Stoker’s® has been in business for over 75 years. And, I’m here to tell you, a lot has happened in those years. I can still remember my grandfather telling me stories about how he and my father peddled 50 to 100 pounds of long-leaf tobacco to individuals across West Tennessee. In fact, one time when they were selling at the court square in Lexington, TN, it was so cold that my father, a young man at the time, knew that there had to be a better way to sell tobacco than standing out in the cold for hours at a time. Later that night, he persuaded my grandfather to go into the mail-order business.
‘We appreciate your business and hope you enjoy our many Stoker’s® products.’
—Bobby Stoker
Our Business is Truly a Family Affair
Our first mail-order catalog featured long-leaf tobacco at “10 pounds for a dollar, postage paid”. When my father returned from WW II, having served in the U.S. Navy from 1942 to 1946, he was eager to make his mark in life. He took over the family tobacco business, added a loose-leaf chewing tobacco called “24C®”, and soon struggled to keep up with the demand. We grew tobacco ourselves and purchased additional tobacco from farmers in the area to make our products. Gradually, we added more tobaccos as more and more people learned that Stoker’s® tobacco products provided the best quality at the lowest prices.
At first, my father did everything from home: opening mail, typing orders, and packing boxes. Even as young kids, my brother, sister and I would also help, often stuffing envelopes with the latest sales brochures. As I grew up, I became more involved in running the family business. We introduced value-priced one-pound bags of chewing tobacco—while the rest of the industry offered 3 oz. bags (and charged too much in our opinion). At Stoker’s, we believe if a customer buys big, they should save big. And like my father and grandfather before me, I took to the road selling Stoker’s to tobacco distributors. Soon, our products were available in thousands of stores across the South. And today Stoker’s is in even more stores across the entire country.
Although my father retired in the mid 90’s, I still live by what he taught me all those years ago, and that is to sell a great product at a fair price. To ensure that we do just that, we make our chewing tobaccos in a time-honored multi-pass process that allows the flavors to soak deep into the tobacco leaves for a flavorful chew. And our moist snuff, which we just introduced in a 12 oz. tub to stores a few years ago, is made like no other. We use only the best: 100% high quality American grown dark tobaccos, from the central and western regions of Tennessee and Kentucky, an extra-long cut, and unique flavorings to provide a long-lasting, satisfying dip. A lot of the thanks for this great product goes to our team right here in the plant, some whom have been with us for 30 years.