Private Label (Custom) Cigarettes
For clients interested in Private Label cigarettes, below are a few questions most frequently asked by prospective buyers. Please feel free to contact us direct with your inquiry.
Q: I or a client is wishing to produce a private label cigarette, can you do this?
A: Yes, we are suppliers, producers, and traders of stock as well as private label cigarettes of various specifications, quality and prices. We produce a private label brand manufactured under the authority of Northshore Distributors, Inc., maintain very close working relationships with various producers from around the world and also maintain close contact and schedule periodic visits to the facilities and management of these facilities to ensure consistent quality and relationships. This also enables us to offer lower prices based on the quality of the cigarette than other companies and maintain lower minimum quantity orders than anyone else we know of.
Q: Must I have a trademark for the brand I am wishing to produce?
A: Yes. We request that buyer’s obtain the necessary trademark authorization before we begin to produce. This paperwork does not have to be in it’s final stage rather the buyer must have at least filed for the trademark and sign a release of liability if any problems should arise later concerning your brand.
Q: Will you produce or copy a major brand cigarette for us (counterfeit)?
A: No. We will not manufacture any counterfeit cigarettes under license by another manufacturer or trademark holder.
Q: What is the minimum order commitment?
A: Minimum order commitment is one (1) 40’HQ/HC container per order per month for a total minimum order of 12 containers per year. After the first year a client may renew or terminate the contract. Many other manufacturers require a minimum of 5 containers per month for a private label which we believe is too high for a first year production run. We can make that many if you choose but buyers are only committed to 1 per month. Each container holds 986 Master Cases. The minimum pertains to each brand, if you want two separate brands, flavors, blends, etc., you must order one container of each and not 50/50 or some other mix in one container. You may mix containers if shipping the mixed containers to different locations, but the total must be at least 986 master cases per month of each particular brand.
Q: What is a Master Case / Master Carton?
A: A Master Case is the outer box which holds the cartons/sleeves. Each Master Case holds fifty (50) cartons/sleeves. Each carton/sleeve contains 10 packs. Each pack containers 20 cigarettes. There are 10,000 cigarettes in each Master Case.
Q: Can you produce both Hard and Soft Packs?
A: Yes. We can provide you with both hard pack (flip top box) as well as soft pack (sometimes called soft cup). In private label cigarettes, the consumer is only paying for the cigarette and not any of the advertising, distribution, overhead storage, etc. associated with established brands. Thus in established brands the cost of soft and hard packs are the same price (the maker just charges the same for the soft pack as they do for the hard even though it costs less to make). In private labels, you are only paying for the cigarettes and not marketing, thus the cost of producing hard packs is of course more than the cost of the soft packs. In summation, hard packs are more expensive than soft packs.
Q: How long does it take to get started?
A: It will take some time depending on the type, print, and location of production. For a cigarette made outside the US, we can get all the approvals done and ready to produce in about 30 days. For cigarettes made wholly in the USA, the set-up time is closer to about 45-60 days. The procedure will be explained in more detail below.
Q: Can you make me a few master cases in my own brands with labeling, packing, etc. so that I can go test my market to see if I can sell cigarettes?
A: Yes and No. Buyer should be aware that selling cigarettes is no different than any other product. Knowledge of the market area, a solid distribution network, and solid financial backing is needed to be successful. Many potential buyers are merely looking for something they “hope” they can sell without any distribution network and are unwilling or incapable in making a commitment to move forward to have a product produced. We cannot and will not spend any time or money in producing samples in a private label packing without a commitment from the buyer. Manufacturing of cigarettes is based on production capacity which is measured in time. Machines are capable of producing many hundreds of thousands of cigarettes to millions of cigarettes during run times. In order to produce a small number of samples, such as a few master cases, would requiring taking away time to clean out previous tobacco blends, load the new packing, calibrate the machine to the specifications of the particular cigarette, and then produce the small lot. This of course must then be repeated to resume production of the next brands thus taking away potential hours of production time to produce an extremely small about of cigarettes. This all equates to a lot of lost time, production, and ultimately money on the part of the producer. This does not even take into account the cost of having the printing and setup of the packing which takes time and a decent amount of money. These printings are done to accommodate a full order thus a minimum or 986 master case boxes (extra strong) for export packing, about 50,000 cartons, and about 500,000 packs must be printed for each container ordered. That being said, if a client is serious, has approved the taste and specs of an existing sample they wish to use, has signed a contract, and has placed a deposit to be applied to the first order, a sample run can be done as long as the buyer has committed to an order, and they must also pay for these samples separately as well as the shipping via express carrier (DHL, FedEx, Etc.) for them to hand out to distributors and buyers to assist them is getting orders prior to the shipment arriving to their destination. Samples in the buyers own packing prior to commitment: No. Samples after commitment to facilitate orders: Yes.
