Homemade cigarette industry relies on word of mouth

The Jakarta Post, Cirebon

While large cigarette companies have a large marketing network, organized in a professional way, cigarette producers in Losari depend on word of mouth for promotion.

Still, Losari cigarettes have apparently gained a reasonable number of consumers -- usually farmers or fishermen, and people from the lower-income bracket in various areas of West Java up to areas bordering Central Java like Tegal, Slawi, Purwokerto and Cilacap regencies.

"Even though their numbers are not significant, Losari cigarettes are well-known in a number of transmigration areas in Sumatra and Sulawesi, usually by the settlers from Cirebon," said Deni.

"Compared to cigarettes produced by large-scale companies, ours are cheaper, with retail prices between Rp 2,000 to Rp 2,500 per pack. We sell them at wholesale to distributors for Rp 1,300 to Rp 1,500 per pack, including tax," said Kusen.

It is somewhat tricky to differentiate between the Losari-made cigarettes at a glance because their packs are similar in appearance with that of famous brands. The package of Panah Mas, for instance, looks similar to the Dji Sam Soe kretek cigarette package produced by PT HM Sampoerna.

"In Karawang, Panah Mas is often dubbed the 'nighttime Dji Sam Soe' due to its likeness when seen in the dark," said Kusen.

The Losari cigarette industry has been founded and managed from a generation to the next since the 1940s. The pioneer was Haji Nawi, Kusen's father.

"In other words, this enterprise has been inherited by the family passed on from one generation to the other. It is in its third generation now. My children are continuing with the business now," he said.

Kusen recalled that in the beginning of Losari kretek cigarette business, his father made cigarettes by wrapping them in klobot (dried corn skin).

"They didn't use paper at that time. Haji Nawi went around the villages in Losari selling the cigarettes he made," said Kusen.

The first cigarettes made in Losari were called the Djagung brand. In the 1950s, Haji Nawi started the business by involving his family and other residents.

However, production stopped in the 1960s due to a clove shortage.

"The business was revived in 1968 when I got involved due to my father's death. I started producing cigarettes using paper to roll them. But the business didn't last long due to the bad political situation back then," said Kusen.

In 1971, Kusen reopened his business by producing the Sami Djaya brand. From that moment on, Losari cigarettes began to thrive and reach the peak years. Each pack of cigarettes was sold at Rp 250 then.

"The glory years were somewhat hampered around 1975 when fake cigarettes of the same brand were circulating on the market. Still, the business could survive when a new brand, Tiga Nangka, was produced in 1983," said Kusen.

The industry experienced further obstacles from 1983 to 1988 when the clove cartel was dominated by the Cloves Marketing and Buffer Stock Agency.

"At that time, it was difficult to get cloves. We also had problems in obtaining tobacco," he said.

In the 1990s, added Kusen, the Losari cigarette business thrived again as their products became an alternative to higher priced cigarettes.

"The prices of cigarettes were very high then and many people couldn't afford to buy them. We gained from that opportunity by creating lower-priced cigarettes," said Kusen.

Kusen said he obtained his supply of raw materials from various areas, buying them from a number of main tobacco producers in Temanggung, Weleri, Muntilan, Bojonegoro and Madura, which produce good quality tobacco. He bought cloves from North Sulawesi and cigarette paper from Kudus, Central Java.