MUDA on the Shelf: Why Your Brand Isn’t Sticking
- The Cigar Profit
- Jun 26
- 11 min read
Chase hype. Lose trust. Repeat.
June 26, 2025 | Jonathan Lipson | Founder & President | The Cigar Profit Consulting
Calling it Like it Is
After doing a one-on-one interview last week on strategy and consumer behavior - and then sitting on a panel about cigar pricing - one thing became painfully clear:
I’m not the only one thinking that too many cigar makers are chasing “premiumization” without understanding who they serve - or why they exist.
They’re not building brands. They’re throwing darts.
And if you didn’t see the footage, the links are at the bottom.
In a fragmented supply chain - where state taxes distort MSRP and retailers live or die by bad inventory decisions - a poor branding move doesn’t just hurt a cigar maker’s image. It burdens the entire system.
I’ve worked retail. Built planograms. Sold to tobacconists. Sold through manufacturers. And I’ve watched “can’t miss” cigars hit closeout bins in under a year because the brand didn’t know who it was for.
This article is a challenge to those brand owners:
Start acting like you care who’s paying the bill.
Because it’s not just your logo on the line.
It’s the tobacconists, wholesalers, reps, and consumers you say you’re building for.
Define the Real Issue: The Psychographics Nobody’s Using
Let’s be clear: most cigar brands aren’t falling behind because of poor tobacco or sloppy packaging. They’re falling behind because they have no idea who they’re for.
Ask a typical brand owner to describe their customer and you’ll get: “35 to 65, mostly male, smokes 1–2 cigars a day.”
That’s not a customer profile. That’s a census.
In real brand building, demographics tell you who the buyer is. Psychographics tell you why they buy.
Skip that “why,” and you’re left building off ego, feelings, or what someone else said was hot at the trade show. That’s not strategy. That’s reaction. And reactions are the seeds of MUDA.
What Is Psychographic Data, and Why Should You Care?
Psychographics go deeper than the “census”. They tell you:
What motivates your customer
What they value in a cigar (Flavor? Status? Craft? Exclusivity?)
Their lifestyle and buying behavior
What trade-offs they’re willing - or not willing - to make
Now ask yourself: before your last cigar launch…
Did you know these things? Did you test for them?
If not, you didn’t create a product. You created a guess.
And guesswork is the fastest route to excess inventory, customer blowback, and shelf rot.
When Data Gets Ignored, MUDA Gets Created
In Lean Six Sigma, MUDA refers to waste - wasted time, money, movement, overproduction, and misalignment.
In cigars, MUDA starts the moment a product gets greenlit…
Without knowing who it’s for
Without knowing why it’s needed
Without understanding how it’ll perform across tax environments and sales channels
Without considering its impact on the rest of the brand lineup
Psychographics help you prevent that. They validate your why before you create your what.
What the Best Brands Actually Do Differently
The brands that win:
Identify psychographic profiles (luxury seeker, value traditionalist, cultural loyalist, etc.)
Build cigars that align with those values - across flavor, format, price, packaging, and messaging
Refuse to chase trends unless those trends strengthen the brand mission
That’s why a $30 cigar flies in one shop while a $9 one sits untouched in another.
It’s not about the price. It’s about the perception.
When Brand Positioning Gets Diluted, Customers Pay the Price
A cigar isn’t just a product. It’s a promise.
But what happens when that promise keeps shifting? Or worse - gets broken?
That’s exactly what’s happening across dozens of brands. A company known for affordable value suddenly releases four “ultra-premium” lines to chase the hype, with no explanation for how they fit. Another brand touts its luxury pedigree, then floods the market with cut-rate bundles wearing the same logo.
The result? A muddled message. A retailer forced to explain it. And a customer who walks away confused - or uninterested.
Mission Drift Means Distribution Drag
When a brand tries to be everything to everyone, it becomes nothing to anyone.
Retailers don’t want to play translator. They want clarity. They want predictability. If they’re going to commit shelf space, staff effort, and event support, they need to trust the brand will stay the course.
But instead of building portfolios, too many brands are building disconnected collections. And a collection without purpose becomes a graveyard of MUDA waiting to be liquidated.
The Real Cost of Reactionary Branding
Every reactive launch - a new blend, a new size, a new sub-line - adds friction to the system.
And friction is expensive.
It costs:
Retailers time to re-educate staff and reset the humidor
Reps their credibility when promises don’t stick
Consumers their trust when the brand identity shifts
Wholesalers their warehouse space and planning models
That’s how you end up with six-month-old “flagship” cigars in catalog clearance sections.
MUDA thrives on confusion. And confusion kills sell-through, breaks messaging, and erodes loyalty.
You Can’t Just “Reposition” with a Press Release
Real brand building is consistency over time - not a burst of creativity to chase a quarterly number.
If you call yourself boutique, don’t act like a bulk discounter when the heat’s on. If you stand for luxury, don’t slash prices just to move boxes. If you say you're customer-first, start listening - before the customers stop caring and the consumers stop buying.