Q: Where are the cigarettes made?
A: We can have them made in one of several manufacturers that we use both inside the USA and outside the USA. It really depends on what the client is looking for as far as quality, taste, and more importantly price. As a rule, cigarettes made in the USA are much more expensive than those made outside the USA. Based on labor costs, production costs, tobacco cost, etc.
Q: Will cigarettes that are made outside the US be marked as such?
A: We will print your packing to your specifications. If you want the country of origin on the packs, we will do it. If not, we will not do it. Buyers normally will have the packing marked as “made under the authority” or “made under the authority of the trademark holder” include their company name and their county. For instance, a cigarette made outside the USA by us may be printed as “Made Under the Authority of Northshore Distributors, Inc., USA”. We will not however print any cigarettes made outside the USA as saying “Made in the USA”. Only cigarettes made in the US can be printed as “Made in USA”. If the blend matched, we can also print the packing with American Blend if desired.
Q: Are the terms given in FOB, CFR, or CIF?
A: It’s your choice. We can sell under any of the terms relative to price adjustments for each of course.
Q: What are the payment terms?
A: We can accept both payment via T/T deposit and through L/C? T/T is of course preferred by us as it allows more flexibility, faster movement, and lower costs. If using T/T we operate payment with a 30% deposit to begin production followed by the remaining 70% at sight prior to shipping. L/C payment at sight of B/L. We must verify the bank issuing the L/C prior to any production. This will be done by our bank based on the buyer account and the financial rating of the bank. If the bank rating is not sufficient, we will not accept an L/C issued by a questionable bank or banks in politically or economically unstable countries. We will not take payment via escrow. Because this is a private label, trademarked by the buyer, anything but full payment via T/T (30/70) or L/C at sight is impractical. If paying via escrow and the buyer decides they have changed their mind in the cigarette business, we are now stuck with a brand of cigarette that legally we cannot sell without the trademark owners permission.
Q: Can we order and pay for cigarettes when we receive them?
A: No. Payment via L/C at sight or T/T (30/70) prior to shipping.
Q: Is there a set-up fee to have my packing done?
A: For the most part no, we are the only ones that we know of that will, based on a committed order and contract, pay for the cost of the printing setup. Most all others will charge a one time non-refundable fee of $5000 - $15,000 USD to do this. If you have a design done and it is clear and legible, we will most likely cover the cost of this from our side. If you have something special such as raised printing, a raised seal, an extra ordinary number of colors, etc., we will have to evaluate this to notify what the appropriate set-up fee will be. Any kind of raised printing on the packs or carton will incur a fee.
Q: What is required to import cigarettes to the USA, Canada, UK, etc., etc. etc.?
A: This is a question that you must answer for yourself. We have stopped providing this information to all requesters because we were spending too much valuable time educating potential buyers who need to find this information out for themselves from their appropriate government agencies. More than likely, if the buyer does not know this information already, they are not prepared yet to begin producing cigarettes. Please check with your government authorities, obtainer the necessary licenses or contacts (if required in your country), and then contact us again for further inquiry.
Q: How can I inspect the cigarettes?
