people that are starting new, right? Oh, what about if I don't make it? Oh, what about if this happens, Right? What about if I send some money to somebody and they don't do what I'm asking them to do, right? No one that I know of has been in tobacco business at all. So I am the first generation. I've heard that they used to cultivate tobacco, you know, in the mountains or in, you know, in the valley where I come from. But other than that, they've never really took it anywhere. I started this with no buyer experience or anybody in the family that has been in the business. I had 500 bucks in the bank, just bought my house, and I'm like, you know what? It's time for me to open something, Something for myself, do something for myself. And this was back in April of 2019. So I called the guy that does the USTM the. The trademarks, right? And this is in June of 2019. He goes, hey, how you doing? And I'm like, hey, my name is Fred, and, you know, I want to trademark a business. And he's like, okay, what's the name of the business? I'm like, espinal Pudo. He's like, you've been in business how long? And I'm like, I just started. He's like, you started two years ago, three years ago? And I'm like, no, I started in April. He's like, oh. Cause businesses usually wait two to three years until they're really doing good for them to trademark their business. So, you know, I just went with it.

[Podcast Host]

But, like, how did you get to the idea, though, like, out of everything that you've ever, you know, come under your wing. Why cigars?

[Fredolin Espinal]

I used to smoke cigars once in a while. I wasn't like a smoker, like, all the time, right? So like I said, the style attracted me, the business attracted me, because I wanted to be around people that had the same, you know, like. Like the style, the way they dress, the way they carry themselves, you're most likely never see somebody come picking out a fight, you know, out of, out of somewhere, like a cigar lounge or something like that. People just don't go to cigar lounge to, to be loud, to relax. That's what I like about it. So that's what attracted me to it.

[Podcast Host]

Oh, okay. I had thought that because of your roots from Dr. That because Dr. Also produces a lot of cigars too.

[Fredolin Espinal]

The Dominican Republic is the world capital of tobacco. That's what they call it. I didn't know one person that was in the tobacco when I started.

[Podcast Host]

Okay, so then you patented your company or the brand and then what were your steps after that? Like did you go into the site.

[Fredolin Espinal]

Building product selection, so the website product selection. So I had $500, it was 350 for the registration of the company with the state and all that. Right. And then $150 bought me 80 cigars. I used to cut the bands of the cigars, which the bands with scissors when I first started. And originally the brand was going to be called EP and then only we're only going to have a. A crown on top of the E. The Worcester is. It's a cultural thing. The rooster has a crown on top.

[Podcast Host]

What's the symbolic meaning behind that?

[Fredolin Espinal]

So the rooster represents the culture, Latin culture. I mean it's. Everybody likes rooster, you see, cock bites all the time. And it's a chicken that's everywhere. Right. It's in the whole world. So the crown means that it's a royalty. It's a different standard.

[Podcast Host]

It's a royal chicken.

[Fredolin Espinal]

Right, It's a royal chicken. Our company or the way that we handle everything is just a little different. It's a little different upper level. And the shield means we're not easily influenced. And then Espinal is my last name. And then Puro means pure. I'm Espinalo and I'm pure.

[Podcast Host]

I guess like Integris, you stand to your own values.

[Fredolin Espinal]

Yes, I do.

[Podcast Host]

Where did you buy your first batch of product?

[Fredolin Espinal]

My first batch was 80 cigars. So obviously with that amount nobody can really take you serious because we don't do at least a minimum of a thousand cigars. Nobody's really going to touch you, nobody really going to pay attention to you. But this came from a cousin of my wife's. The second batch that I wanted from was like 200 something cigars and he didn't really take me into consideration or, you know, I never got the 200 cigars.

[Podcast Host]

Is he in doctor or are these doctor made?

[Fredolin Espinal]

He's in Dominican public. Yes. Right now I'm doing the Nicaraguan cigars also. We're. We got connected with a factory out there. But from my beginnings, everything is from the vinegar in public. And we connected with another factory and they started doing our cigars. And eventually they started sending my cigars not the way that I asked them to or not the way that I expect them to.

[Podcast Host]

How do you ask factories to create your product?

[Fredolin Espinal]

We go through, like, a process of selecting, right. Of, you know, what I'm looking for in a cigar. If I want a cigar that's strong, if I want a cigar that's a little bit lighter, or what wrapper I want. All right, we'll go through that process of selecting what we want inside the cigar. You know, most people obviously don't know. They'll just tell you, hey, I want a cigar that's strong. I want a cigar that's. That's a roll that has aroma. I want a cigar that has a Maduro wrapper. This is a bano wrapper, by the way. This is the little lighter wrapper. So, you know, there's a little process. I ask questions.

