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Our Vision

Improve economic equality by creating sustainable and effective change to help close the economic gap for Black-owned businesses.

Black-Owned Business Initiative Update

The John Middleton Company (Middleton) proudly traces its roots back to its founding in 1856, where it began as a local tobacco shop in Philadelphia. We are grateful to the city which gave us our start and we are committed to supporting economic equity efforts that help close the gap for Black-owned businesses in our founding community. Since 2020, Middleton has contributed nearly $3.5 million in grants and technical assistance to nonprofit partners in Philadelphia and Cleveland, which have positively impacted over 100 Black-owned businesses. There’s much more work to be done and we’re just getting started.

What We’ve Accomplished in Philadelphia

In December 2020, Middleton contributed $575,000 to The Enterprise Center, a Philadelphia-based, Black-owned nonprofit organization that promotes racial and economic equity with small businesses. The Enterprise Center distributed $500,000 to 67 diverse businesses and the remaining $75,000 was allocated to The Enterprise Center to support their ongoing operations.

In November 2021, another $500,000 was disbursed to assist 15 small Black-owned construction business in the West Philadelphia area. Another $75,000 supported ongoing operations for our nonprofit partner.

November 2022 saw $500,000 disbursed for the creation of Due Diligence Advance Pool (DDAP), with another $75,000 again going to support overhead costs.

And, in February 2023, $500,000 was provided to support the Virtual Diverse Small Business Center (VDSBC). Once again, an additional $75,000 to support the overhead costs of our nonprofit partner.

Where We Are Going

We plan continued support for The Enterprise Center’s DDAP and VDSBC programs beyond 2023.

The DDAP is designed to provide Black and other minority businesses with much needed financial resources. It is a self-replenishing pool of capital utilizing both debt and equity financing that helps reduce barriers to investment and minimize the number of deals that are broken.

The VDSBC provides business services that support clients as they increase their business and financial acumen, both critical to business success. By providing 1:1 support virtually and by phone, The Enterprise Center will assist businesses with the following services: 

• Preparing and submitting applications for other funding sources.
• Pre- and post-technical assistance to educate and prepare clients to overcome personal and business barriers.
• Workshops and 1:1 coaching provides borrowers with an understanding of balance sheets, income statements, cash flow and more.
• Procurement and Joint Venture Networks enable clients to connect to more resources, penetrate new markets and access private networks of buyers, and participate in mentorship opportunities to maintain their success.

In 2007, we joined the Altria family of companies and are guided by Altria's Vision and Our Cultural Aspiration. We continue to honor our heritage and tradition, making premium tobacco products in Richmond, Virginia and King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, which is not far from our original Philadelphia home.

We're proud to be a leading manufacturer and marketer of cigars and pipe tobacco. Our Black & Mild brand is the second-best selling large machine-made cigar in the U.S. Our strategy is to maximize income, while maintaining momentum on Black & Mild over time.

Black & Mild's 2023 full-year volume was ~1.8 billion sticks. We also manufacture pipe tobacco with brands including Prince Albert, Carter Hall and Middleton's Cherry Blend.

Our Leadership

At John Middleton, our leadership team, led by Ryan Bauersachs, Managing Director & General Manager, sets the strategic direction for our company and works toward fulfilling our role as a leading manufacturer and marketer of cigars and pipe tobacco. 

Our Employees

Our industry faces big challenges. That's why we develop high-performing and engaged employees who help us continue to deliver superior results in the future. We do so by promoting a vibrant, inclusive workplace; attracting, developing and retaining talented and diverse people; rewarding and recognizing our employees and creating a safe workplace. Learn More

Responsibility At John Middleton

We define responsibility by the actions a company takes to address society's expectations. We're guided by Altria's Vision and Our Cultural Aspiration, with corporate responsibility at the core.

We approach responsibility by understanding our stakeholders' perspectives, aligning our business practices where appropriate and measuring and communicating our progress.

• Prevent Underage Use
• Supporting Cessation
• Drive Responsibility through Our Value Chain
• Our Employees
• Protect the Environment
• Government Affairs

Our cigar brands include Black & Mild and Middleton's Cherry Blend. Our tipped cigars are filled with pipe tobacco. This began in the 1960s, when we discovered that while many people enjoyed the taste and aroma of pipe tobacco, they did not have the time or experience to smoke a pipe. This led us to develop a new product — a pipe-tobacco cigar. Black & Mild Cigarillos are made from a unique blend of both air-cured and pipe tobaccos. Our cigars are large cigars as defined by the Internal Revenue Code for excise tax purposes.

Our pipe-tobacco brands include Prince Albert and Carter Hall.

View the complete list of John Middleton products.

These have been, and continue to be, the messages of the U.S. Surgeon General and public health authorities worldwide. Current and potential cigar and pipe smokers should be guided by these messages when deciding whether or not to smoke cigars or pipes.

In this section of our website you will find information on cigar- and pipe-related messages, as well as links to government and public health authorities, including the U.S. Surgeon General's reports related to tobacco. Click on the links at the right to obtain more information about cigar and pipe smoking and health.

Smoking & Disease

Cigar and pipe smoking causes serious diseases. The U.S. Surgeon General and other public health authorities have determined that:

• Cigar and pipe smoking causes cancers of the mouth and throat, even if you do not inhale.
• Cigar and pipe smoking causes lung cancer and heart disease.
• Tobacco use increases the risk of infertility, stillbirth and low birth weight.
• Cigar and pipe smoking is not a safe alternative to cigarette smoking.
• Tobacco smoke increases the risk of lung cancer and heart disease, even in nonsmokers.

Supporting Cessation

According to the National Cancer Institute, "to those currently smoking cigars, quitting is the only way to eliminate the documented harm that can result from cigar smoking." For cigar and pipe smokers who have decided to quit, a wealth of expert quitting information exists from public health authorities and others. For example:

• www.smokefree.gov is a website from the National Cancer Institute that provides free information and professional help to people trying to quit using tobacco.
• 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669) is a toll-free telephone number that connects callers to their state-run quitline for counseling and information about quitting tobacco.Should a state not have a quitline, callers are routed to the National Cancer Institute quitline.
• Middleton provides a free resource called QuitAssist^®, designed to connect cigar and pipe smokers who have decided to quit to expert quitting information from public health authorities and others.
• Learn more about John Middleton's efforts to support cigar and pipe smokers who have decided to quit.

Trade Programs

We offer trade programs to retailers and wholesalers that help them responsibly manage the cigar category. Our retail trade program is built on effective category management principles, including:

• merchandising our products in an organized way;
• having our brands in-stock and available;
• having our most popular brands in the preferred positions;
• clearly communicating price and promotional offers; and
• deterring access by underage purchasers.

The program also includes several features that go beyond federal law to help prevent underage access to tobacco products, such as store clerk training and access prevention signage. In addition, we've developed rigorous compliance and training systems to govern retail marketing materials.

We also limit the number of Middleton signs at retail.

About Product Placement

We do not pay for or endorse any placement of our products or brand imagery in any movies, television shows, video games or entertainment media. We have a long-standing practice of refusing requests for product placement or use of our brand imagery and have taken legal action where appropriate.