Otherwise, it’s the retailers stuck holding the inventory. And the bag.
MSRP Is a Myth - Unless You Live in One of Four States and One District
Let’s be blunt.
MSRP is a suggestion, not a standard.
Unless you're in Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Florida, Texas (1 cent), or Washington, D.C., MSRP doesn’t mean much. Everywhere else, it’s a negotiation - with the government.
That’s because most states tack on an OTP tax that sits on top of MSRP. So when a brand sets a retail price, it doesn’t factor in what a tobacconist in California, Minnesota, or New Jersey needs to charge just to keep their lights on. Layer in shipping, credit card fees, and promo budgets, and many retailers are lucky to break even.
So when a brand owner - or their rep - asks why a cigar isn’t selling, they need to zoom out.
It might not be a retailer issue.
It might be math. It might be tax. It might be structural.And yes, it might be MUDA.
The Lie of Consistent Pricing
Customers compare. They Google MSRP. They see different numbers online, in catalogs, and in their local shop.
Then they ask: “Why is this more expensive here?”
Now the retailer has two options:
Spend time explaining state tax code
Eat the margin and hope no one notices
Neither is sustainable. And neither is fair.
Who’s Really Absorbing the MUDA?
It’s not the brand that drops five new SKUs a year without thinking. It’s not the blogger hyping a cigar without understanding local pricing. It’s not the warehouse dumping inventory to drive clicks.
It’s the neighborhood shop in a high-tax state doing everything right - yet still getting squeezed.
Smart brands know better. They offer flexible pricing programs. They tailor sell-through strategies by region. They understand the cost of staying on the shelf - not just getting there.
Everyone says they support brick-and-mortar.
But how many actually understand what brick-and-mortar faces?
Brand Owners: You’ve Got Work to Do
If your brand ships nationally but doesn’t support shops in high-tax states, you’re not just lazy - you’re destructive.
Retailers don’t need platitudes. They need:
Tiered programs that factor tax
Incentives that make math work
Real MAP enforcement
Sales reps who understand the market they walk into
Because if you keep ignoring the pain, you’ll lose the partnerships that matter.
When Branding Becomes Theater, the Retailer Picks Up the Tab
Let’s have the uncomfortable conversation.
Not every brand is trying to sell cigars. Some are just putting on a show - for media, for trade show optics, for the illusion of scale.
They know the launch is bloated. They know the pricing doesn’t work. They know the name, the band, the backstory - none of it speaks to the actual end consumer.
But the goal wasn’t resonance. It was presence.
When a brand shows up on shelves just to say, “We launched,” someone pays the price for that ego trip. And it’s not the blogger unboxing promo packaging online…
That’s not partnership. That’s exploitation.
I Don’t Care About Your Problems - Because You Don’t Care About Mine
There’s a special kind of MUDA no one talks about: the waste of time and attention.
You’ve seen it.
The email blast. The dramatic press release. The teary-eyed post from a brand owner or VP explaining why they had to raise prices and how hard the world has become.
They spill their guts…
To retailers and consumers who are also struggling.
It’s not just tone-deaf. It’s disrespectful.
While you write essays about tariffs and leaf shortages, retailers are trying to justify an $18 price tag to customers who used to pay $12.
They don’t need your therapy session. They need clarity. Simplicity. Value.
Instead, you throw a sob story into the market, show all your cards, and expect empathy - while ignoring the pressure on the other end of the chain.
It’s noise. It’s fatigue. It’s MUDA.
What Good Brand Communication Looks Like
Here’s what your partners actually want to know:
What’s selling?
Why should I care?
What problem does it solve?
What do I need to do to make it move?
That’s it. Not supplier drama. Not your emotional arc. Just value. Just direction.
If you’re raising prices, raise them - but own the position.
Strong brands don’t fish for pity. They bring strategy. They bring clarity. They bring traction.
If you can’t explain your pricing and product in under a minute, you’re not leading - you’re spiraling.
MUDA lives in the gap between brand theater and retailer reality.
And when the product doesn’t move?
Those same brands dump it online - with discounts, bundles, and free shipping. Now the tobacconist isn’t just stuck… they’re undercut.
The cigar didn’t just fail. It became a liability. And some shops are forced to follow suit - flushing it into the grey market just to break even.
Internet Retailers and the Absorption of MUDA
When cigar makers overproduce, overprice, or misread demand, MUDA builds fast. But instead of confronting it, many pass the buck - to internet retailers.
These platforms exist to absorb inefficiency, camouflage mistakes, and move volume - fast. They’re not partners. They’re pressure valves. And they serve a cold but critical function in the modern cigar economy.
The Digital Graveyard for Bad Decisions
Here’s how it plays out:
A brand launches - too many facings, inflated pricing, no clear purpose.
Retailers hesitate, or worse - buy in, then get stuck.
Pallets quietly shift to the discount dot-coms.
That “ultra-premium” release becomes a “deal of the week.”