[Podcast Host]

How do you know even what to ask for? Like, is this from what your customers are telling you because they want a stronger flavor or lighter? Like, how are you choosing that?

[Fredolin Espinal]

Good question. So when I started, I started with three cigars. Started with a Connecticut, which is a lighter cigar. I started with an Albano kind of like. Like this, and then I started with a Maduro. So the Connecticut being lighter, the. The Albano being a medium, and then the Maduro being a stronger cigar. I wanted to have those three clients, right. Those clients that wanted the smooth. Right. So that's how I started. Now people have their own niche, and they might not have an idea of, say, what filler they want in it or what blend they want in the cigar, but they'll have an idea how strong they want it. They'll have an idea what wrapper they want. I'm like, okay, so we'll make something for you based on that. That's how I started it. I wanted. I wanted to make sure that I made. And I made it into that, like, kind of like a phone bar, right? Like, like a signal bar phone. From the lightest to the strongest.

[Podcast Host]

Can I equate this to, like, coffee so that it's, you know, easier for people that are non cigar smokers to understand? Maybe.

[Fredolin Espinal]

Yes.

[Podcast Host]

Where the, like a stronger and. Yeah. Or even wine, I guess the stronger one Is just more aromatic. And is it more potent in terms of like effects of smoking?

[Fredolin Espinal]

Well, nicotine. Stronger nicotine.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, stronger nicotine. Okay, I see.

[Fredolin Espinal]

So you know, if you have seco. Seco is lighter nicotine. You have viso. Viso is. So I would have to show you like on the plant where this comes from. Some like the hero comes to the top of the plant be. So comes from the more in the middle of the plant and then the cycle comes from the bottom of the plant. So the more sunlight it gets, the stronger it is, the stronger the tobacco. We do this a lot in our shows in our, in our. We do shows. We do rolling shows all the time.

[Podcast Host]

Like a live stream kind of thing?

[Fredolin Espinal]

Not really like a live stream, like a designated area where we're going to be at like say a restaurant or something like that. So more of a public place. So we have a roller rolling in person. You know, I'll give you the. So I'll give you this, you know, not in a cigar. I'll give it to you in, in, in, in the actual leaf on obviously unrolled. And here, touch this. Smell it. You know, if you want to bite it, whatever.

[Podcast Host]

Like a cigar flight.

[Fredolin Espinal]

Like.

[Podcast Host]

Well, you know when they give you like a, like a whiskey flight.

[Fredolin Espinal]

Exactly.

[Podcast Host]

Okay, so going back to your story though. So you, you did the patent and then you, you got the first batch and then you built your website and you just started selling online with what kind of launch? Like how were people, how do people know about what you were doing?

[Fredolin Espinal]

So remember the pandemic entered right, in 2020. So my idea, thank the Lord. I started thinking a little bit outside the box. So we have DJs now home. We have artists home now, right? So I started connecting with some famous DJs, I started sending them cigars. I started doing, you know, I started doing, thinking outside the box, doing stuff like this.

[Podcast Host]

You're approaching them cold. Like you basically would know an artist or somebody famous and be like, I think this person might like cigars. And then you just craft the message and then send them the product.

[Fredolin Espinal]

I got in contact with one DJ from LA Mega here in New. Here in New York, right? Which is the biggest radio station in probably in the world. And I just started filtering through. How can I get in contact with this guy? How can I get in contact with this guy? So, you know, I started making a lot of these things, like the custom made stuff for, for these guys and, and you know, give them a couple gifts so they're smoking on the lives now, now they're mentioning me, now I'm sponsoring lives because now they're gifting some stuff, you know, and I started doing that and I started putting some billboards up and started doing events. If we're out in the summertime and. And you know, you can go do events, whatever you do, it doesn't matter if you do cigars or whatever it is, go try to do some events out, talk to the township. So that's what I did. I tried to get brand awareness on Instagram too. Instagram works very well. And that's just it. I just started getting influential with influencers and said artists in there, you know, had cigars in their hand and they had Espinal Porto their hands.

[Podcast Host]

Do you think that's the sort of main way that built up the success that you've had?