A: After production we will provide an inspection certificate showing that the appropriate cigarettes and quality are loaded into each container for your records. If you choose to use a separate inspection service to verify the quantity, that is acceptable as well but is paid for at the buyer expense. If you wish to personally inspect, you may do this as well after the product is done and ready for shipping. Please be advised that inspections are done by us before anything is shipped and may be done by the buyer independently as well at their expense. It is in our best interest of course to ensure high quality and accurate counts as we are not interested in short term business rather low term mutually beneficial business relationships.
Q: Can you tell me another brand you produce for someone else and can we buy their product instead of making our own?
A: Based on our contract, we keep all clients confidential. We are only able to give you the names of other brands or clients with their written permission. Buyers do not necessarily want others to know where their product is being produced and thus we maintain the strictest of confidentiality for all of our clients. We can ask a client to contact you with your permission but we will not provide a buyer with anyone else’s information based on confidentiality. Unlike some other producers, we are very strict on our policy toward protecting a buyer’s brand. We will not allow any sale of any product being produced by our clients to be obtained and sold by anyone else. This is sometimes a problem with less than legitimate facilities that have a history of copying cigarettes to sell themselves once the brand is selling well in a particular area. We do not practice this type of business.
If you are still interested, please see the below outlined procedures. You may contact us if you wish to discuss matters further if this is something you feel you are capable and ready to proceed with.
Steps for Private Label Cigarette Production
1. Buyer provides company information along with a brief background in their experience in the cigarette business. We must know who will be signing the contract and all their information? If you are an Agent/Broker representing a buyer, and you sign the contract instead of the end buyer, you will be responsible for fulfilling the contract commitment so you must be very confident that your principal buyer is legitimate and not one of the approximately 75% of requests we receive from non-serious inquirers. We turn down many more request for private labels than we accept based on a lot of wasted time and resources in the past. Please understand that this is the easiest way for us to save very valuable time by “getting to the bottom” at the beginning. This saves everyone a lot of time and frustration. NCNDA’s may be exchanged at this point if you wish.
2. Buyer to provide the exact specifications of what they are looking to produce and an idea of the price range they are looking for. Price will reflect the quality. Please do not think that you are going to have a premium quality cigarette produced at the price of a very poor quality cigarette. We get these requests all the time. “We want a 100% US made cigarette made for under $50 a Master Case”…..this is not going to happen. The price ranging we deal with range in price from $33 USD per Master Case up to $160 per Master Case FOB price. You may choose a quality and packing anywhere within this price range so we need an idea of what you are looking for.
3. If we determine that you are a viable buyer and capable of success, we can provide “taste” samples for buyer to evaluate the type of blend they are looking for. We will not provide master cases or even cartons of cigarettes for this, rather taste samples only. Buyer must provide a method of shipping for these (DHL account, FedEx account, UPS account, etc..) We will not pay for shipping for potential clients (we’ve spent thousand of dollars in the past doing this and no longer allow it in our company policy).
4. Buyer chooses the blend and specifications such as blend, printing, filter length, etc. and a final price quote is determined based on the terms and shipping method (FOB, CFR, CIF) and orders per month. Also if there are any special printing requirements such as raised printing, etc.
5. Contract is completed for the order and specifications verified. All details finalized. Buyer provides printing, authorizations, and trademark.
6. Buyer to make deposit of 30% of down payment or open L/C for the first full order allowing setup time in the L/C. Administrative process to include our printing setup, and design completion, authorizations for export, etc. Process to take approximately 20-60 days depending on the location of manufacturing, complexity of the printing, etc.
7. Buyer approves the print design and production begins. Please note that we will produce to the buyers specifications. The buyer is responsible for providing all necessary health warnings to us for printing or any other such regulatory matters. The buyer is responsible for all appropriate markings and ultimately for the importing of the product to its final destination.
8. Once production is completed, order is loaded and buyer to pay remaining 70% or L/C is completed based on sight of documents presented. B/L, Freshness Certificate, Origin Certificate if needed, inspection certificate issued by the producer.
9. Order is shipped to the consignee. If payment via T/T, all documents are DHL shipped to the consignee. If via L/C documents will be forwarded by the bank to the consignee or person who opened the L/C.
10. Order complete and ready to start the next order.