In 1990, while working in Los Angeles as an entertainment and liability lawyer, Rocky Patel was introduced to cigars by a friend and that’s when his passion for cigars began. He went on to became one of the founding members of the Havana Cigar Club of LA, and six years later, in 1996, he invested in the Indian Tabac Cigar Co. At the 1996 RTDA trade show in Cincinnati, Ohio, the Indian Tabac Cigar Co. made it’s debut, and hundreds of people waited in line to try the new brand of cigars. The key to Patel’s early success was his bold, bright packaging in a tired, worn-out cigar industry that was in desperate need of fresh ideas and young innovators like Patel.
After seven years of working in the cigar industry, Rocky Patel grew his reputation and became one of the most respected and famous names in the cigar industry. In 2003, Rocky Patel renamed the Indian Cigar Co. as “Rocky Patel Premium Cigars” in order to capitalize on his increasingly popular brand name. Not only does Rocky Patel make world renowned cigar blends, but he is one of the hardest working people in business as he spends almost 300 days a year on the road building partnerships and promoting his brand. Through fresh innovation and hard work, Rocky Patel was able to modernize the cigar industry and he still remains one of the top five most popular cigar brands in the entire world.
Rocky Patel seems like a very dedicated and hard working guy. Spending 300 days a year on the road shows a very solid work ethic. Bright and attractive packaging is always something that catches the eye of the consumer and prompts them to buy. This is innovative since many cigars come in dull packaging which makes it confusing for first time users on what to try. This is a very old and tired market that could use innovation.
Its very inspiring how, as an already sucessful businessman, Rocky found a new passion and created a way to make money from it.
I was always aware and loved the Rocky Patel brand of cigars but did not know his story of where it all began. It is also interesting that this wasn’t his first job or passion but later grew to love cigars and pursue it to perfection like he did, creating of the most recognizable names in the cigar industry. He is truly of the most influential entrepreneurs in the cigar business and still continues to dominate the competition.