[Fredolin Espinal]

I'd say, well, other than obviously me looking out for my product. Good, because it doesn't matter how much marketing you do, if a product sucks, it's not going to get very far. So it doesn't really matter what type of marketing you do if the product doesn't back it up. That does not make sense.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah. What did you do to your product that made it stand out?

[Fredolin Espinal]

I started being there. So at the beginning, I told you, I had a guy family. I moved on to another factory, which they started not doing the stuff how I asked and then I started my own thing. I'm in the factory once or twice a month, I'm looking at the stuff, I send people to say, hey, go check this out for me, go look at this. Give me a feedback, give me a, you know, give me a report back. So I use. Got to be hands on. You've got to be there. You know, you have to have a panel of smokers that, you know, they have a really fine palate. Because, you know, on cigars you can pick up certain notes like cocoa or you pick up like a coffee note, you'll pick up like a pepper note. So you have to have people that are there for you when you need them to say, hey, taste this right now. I just got a shipment of tobacco from Nicaragua. I got to sit down now and see what notes I get. See if my clientele is going to like that, you know, because I do stories now, right? So I have a comic, I have a cigar comic where I started out with called Chicken Legs.

[Podcast Host]

It rolls with the theme.

[Fredolin Espinal]

It rolls with the theme. So now I came out with, at the Chicken Legs, I came out with Chicken Choker.

[Podcast Host]

Where do you sell the Comic or like, how do you bring that to your customers?

[Fredolin Espinal]

It's a cigar. So when I sell it, when I send a cigar out, it'll come with like a, like a sticker on it.

[Podcast Host]

Oh, it's part of the packaging.

[Fredolin Espinal]

Part of the packaging.

[Podcast Host]

Oh, I see, I see, I see.

[Fredolin Espinal]

It's like a whole comic.

[Podcast Host]

It's a whole story.

[Fredolin Espinal]

So I spoke to the guys about it and they're obviously, obviously the whole idea is for people to laugh when I look at it, you know, and then obviously a laughter causes an attraction. So. And that's how I attract people with that. Other than these cigars either. These are my traditional cigars. When you see this band is more my traditional stuff. It's not a limited edition to these.

[Podcast Host]

Who are your customers?

[Fredolin Espinal]

A lot of women smoke my cigars. So I have to have a light cigar, for example, yourself. You may be like, I never smoked a cigar before.

[Podcast Host]

I've tried one. It was so. Yeah. From the Cuban trip. And Cuba is like a big cigar country. And I was definitely asked by many friends after they knew that I was going to Cuba to help bring back stuff for them guy friends. I've tried it. Yeah.

[Fredolin Espinal]

So how was the experience?

[Podcast Host]

I mean, we went to a cigar factory and it was like a touristic type of experience.

[Fredolin Espinal]

Well, say you come, you come around me. I'm going to be like, hey, you know, Sharon, I got a light cigar for you. And with that light cigar, how I do it to attract the women to smoke my cigar is like, so what do you like? You like grapes? Like, yeah. Okay, so buy yourself some green grapes while you're smoking it. Pop some grapes in your mouth. So kind of like get used to that way.

[Podcast Host]

But your positioning is like for women on a Friday night, it's like a relaxation type of thing to maybe buy.

[Sharon Guy]

With like a bottle of wine.

[Fredolin Espinal]

Exactly. And then, you know, like, to answer your question, you have a lot of diverse clientele. There's certain things that we do to attract people that are younger in people that are older.

[Podcast Host]

For example, okay, it's like a Espinal party.

[Fredolin Espinal]

It's a lifestyle.

[Podcast Host]

Okay.

[Fredolin Espinal]

So we convert the business into a lifestyle.

[Podcast Host]

How do you know what type of accessories to get or to. To add to your portfolio?

[Fredolin Espinal]

So for example, like, you see there's a trend in crossbody bags, right? The Louis Vuitton crossbody bags and like the Gucci. And I'm like, all right, let's turn that into cigars. Somehow there's a movement right now for guns in the States. Right? For weapons and stuff. Okay, let's do a tactical one where if it's gun and this fits, you know, cigars in there, that way it's more like military grade. Let's do that.

[Podcast Host]

So being sort of cognizant of the current trend and then tying your own product or brand to it.

[Fredolin Espinal]

Right. Which the industry never had before.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, I mean, what does this cigar industry look like? Like in broad strokes, like, who's the biggest player in this space?

