Gold Leaf launches RG cigarette brand, targets 10% market share

By The NewsDay | Sep. 2, 2016 | 2 Min read

GOLDEN Leaf Tobacco Zimbabwe has launched its Rudland & George (RG) cigarette brand targeting at least a 10% market share and sales forecast of three million sticks per month.

GOLD Leaf Tobacco Zimbabwe has launched its Rudland & George (RG) cigarette brand targeting at least a 10% market share and sales forecast of three million sticks per month.

BY TATIRA ZWINOIRA

The company is a wholly-owned Zimbabwean entity that has been operating in South Africa for the past 15 years and has finally launched its cigarette brand into the market.

Speaking to NewsDay on the sidelines of the launch on Wednesday, Gold Leaf Tobacco country manager Tanaka Matimbe said they had observed that many cigarette packs were looking old and took this as an opportunity to launch something fresh into the market.

“In the cigarette business we, talk of sticks. So we are looking at selling three million sticks a month with a projection of us going over 150 million sticks a year. We are only three weeks in the market and our projection is that we would want to have at least 10% of the market in the sub premium segment over the next two years, thereafter, get about 30% of the market,” he said.

“The uptake has been great. People love the new pack and we have improved on the smoke on what we have seen on the market. So the quality is good and the price is affordable.

“To our trade partners, there is a good margin for them and they are taking it and loving it. So we foresee ourselves growing rapidly at rate we did envisage. The menthol has taken off well, people have loved it as it is a smooth smoke.”