Tobacconist University (TU) is the official educational curriculum of the IPCPR. As their exclusive educational partner, TU certifies all IPCPR retail members as Certified Retail Tobacconists (CRT) for free: a $1,000 per person value for non IPCPR members. This means, if you have a store with 3 tobacconists, TU will certify (and promote) them all for free! At TU we consider this a strategic partnership with the industry's oldest and most prestigious trade organization. In the process, TU does not receive any money from the IPCPR, but we are allowed access to the tradeshow. In addition, our ability to work with the IPCPR creates promotional and political synergies which we can use to support and defend retail tobacconists.
So, all of this begs the question, where does the money come from? After all, we do not sell advertising and most of our certifications are free. Fortunately, we have R&D! R&D Cigars are Certified Cigars: the only cigar in the history of the world that you have to pass a test to sell! R&D Cigars, standing for Research and Development, are exceptional premium products designed with an educational purpose: educating your mind and palate. R&D Cigars are also a competitive advantage since they are truly limited and Certified Retail Tobacconists must earn the right to sell them. Introduced in 2014, R&D Cigars are already available at some of the world's greatest tobacconists, with many more to come! You can learn more about R&D Cigars in the R&D Lab and from your local Certified Retail Tobacconist.
Finally, we would like to say thank you to the thousands of consumers and Certified Retail Tobacconists who have supported R&D Cigars. Without that support there would be no future for TU. Specifically, we would like to thank our R&D CRT for having the passion and vision to support TU, educating themselves and their customers. The future of TU holds more promise than ever and that is because of our R&D CRT!