[Fredolin Espinal]

Oh, you mean like brand wise, you mean or, or consumer or how it's sold?

[Podcast Host]

As I noticed, I know this site called cigars.com like are they the largest seller of cigars? Is that where most people would go? Is that like the Walmart of cigar consumption?

[Fredolin Espinal]

Cigars International cigars, you have different ones. You have cigars International, you have famous cigars, you have different ones that, you know, they sell cigars online. You have JR Cigars. There's just different platforms now. There's a lot of, like I said, the demographics has expanded then. Just like, you know, a middle aged man with a little hat, with a, you know, a little mustache and you know, you know, walking down the street with a cane or something like that. You know, it's expanded a lot now. You know, we've gone away from that. You see a lot of the young guys smoking now, you know, because now and they want to act like they want to feel different, you know, they want to be around people that are different.

[Podcast Host]

That's so true is I think the classic profile of somebody smoking a cigar is that guy that you just described. But now it's more accepted and done. How did that happen? Like, was that social media? Was that you with the events thing, the DJ collabs, social media. But like how did that start?

[Fredolin Espinal]

I think it's just the TR. The trend started back in 2019, like around the time that I started. It wasn't even like a boom yet in 2019. And here I come. I started promoting artists, parties for artists. So now, you know, on that flyer will be my logo on it. So you'll usually never see a cigar company on that flyer. I mean, not at least not in my culture. So that's what I, I started that trend where now we have T shirts with that are, yeah, it's a cigar company. But look at that dope T shirt, you know, look at that hat. Look at, you know what I'm saying? It's more like into modern, you know, modernize it for the modern consumer, you know, for people that are. Want to get away from like the hookah or, you know, want to get away from the vape. So now you make a cigar that had, that has more, more smoke output. You know, a cigar that's a little lighter, that way they can handle it. You know, they look like they're, you know, up, you know, higher class. It looks like you're up or like upper class, you know, it gives you a different status automatically in somebody's mind. And that's the way I viewed it when I used to be, when I was a kid. When I was younger, I was like, oh, I, you know, I gotta smoke cigars. It must be, you know, that's the guy that'll be smoking that fine whiskey and stuff like that. So. And that's the way that I market it. You know, I market it as a. At a high standard when it comes to my product and myself, obviously, because it's so true.

[Podcast Host]

Because I think when I was growing up, like, smoking was kind of, that was kind of that thing. It had its time. And then the schools came in. The packaging change with the smoking kill, like a lot of that died out. And then it was drinking and then the vapes, the hookah, like those are all sort of subcultures within the. I guess you would call. I don't know what category this would all sort of go into or be term. But what would be the next thing would you say, I don't think the.

[Fredolin Espinal]

Cigar world is going to go anywhere because it's been here for a really long time. I don't think the tobacco itself, like the cigar is going to be. The only thing is we can change is just the stuff around it. Right. You know, like the accessories or the way we market it. But I don't think the product itself is going to be. Because it's a traditional product, I don't think that the product itself is going to be having something different to it. Now what could come out as. I don't know, I mean, now they have electronic hookups. So now they have, you know, obviously everybody's legalizing marijuana. I have a product for marijuana also, which is a leaf, just a roll of marijuana. Now that we have a different, different packaging. Packaging is a little interesting. We haven't, we haven't brought it out yet, but our packaging is just, like I said, it's just the way that you market. It's probably most likely going to change. But cigars have been the same for the longest. It's different leaves put together.

[Podcast Host]

What's your take in building the cigar community?

[Fredolin Espinal]

I think everything Is personalized, right? Like personal, personal interactions is the first things that is the biggest thing for me. So there are certain things, like the personalized stuff, like the boxes that I have here that I like to handle myself. It's not something that I want you to send me an email and just say, hey, Fred, I want you to do this for me. I want to hear, you, want to see what you want. I want that interaction. Now do I have people that can do that for me? Yes, but I like to do it myself because that's a little bit more me. And I like, I like the design part. So that's my, my biggest thing. But I think if you're starting out a new cigar company, the biggest thing is having that personal interaction, you know, one on one interactions and meeting your people, you know, and just being genuine. That's it, just being you. And you follow through with that, people will realize that you're genuine.

[Podcast Host]

Do you think you've built up a very strong Latinx type of community around or how do you, how do you infuse that part of your culture or heritage into your product or your customers?

