R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company

Who doesn’t know Camel cigarette? Up to this day, camel is one of the oldest and prominent cigarette brands in the world.

The company behind the success story of Camel cigarette is R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company.

At that time, Camel cigarette became the most popular cigarette in the US. Although the camel brand sold outside US market currently marketed under the Japan Tobacco, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company’s history is worth mentioning in reviewing the rise and fall of cigarette history.

Qualitative and very affordable – these two words completely identify the smoking products of the second biggest tobacco manufacturer in the United States – R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company.

Established in 1875 by the son of tobacco grower R. J. Reynolds, R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company extended and became substantially prosperous extremely fast.

Within the first couple of years it was a small enterprise, however with time, the company has started to produce and sell more than 2 million pounds of tobacco products per year.

In 25 years R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company grew to become the owner of all small tobacco producing companies in the region of Winston-Salem and within that time it supplied 1/4 of the whole chewing tobacco products, spread in the United States.

Modern systems significantly contributed to the growth, demand and as a result the manufacturing of cigarettes.

Impressive strategies of advertisement really helped to advertise the product and make it well-known all through all of the states.

Famous Camel cigarettes were introduced for the first time in 1931. This cigarette brand is made of the widely known “American Blend” tobacco – a mixture of tobacco types, which offers a distinctive calming and excellent flavor.

This brand obtained popularity so fast that authorities decided to make Winston-Salem region an official port of entry in the USA.

Among the main reasons why R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company started to be so popular, was the attitude of its president to his employees.

In 1920’s he had constructed around 180 houses and sold them to his employees at really reduced cost.

This little town of houses was named Reynolds town. R. J. Reynolds introduced new workplaces, offered great working conditions and decent salaried, which undoubtedly led to the growth of the product quality and reputation of the company.

By the end of the 20th century, R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company was producing 2/3 of the smoking products sold in US. The vast majority of brands are budget class ones, which does not reveal on their quality.

Due to the reasonable prices such brands as Camel and Pall Mall are very popular these days as they are available to the average customer.

It was believed that R.J. Reynolds can see further ahead than most people can see in terms of business. Having chosen a chewing tobacco business, he correctly prepared for the growth in popularity of smoking tobaccos.

Then, he introduced pipe tobaccos by a memorable advertising campaign.

Then he revolutionized US cigarette blends, marketing, and packaging.

Camel Cigarette

1913 was the first stone to R.J. Reynolds cigarette history. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company introduced Camel cigarette.

The Camel cigarette contains a blend of several different types of tobacco that would come to be called as American blend.

The ‘Camel’ name is believed to be named such because it contains Turkish tobacco in its blend in imitation of then-fashionable Egyptian cigarettes.

The affordable price of Camel cigarette had enabled the company to sold 425 million packs within a year. What a great success.

The success of Camel sales was strengthened by a unique teaser advertising campaign long before it actually hit the market. Camel became the first nationally popular cigarette in the United States. Reynolds Tobacco established virtually every packaging standard in the U.S. cigarette industry.

The 20-cigarette pack was introduced by Reynolds Tobacco in 1913, and in 1915 the company introduced the one-piece, 10-pack carton. In 1931, Reynolds Tobacco became the first company to package its cigarettes with a moisture-proof, sealed cellophane outer wrap to preserve freshness.

This packaging method is still used up to this day.

RJ Reynolds Premiere Cigarette

Others Products

The most iconic cigarette variant of Camel cigarette brand is the unfiltered variant. That unfiltered variant was sold in a soft pack, known as Camel Straights or Regular.

At that time, R.J. Reynolds use famous personalities to promote the Camel cigarette brand. This marketing strategy contributes to its peaked popularity in the market.

Besides Camel, R.J. Reynolds produced other brands. The trace of the revolutionary invention in cigarette sphere was still maintained by R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company by introducing Winston cigarette brand.

In 1954, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company introduced Winston cigarette brand as the first filtered cigarette. It achieved major success in the market.

Moreover, R.J. Reynolds introduced the first filter-tipped menthol cigarette under the name Salem. When it is introduced to the market in 1956, Salem brought up the slogan, “Take a puff, it’s springtime”.

The Salem and Winston brand name derived from the city where R.J. Reynolds established its business, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, US. What makes Salem unique was its blend of Asian menthol rather than traditional menthol.

Cigarette brands produced by R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company:

• Camel
• Winston
• Pall Mall
• Kool
• Salem
• More
• Natural American Spirit
• Eclipse