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SL exports its first Herbal cinnamon cigarette 

19 Mar 2021

Although the first Sri Lankan herbal cinnamon cigarette under the brand Lion Heart was officially launched to the local market on Wednesday (17), the brand has reportedly been exporting the product to Australia for the past four months, The Morning Business learns.  Speaking to us, Nature’s Group, the mother company of Lion Heart, Founder and Chairman Deshabandu Samantha Puncihewa revealed that there was an exclusive contract struck between Australian companies and Nature's Group itself.    “Currently, we are exporting to Australia. We started exporting to Australia four months ago. There has been an exclusive contract regarding this trade. However, Japan, India, Russia, Sweden, Italy, France, and roughly about 20 countries have a demand for this product,” Puncihewa revealed.    In addition, the brainchild behind this product also reported that the company has acknowledged the demand for the Sri Lankan cinnamon cigarette in more than 20 countries and elaborated why the company has not started exporting to the relevant countries as well as Australia.    “We have the potential to supply this product to more than 20 countries. However, as this is a new product and we have just started, that is why we are only exporting to Australia at the moment,” Puncihewa commented.    Furthermore, he continued to state that Lion Heart initiated supplying and exporting samples to various countries through the Nature Group international supply Chain in order to obtain consumer feedback and test the product on its quality.  “Prior to the official launch of the product, we started operating with test run exports to various countries. They visited Sri Lanka to sign the relevant agreements,” Puncihewa stated.    “Samples were exported to about 15 countries through the supply and consumption chains of our other products to test the taste and quality, and gain feedback,” he added.    Moreover, Lion Heart highlighted that the first time the local market was introduced to cinnamon cigarettes was also through three-month product testing programs which included supplying samples and pre-orders.    “On the other hand, as we are running the test program in the local market, we are working on creating the availability in the local market step by step. This is only the beginning. For now, we only operate in selected shops that we have given to supply to the local market as a test run,” Puncihewa revealed.    He continued to mention that the company is still in the testing stages of the product, after which they will evaluate the supply of the product to the local market as well as Australia.    Additionally, the brainchild of this product also reported that the first Sri Lankan herbal cinnamon cigarette went viral and became popular through the exclusive samples that were given to selected shops.    Lion Heart revealed that there was no promotion of the product that was done by the company’s marketing team. The company further revealed it did not advertise or promote its product as it wasn’t released to the local market at the time.    Thereby, the company credits the test programs that were run in the local market for the attention and demand that it acquired.    Furthermore, Lion Heart stated that it would be noted that herbal cigarettes do not contain any tobacco or nicotine, instead, it is composed of a mixture of various herbs and/or other plant material.    Consequently, as cinnamon cigarettes are herbal cigarettes, the company reveals that special taxes that are imposed on tobacco-based cigarettes are not imposed on cinnamon cigarettes.    “The normal tax that is imposed on ordinary goods and services is also imposed on this product. This is because the product is not tobacco or nicotine-based, thus the special tax on goods and services such as normal cigarettes does not apply here hence it is a herbal cigarette,” Puncihewa elaborated.    Also, as this product does not receive any special tax, the price of the product is comparatively lower than a tobacco-based cigarette. It was revealed that the prices range from Rs. 30 - Rs. 60.    Additionally, Lion Heart reported three types of cinnamon cigarettes that are priced differently; Lion Heart Lite, Lion Heart Cool, and Lion Heart VIP.    “All three types of cinnamon cigarettes are 100% made out of cinnamon. The prices vary according to the quality, size, and taste,” Puncihewa stated.    On the other hand, he went on to mention that export prices vary depending on the country’s regulations such as the tax on imports.    Furthermore, Lion Heart also highlighted that it is planning on establishing about 100 factories to create 200,000 job opportunities in the country in collaboration with the ministry of industries in five years.    Currently, the first herbal cinnamon cigarette is only available in the locations of Galle, Ambilipitya, Katunayake, and Matara as these are the test run locations.    The company revealed that after the sampling process, the demand can be evaluated and supplied gradually as the company itself progresses along with its manufacturing capacity to cater to the high demand the company has received over a short time period. 


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