[Fredolin Espinal]

Me, I support Latin, like for example, artists or events, I sponsor events. It works out a lot, you know, it works out very well by you sponsoring your community. You know, in Dominican Republic, for example, there's the main highway. There was no signs in certain areas where I'm from and I donated the signs to them with my logo on top. So, you know, there's certain ways that I, I try to connect with the people and keep that knit, you know, and letting them know, hey, I'm here and I wish I could do more, but obviously, you know, it's a work in progress.

[Podcast Host]

You grew up in Dr.

[Fredolin Espinal]

I was born there.

[Podcast Host]

What age were you when you went to New Jersey?

[Fredolin Espinal]

I came here when I was like seven.

[Podcast Host]

But your brand is more geared for Americans or is your brand well known.

[Fredolin Espinal]

In Dr. Well, my brand is in Dominican Republic. I have stores that have them and like I said, we have highways that have our brand along the highway so you can see where you're going. You know, if, you know, somebody tells you, oh, there's a sign there of this city, turn there, that logo that you just saw is up there. So I'm more inclined to being here. There's a lot of tobacco in Dominican Republic, so my thing is here.

[Podcast Host]

Your grandfather was in public service in Dr. What is his story?

[Fredolin Espinal]

He was a sheriff about, I think it was 14, 16 years. He was very well respected. So eventually I want to name the street. I'm going to go together with the mayor down there and name the street where we have our house on after him. And, you know, everything ran pretty smoothly to my understanding when I asked the people down there about him. Everybody respect him very much. So. He was very loved down there in the community and he was a hard worker. He used to cultivate, you know, and used to be a farmer.

[Podcast Host]

Is your family also there?

[Fredolin Espinal]

My grandmother's there. Part of my family's there. Most of my family is here. My mother actually lives down there now. She, she moved back. So like I said, I'm there once or twice a month. So I always go see grandma. I always. She goes see my mother. So, you know, my wife lives down there. She comes and goes.

[Podcast Host]

That's kind of similar to me where a lot of my family in China and I sort of split time between here in the US I got to.

[Fredolin Espinal]

Take a trip to China, by the way.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah. All the, the accessories that you're building with factories, I'm assuming they're made in China. If you're finding it on Alibaba, you're planning to visit their factories.

[Fredolin Espinal]

I will eventually. You know, hopefully I can get a bigger production of the stuff that I'm doing and try to go down there and design some stuff, you know, with them and see how, how I can help them with my ideas.

[Podcast Host]

China historically does not have a history of drinking a lot of hard liquor, but over these past couple of years, it's really gone into double or even sometimes triple digit growth. From an E commerce perspective, I think cigars is one of those things that I think a lot of the things that you said with just the positioning, like who traditionally consumes it, that vibe, the that type of demographic, and also Cuba as a country. And so I think more and more Chinese people are getting to know at least Cuban culture, and then that's where the cigars will have a slice. And so if you look at cigars as a market for Chinese consumers, the.

[Fredolin Espinal]

Thing is, a lot of countries aren't very well educated on the subject of tobacco. Right. It's not just the big brands that have a quality cigar. Most of the time big brands have less quality cigars than little cigar companies because of the demand. So the small companies like myself, we pay a lot of attention to the details, small details. It's very easy for the details to escape a big company. There are a lot more cigars than just Cubans. There are Nicaraguan cigars, there's endurance cigars that are really good. And you Know, when people just mention to me Cuban, Cubans, it kind of tells me when their knowledge about the products. Dominican Republic is the capital of tobacco of the world. In one town, which is Tambori, there's like 5,000 plus factories of tobacco one time, from formal to informal. So, you know, Dominican Republic has it down to the T in the science of the tobacco. We farm the land from the farm to. To your hand like this.

[Podcast Host]

What piece of advice would you have for somebody who's wanting to start their own E commerce brand?

[Fredolin Espinal]

It's not the easiest thing, right? Especially you have to get a lot of awareness. You just got to make noise. For example, I sell to cigar lounges. The cigar lounges. If I'm not making noise, if they at least haven't heard or seen something from someone, they're not going to pay attention. So you have to make your noise and you have to make a lot of noise for people to, you know, to bring awareness to your consumers. Whether, you know, you start at your local restaurant and have people tag you and it gets away, you know, it start expanding. It's just whatever you feel comfortable with, I guess the way. Because a lot of people don't really know marketing, right? Like, to me, I didn't study marketing.