The brand’s image? Gone. The product? Not elevated - liquidated.
And too often… it’s intentional.
Some brand owners bake internet dumping into their strategy from day one. They plan to offload excess online before the cigars even ship to stores.
That’s not distribution. That’s deception.
Training the Consumer to Bypass the Store
Once a consumer sees the same cigar online for less - plus free shipping - they’re not coming back.
Why would they?
Now the retailer is left:
Competing with unsustainable prices
Fielding questions they didn’t create
Selling brands they can’t defend
The brand owner shrugs. Inventory moved. Problem solved. Except it wasn’t solved. It was dumped.
The cost didn’t disappear. It just landed on the people least able to carry it.
Stop Feeding the Beast: Holding the Media and the Consumer Accountable
Everyone wants to blame someone else. But let’s be real - consumers and media play their part too.
And if that stings, good. It means you’re paying attention.
This isn’t an attack. It’s accountability. And it’s long overdue.
The Media Isn’t Innocent
What’s the fastest way to cause a supply chain pileup? Dangle a rating.
The premium cigar media ecosystem - magazines, blogs, YouTubers - drives real-world behavior without real-world responsibility. Most aren’t trained retailers. They don’t run operations. They don’t carry inventory. But they influence it.
One rating. One “Top 10” nod. One overexcited hype cycle. That’s all it takes to trigger a stampede.
Manufacturers overproduce. Retailers over-order. Consumers overpay. And when the buzz fades?
The same cigars show up online at a 40% discount - tossed into bundles or dumped overseas.
That’s not brand building. That’s manufactured MUDA.
And it’s a direct result of media chasing clicks instead of offering real analysis.
The Consumer Isn’t Off the Hook
Let’s talk about the “What’s new?” problem.
No, your tobacconist didn’t teach you to ask that every time you walk in. The industry did. The media trained you. The brands fed it. And now you’re addicted to novelty.
It’s not about exploring the humidor anymore. It’s about chasing the next shiny thing.
But think about it - do you shop for groceries that way? Do you ask the store clerk what the hottest cereal drop is?
Of course not. You find what you like. You build loyalty. You develop taste.
If you treat cigars like collectibles, don’t be surprised when consistency dies. That blend you loved? Gone. That brand that felt steady? Now chasing something else. Why? Because you wouldn’t stop asking for new.
Ask Better Questions
You want to help your local shop thrive? Change one word.
Stop asking, “What’s new?” Start asking, “What’s new to me?”
That changes everything.
Now the tobacconist becomes your guide - not your vending machine. They pull from what they know you’ll like. They choose with intent. You walk out with a great cigar - not just a trendy one.
Same goes for the media.
Instead of clickbait Top 10 lists, imagine:
“Best Blends You Missed Last Year”
“Top Picks for Full-Bodied Fans”
“Underrated Gems That Deserve a Revisit”
That’s how you break the cycle. That’s how you reduce MUDA.
You don’t need more. You need better. And better starts when everyone - from media to consumer - stops chasing the wrong thing.
So You Want to Know Why Cigars Are So Expensive?
It’s not just tariffs. It’s not just taxes. It’s not just shipping. It’s not just inflation.
Cigars are expensive because everyone in the system is feeding a monster no one wants to name.
Brand owners chase the illusion of “premium” like it’s a status symbol, not a standard. They ditch their original mission, slap a $20 tag on a $9 cigar, and hope no one notices. When reality catches up? They dump the overstock quietly and spin it as strategy.
Retailers take the hit. Again. They’re expected to stock the whole catalog, smile through every release, and keep customers happy while pricing, packaging, and availability shift under their feet.
The media plays its role - knowingly or not. Each rating, each “Top 25” list, each overhyped drop sends manufacturers scrambling to fix what wasn’t broken. It’s not malice. But it’s not harmless either.
And the consumer?
Some are caught in the chaos. But some are driving it.
They chase what’s new. They ignore what’s good. They reward spectacle over substance - then complain when prices spike and consistency disappears.
This is the cycle.
Everyone chasing noise. Everyone rewarding waste. Everyone hoping to win the next small moment while slowly burning long-term trust.
So yes - your cigars cost more now.
But it’s not always because they cost more to make. It’s because the system costs more to sustain.
When everyone’s chasing each other’s shadows, no one’s building anything real.
The answer isn’t another line extension. It’s discipline.
The fix isn’t another buzzword. It’s clarity.
Break the loop - or keep paying for it.
Your Move, Industry.
If you’re a brand owner, manufacturer, or retailer who’s tired of chasing shadows - tired of wasting money, time, and trust trying to follow a system that’s built on noise instead of insight - The Cigar Profit was built for you.
We don’t do vague strategy. We do data-backed clarity, positioning that lasts, and operations that make sense - on your shelf and on your P&L.
Whether you’re scaling smart or finally cleaning house, there’s no shame in asking for help - only in refusing to evolve.
Let’s break the cycle. Let’s stop the MUDA. Let’s get to work.
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