Cigarrenfabrik August Schuster, the Bünde, Germany-based cigar manufacturer and distributor, has announced that it has updated the packaging and standardized the sizes of two of its Maria Mancini lines.
Last year, the Maria Mancini Classics line underwent a packaging update. Now, the new looks for the Edición Especial and Postre de Banquete lines are heading to stores in Austria, Germany and Switzerland.
Schuster has stressed that the blends themselves remain unchanged.
Previously, the lines had more sizes, some of which were offered in multiple packaging options, including coffins. Going forward, the three lines share the same basic brand identity and come in streamlined and more modern-looking 25-count boxes.
All three lines are offered in the same four vitolas:
- Maria Mancini Classics Half Corona (4 x 42) — €6.50 (Box of 25, €162.50)
- Maria Mancini Classics De Gaulle (4 3/4 x 52) — €7.50 (Box of 25, €187.50)
- Maria Mancini Classics Corona Classico (5 1/2 x 44) — €7 (Box of 25, €175)
- Maria Mancini Classics Magic Mountain (6 x 54) — €8 (Box of 25, €200)
- Maria Mancini Edición Especial Half Corona (4 x 42) — €7.50 (Box of 25, €187.50)
- Maria Mancini Edición Especial De Gaulle (4 3/4 x 52) — €8.50 (Box of 25, €212.50)
- Maria Mancini Edición Especial Corona Classico (5 1/2 x 44) — €8 (Box of 25, €200)
- Maria Mancini Edición Especial Magic Mountain (6 x 54) — €9 (Box of 25, €225)
- Maria Mancini Postre de Banquete Half Corona (4 x 42) —
- €8 (Box of 25, €200)
- Maria Mancini Postre de Banquete De Gaulle (4 3/4 x 52) — €9 (Box of 25, €225)
- Maria Mancini Postre de Banquete Corona Classico (5 1/2 x 44) — €8.50 (Box of 25, €212.50)
- Maria Mancini Postre de Banquete Magic Mountain (6 x 54) — €9.50 (Box of 25, €237.50)
All three lines are made in Honduras. The Classics is described as mild, Edición Especial as medium, and Postre de Banquete as the fullest.
“I am delighted that we are able to bring a brand with more than 100 years of history into the 21st century in this way,” said Martin Schuster, managing director of Cigarrenfabrik August Schuster, in a press release. “The new presentation provides specialist retailers with a clear and commercially strong portfolio: distinctly differentiated lines, a consistent format concept and colour coding that offers immediate orientation – while all blends remain completely unchanged.”
The brand is named after Maria Mancini (1639-1715), the middle of five sisters who were nieces to Cardinal Mazarin. She became a love interest of King Louis XIV of France, though the Cardinal and the King’s mother worked to prevent the two from marrying.
Maria Mancini, the cigar brand, has been around since at least the early 20th century. It gained popularity when it was mentioned multiple times in Thomas Mann’s Der Zauberberg (The Magic Mountain) (1924).
Overall Score
Cigarrenfabrik August Schuster
Maria Mancini
Maria Mancini Classics
Maria Mancini Edición Especial
Maria Mancini Postre de Banquete