[Podcast Host]

How are you making noise to the cigar lounges?

[Fredolin Espinal]

You go to magazines, you get in with guys that have a large following. You get into podcasts. So it works like that. You know, you send them a product. You know, you send them, hey, say hey, sent you something. You talk to the owners, you know, you show them the website. Like you saw the website or you were reading off the website. You send them to Instagram. If you see my Instagram, I put content in there to make noise.

[Podcast Host]

Is Steve Harvey going to be using it?

[Fredolin Espinal]

Hopefully.

[Podcast Host]

But you've made it and then you're sending it to him.

[Fredolin Espinal]

I've made it, yeah. So what I'm gonna do, I was actually thinking of going on Instagram and putting a video. Hey, say hey, whoever tags Steve Harvey the most, and then at the end, whoever he pays attention to, that, you know, actually catches his eye. I'm gonna be making one of these for free for you.

[Podcast Host]

On this podcast, we interviewed another entrepreneur who was discovered by, I think, Cardi B. She sold this shampoo mat and I think she was posting on socials when. And somehow somebody tagged her or something, but. And then that when her product got into celebrity circles. And so I guess the lesson here is just, I think a lot of entrepreneurs, when they first start, they think that these Big names are so far away from them, like they don't have the right contacts. But it's actually a lot closer than you think.

[Fredolin Espinal]

We reached close to like Roc Nation. We've had, you know, like Roc Nation and Jay Z, like OG1. He actually has one of my products. He's had my cigars, he smoked my cigars. And we have a lot of baseball players.

[Podcast Host]

How did you broker that?

[Fredolin Espinal]

Somebody that knew. So we have baseball players and then we just, hey, you know, we just.

[Podcast Host]

Send them some cigars because nobody's going to say no to some nice cigars. That's from the capital of the tobacco industry. Exactly what are your next goals with the company?

[Fredolin Espinal]

I want to become more international. I want to expand to Europe through Ally Cigar Company. For example, on Instagram, we'll promote you. We'll put your brand on there. If I'm smoking one of your cigars, we'll put it on Ali Cigar Company. So if you look up Hanley Cigar Company, you'll see some of the brands that we do and we'll post them.

[Podcast Host]

When you look to Europe and doing that expansion, like, do you have a, like a go to country? You think that that would be easiest or easier to land or get into? Or like, how would you look at that? To Europe specifically? Like, what would your strategy be to expand there?

[Fredolin Espinal]

Because I have a few clients up there. So what I do is they say, hey, can you guys get together and go to a cigar lounge? Or some guy that does that has the. That's a broker. And say, hey, pay attention to this. You know, this is what we smoke. Can you bring it here? You know, how can you, you know, and that's the way that I do it. You want myself just, just approach a lounge, say, hey, how can we get this here? You know, because I don't have anybody. I didn't start with anybody. I was never a rep. You know, most of these guys come from the business, you know, the reps. And they know somebody, somebody knows somebody. And I had to work four to five times harder because I don't know anybody.

[Podcast Host]

Any last words of advice for young entrepreneurs who want to draw inspiration from your journey?

[Fredolin Espinal]

Just because something might not be going right at the beginning, beginnings are the hardest. You might be feeling like you're hopeless. You might be feeling like, oh man, nobody's paying attention to me. You just never know who you might reach out to. It might be that spark that you need in your business. And me, it was just like I said, I just kept going. I just started you know, thinking outside the box. So just think outside the box. Don't go with what everybody else does. Is common things are common things. Try to do something uncommon. Catch attention and just keep working at it. That's my advice.

[Podcast Host]

Okay. I mean, I can see all of that reverberating through, like your logo, the crown chicken, the comics, the sponsoring of events. I think a lot of your philosophy is executed through those sort of small things that you've done for your brand. Thanks so much for coming on.

[Fredolin Espinal]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

And sharing about your whole story.

[Fredolin Espinal]

I appreciate your time and thank you very much. Hopefully we can do it again.

[Sharon Guy]

B2B Breakthrough is produced by Alibaba.com to find out how Alibaba.com is empowering its customers with the tools, services and resources they need to grow their businesses. Visit Alibaba.com and then make sure to search for B2B Breakthrough Podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you find your podcasts. Make sure to follow us so you don't miss future episodes. On behalf of the team [e-mail] thanks for listening.