how to start a cigarette company?

Question

Hello

My friend and I were looking into making a cigarette company, and overtime, making it well known. We have made a plan that seems like through hard work and effort, could really work, but i wanted to know the plausibility of our success, seeing as how there are already so many companies that have been around forever.

I was wondering how one could start one of these companies. We were thinking of having a small farm, and selling our cigarettes to the local gas stations, along with stickers that could be posted on windows. I was also thinking of giving free samples to people in casinos, bars, etc.

My friend and I really want this, but I'm still skeptical of the likelihood of even being able to start a small company, much less give competition to marlboro and camel...

we're 15 years old, and (oh no!) we have smoked a few cigarettes....


any honest answers would be nice...but nothing like...harsh or mean...just looking for a little constructive criticism...

Answer 1

Hey man.



the advice i can give you is how i think you should go about your business.



first, you should try to get a B or higher at least in high school. this will open up your college choices. throughout high school, you should try to learn about tobacco growing, curing, etc, and how to roll a good cigarette.



next, you need to find a undergraduate college with a good business program, and major in business management. a few good colleges for this include Florida State, Boston College, university of las vegas, and others. along with your studies, you should spend alot of your time in college seeing the trends of tobacco companies, becuase as of now, they appear to be losing their popularity. you should try to make a cigarette that stands out from the others in some way, as a way to market your product. This includes maybe an attractive slogan, a unique style of cigarette, maybe a different additive that changes taste (the guy who thought of putting menthol in cigarettes made a forturne).



when you finish college, and have a good idea of the mix and style of your cigarette, you can begin finding stores around your area that are interested in promoting a new brand. Large chains, like 7-11, are not a good place to begin, because they will want enough cigarettes to stock all their stores nationwide. maybe an independent local chain will do.



while your products are being sold, or even if sales aren't so good, look into getting your MBA from a business school. the colleges mentioned above also usually have good business schools attached to them. the classes you get to get your degree will teach you how to better manage a company in areas including budget, employee management, advertising, etc.



if the cigarettes you have made become regionally popular, you may think of expanding your farm to a plantation size, and higher farmers to harvest tobacco for you, and attempt selling your cigarettes to a large chain like 7-11 or AM/PM. and from there, the sky is the limit



i believe in you and your friend, and i find it very inspiring that at such a young age, students of your generation are making big plans for the future. good luck, and i hope and believe that you can succeed.



Richard Johnson

Answer 2

Cigarette Manufacturing Companies

Answer 3

Most, if not all, states in the US do not allow tobacco products to be given away free.



Again, assuming that you're in the US, tobacco is not a growing business, it's shrinking. Part of this is because fewer people take up smoking, and most smokers decide to quit, eventually, so tobacco companies are constantly trying to steal each other's customers. Another part is that tobacco use is becoming increasingly restricted in public places.



I'd say that you could maybe, MAYBE, get a few local stores to carry your product, IF you can develop a following. Local franchises of national or even regional chains won't carry your stuff. All of the purchasing is done by a buyer or buying team at national or regional headquarters, and they will buy enough to supply the whole chain at once. A small startup will not get its products purchased unless it can meet the minimum amounts that the buyer wants.



I used to work in a small, local convenience/liquor/deli chain, which had three stores. We carried cigarettes and snuff, but we wouldn't have carried your product, because nobody would know to ask for it. And tobacco does go stale. We would not have advertised for you, nor would we have made a big display to push your stuff, because we already had brands that would sell reliably without making a display or pushing them. Stores, especially convenience and gas stores, don't have the space to display and sell every product, so they'll only carry what will sell in large numbers. For instance, I like a certain brand of beer (Grolsch), but I've never seen it in convenience stores, it doesn't sell well enough. I have to buy it at a liquor store. Big Tobacco has a big advertising budget, and it has a big established customer base. Yes, Philip Morris started small, but that was in another time, in much different circumstances.



If you go into growing your own produce, it's possible to sell to restaurants if you can claim that it's local and fresher and possibly organic...but those are all health claims, and tobacco is the very opposite of healthy.



Sure, you can try, but I think that you will spend a lot of time and money on this project...and lose your shirts.

Answer 4

You start with a LARGE tobacco plantation (and a large money plantation - you'll need it by the boxcar full). It shouldn't take more than a few billion dollars to start a company solid enough to compete with a company that spends that much on advertising every week. Not too much more, anyway. (It would be a lot cheaper to invent a time machine and go back to the colonial days, so you could stand a tiny chance of being successful.)

Answer 5

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Answer 6

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