The tobacco landscape is constantly in flux. Certain products, such as flavored vape cartridges, are under legal scrutiny and may even be pulled from convenience-store shelves. What’s more, these kinds of regulations seem to be ever-changing. In the face of possible policy changes that could shake up the market, c-store retailers need tobacco products they can count on for steady sales.
Despite all the buzz around them, e-cigarettes don’t dominate the marketplace the way they do the headlines. In fact, cigars take up a nearly equivalent share of the market. According to NACS’ State of the Industry Report of 2018 Data, cigars accounted for a 25% share among OTP (other tobacco products) dollar sales—and e-cigs eked out just 0.5% more. In February, Research and Markets’ report 2020 Cigars—Market Analysis, Trends, and Forecastsprojected the global cigar industry to exceed 18.6 billion USD by 2025, with the U.S. alone maintaining a 2.1% growth rate over the next five to six years.
Given the unknowns surrounding the e-cig industry, cigars could be an especially worthwhile investment for retailers looking to keep tobacco sales steady. Cigars are the long-distance runners of the tobacco industry; they’re a c-store staple bound to continue their consistent growth. Here’s why.
Consistent, reliable customers
Cigars’ consistency in the marketplace is reflected in the cigar consumer base. Consumers are loyal to their preferred brands: Technomic’s Q2 2019C-Store Consumer MarketBriefreported that 63% of tobacco consumers choose to shop at certain c-stores based on the brands of tobacco available. They may even be unlikely to purchase a substitute if their preferred brand or product isn’t available. Because retailers are catering to a preestablished base of cigar buyers with selective tastes, it only makes sense to stock the cigars their patrons want. If stores don’t have the products they’re after, consumers may take their business elsewhere entirely rather than choosing an alternative product.
Varied products, despite regulation among OTP
It can be difficult for manufacturers to develop variations of a heavily regulated product, such as e-cigs, while adhering to the policies that affect them. Consequently, consumers have fewer options to choose from when shopping certain brands or lines. The opposite is true of core tobacco products, such as filtered cigars. Cheyenne International offers several products that consumers love, including a wide variety of cigar flavors such as menthol, wild cherry, peach, grape and vanilla, as well as top-selling unflavored SKUs like full flavor and classic that stand the test of time and flavored tobacco regulations.
With a strong consumer base, brand-loyal customers and a more stable legal standing, cigars are the perfect go-to tobacco product for c-store retailers looking to stock their shelves with a product that dependably brings in sales from year to year. By delivering a high-quality product at a fair price, Cheyenne International’s filtered cigar products have remained a consistent subcategory, even as other tobacco trends rise and fall, which keeps customers coming back. To learn more, visit TopCigar2020.com.
This post is sponsored by Cheyenne International