Argelini Tobacco
Executives at Argelini Tobacco like to use the tag line The Infinite Hookah Experience! – and with good reason.
Argelini Tobacco markets a broad selection of premier, top-of-the-line flavored hookah tobaccos, which it distributes worldwide. It was founded in 2011 and specializes in the manufacture of hookah tobacco and related tobacco accessories. Its executive staff members boast expertise in the fields of industrial, engineering, managerial, economics, business marketing, and international law.
Indeed, Argelini’s management has over 13 years of experience in the production and manufacturing of tobacco, their primary product. They are most definitely ready for the growth to come.
Executives use that expertise to market to the middle-upper tobacco users who are looking for value in the products they buy. They serve their market by tending carefully to the basics: offering a broad selection of top-quality products at competitive prices, all while providing top-notch quality controlled and professional customer service.
Argelini is headquartered in the United States and has distributors in France, Iraq, Germany, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Moldova, Canada, Kuwait, Lebanon, Beirut Duty Free Shops, Egypt, Malaysia, United Arab Emirates, Bosnia and Jordan. It employs what it calls a two-way marketing strategy: direct sales to consumers and product distribution to wholesalers and retail shops. The company has its own distribution team, and owns and operates a trio of retail locations in western Amman, as well as more than 250 points of sale around Jordan.
“I think the hookah industry is definitely expanding in general,” says Argelini’s President, Sam Ismail. “Hookah lounges right now are getting more popular all the time. So for the remainder of 2014 and into 2015 I see only more expansion of hookah markets.”
The Corona, CA-based company was founded in 2010, and began importing product to the United States in 2012. It currently has 25 employees staffing its offices in Corona. Argelini is putting lots of marketing and promotional emphasis behind its patented Shisha Shot, which offers consumers a wide variety of benefits.
“In the past,” Ismail explains, “people used to roll their own cigarettes. That’s how Phillip Morris dominated the market. In using a hookah, people open a can of tobacco and just take the tobacco by hand. The minute they do that, however, they are dealing with issues that arise from touching the tobacco by hand. Then they are going to have to come back and wrap it and make the holes and make sure air flow circulation is good. When people pack their own a lot of times they will have air-flow problems. They sometimes put too much tobacco in them, or they pack it so hard there is no circulation. That is what’s difficult about using a hookah. It takes you a good five minutes the traditional way. That’s the normal way of using a hookah, and so all the companies out there sell you their tobacco in tubs or cans.”
Argelini’s patented Shisha Hookah offers capsules that are pre-loaded with tobacco, rendering the entire process cleaner, easier and more user-friendly. “You don’t have to worry about messing with tobacco by hand, and getting your hand messy,” Ismail explains. “They are easy to use: you smoke it one time and then put it in the trash. You don’t have to worry about it. You also don’t have to worry about air circulation. It’s just a one-time use, which makes for a cleaner way of smoking.” Among the product’s benefits:
Healthier: The capsule contains activated carbon that filters and absorbs the harmful gases released from the tobacco and coal.
Faster: Using the product means no more messing with sticky tobacco. The capsule is ready for use and includes a perforated aluminum foil. Smokers simply place the lit coal on top of the capsule to enjoy the hookah experience.
Cleaner: The Argelini Shisha Shot is disposable, and so eliminates the need for cleaning. After use, smokers simply toss the capsule in the trash. That means the shisha will remain clean and is ready for the next use.
Easier when traveling: The capsules can be easily packed and taken along on when traveling or camping. The added convenience is obvious: consumers no longer have to carry various flavors of tobacco, aluminum foils, aluminum foil perforators, and tongs for the coal.
Attractively designed packaging: The capsules are packed individually in high-quality decorated packages.
Variety of Flavors: Argelini offers a wide variety of flavors – 41 in all -- some of which are exclusive to Argelini Tobacco. Says Ismail, “Our flavors have had phenomenal success in taste and quality tests taken with many diverse focus groups in different countries around the world.”
Extended Shelf Life: An advanced and controlled packaging technique, specially aimed at tobacco products, ensures the capsules remain fresh for an exceptionally long time.
Argelini’s hand-crafted hookah tobacco is infused with both natural and man-made flavors, giving consumers what the company labels “the most true and enjoyable taste possible.”
“We only use the finest blend of French Virginia tobacco leaves,” the company notes in its literature, “which are gold in color, light in nicotine and free of main leaf stems. We do not mix tobacco blends or crops; we neither wash leaves nor use any chemicals.” The glycerin that is used is the purest, extracted and refined from vegetables, never petroleum. “We do not mix glycerin with other chemical materials that may act as glycerin. Although cheaper in price, our main concern is the overall quality of the product as a whole.” Argelini even manufactures its own honey, using the purest white sugar but none of the widely used additives that often substitute honey flavor and may leave an after-taste.
The company has already established itself in major markets throughout California, Michigan, Colorado, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Illinois and Florida. Geographic expansion, starting with Minnesota and Virginia, will continue throughout 2014 and next year, Ismail promises.
Promotional activities include taking part in themed storelevel events in hookah lounges, where consumers are given the opportunity to sample the products and get to know the brand. It also makes free LED displays available to distributors and smoke shops in some cases.
Argelini Tobacco – like the hookah market itself – appears poised for major growth.