The Factory Is a Stage. The Brand Is the Act.

And some brands don’t even know which role they’re playing.

July 15, 2025 | Jonathan Lipson | Founder & President | The Cigar Profit Consulting | Book an Exploratory Call

You Love One. You Trash the Other. Same Factory. Now What?

You’re in the lounge.

Someone lights up a favorite. Calls it balanced. Refined. Legit. Ten minutes later, same guy trashes another brand. Overhyped. All marketing. Not worth cutting.

What he doesn’t know? Both cigars came from the same factory. Same building. Same rollers. Maybe even the same hands. So what’s actually being judged?

The label says more about you than the leaf inside. It's not just a cigar - it's a statement.

It’s not the construction. It’s not the tobacco. It’s the story.

And this isn’t unique to cigars.

In brown spirits and wine, the split is obvious. Some obsess over origin - barrel aging, microclimates, vintage, terroir. But most? They want something that tastes right, looks premium and doesn’t get second-guessed when it hits the table.

Fashion takes it further.

Nobody asks who stitched the blazer. Nobody walked away when Versace changed ownership - twice. As long as the brand still signals status, people stay loyal.

That’s the play.

Cigars live in both worlds. They’re described like spirits - by process. But they’re chosen like fashion - by image.

And most cigar brands?

They don’t own farms. They don’t run factories. They’re renting time, buying access and building perception.

What they own - fully - is the story.

So when two cigars come off the same line, And one becomes a go-to while the other fades out quietly -

It’s not because of what’s in the box. It’s because of what’s around it.

The question isn’t whether one is better.

The real question is this:

What’s actually being sold?

Most Brands Don’t Own Factories – They Own the Spotlight

What do you think happens when you buy a cigar?

Do you picture the brand owner blending it? Managing the fields?                                          Watching the leaves cure? Because that’s not how most brands operate.

Most brands don’t own factories. They don’t run the production floor. They’re not in the room when the tobacco gets sorted or the draw test fails.

So what do they own?

They own the part you see. The band. The box. The backstory. They own the conversation that starts the moment you light up in public.

That’s the spotlight - and they control where it points.

It rarely lands on the factory. It’s not supposed to. Because once you know how many brands are made under the same roof, the illusion starts to crack. So instead, the spotlight follows the narrative. The lifestyle. The mood.

And it works.

A cigar made at the same factory as five others can stand out - not because it’s better, but because the story was sharper. The branding was tighter. The rollout was louder. The perception? Engineered.

That’s the part no one wants to talk about. Because it’s easier to believe that what you’re tasting is craftsmanship. Not marketing.

Some brands are upfront about it. Others let the assumptions work in their favor.

They don’t lie. They just don’t correct you.

Because here’s what most people never hear: Factory access isn’t rare. It’s a transaction. A minimum order. A wire transfer.

And once the cigars are boxed and shipped, the factory goes quiet. The brand takes the mic.

Two cigars. Same building. Same team. One dominates the humidor. The other collects dust.

So ask yourself - Was it the blend? Or was it the spotlight?

When the Factory Doesn’t Matter: And Nobody’s Asking

Eighty percent of cigar smokers don’t care where their cigars are made.

They don’t ask what factory rolled it. They don’t trace the origin of the wrapper. They don’t follow fermentation timelines or priming debates.

They buy what looks good. They buy what they’ve heard of. They buy what they’ve smoked before and liked.

That’s the majority. That’s who drives the market. That’s who keeps the lights on for the brands everyone knows.

The other twenty percent? They care about all of it.

They argue about regions. They speculate about production runs. They’ll name-drop factory floors most brand owners have never even visited.

They’re vocal. They’re influential. But they’re not representative.

The loudest voices in the room aren’t the ones moving the most product.

And that’s where the illusion starts.

Because when that top twenty begins to speculate - about who made what, about where it was rolled, about who handled the leaf - most brands stay quiet.

They don’t correct it. They don’t confirm it. They let the assumptions build the value.

And why wouldn’t they?

If the market believes a cigar was made by master rollers in a boutique facility - aged, sorted, and touched by tradition - why step in and say otherwise?

That narrative sells cigars. The factory doesn’t need to.

As long as the story lands, the specs stay irrelevant. And most of the time, no one’s asking anyway.

So two cigars come off the same line. Same building. Same hands.

One becomes a hero. The other goes unnoticed.

Not because of what’s in them - But because of what people think they’re smoking.

When the Factory Does Matter – But Only If You Control the Narrative

Every now and then, the factory suddenly matters.

A brand drops a new line and leans in: “Rolled at Factory X.” “Blended by the same team behind Brand Y.” “Made at the legendary facility responsible for that award-winning cigar five years ago.”

Why now?

Because the factory becomes useful. It becomes a credibility shortcut. It becomes the story.

When a brand doesn’t have equity of its own - no legacy, no built-in following, no momentum - it borrows someone else’s. It borrows the factory’s name, its history, its clout. And it works.

The consumer hears “Factory X” and thinks, quality. They recognize the association and assume everything that came before it carries over. Even if it doesn’t.

And the irony? That same factory is probably making cigars for other brands that never get mentioned. Brands that don’t put the name on the band. Brands that don’t bring it up at all.

Same building. Same rollers. Different narrative.

Because factory reputation only matters when a brand decides it matters. It’s not about truth. It’s about leverage.

And once the leverage pays off, the factory goes quiet again. Back into the background. Back into silence.

This isn’t manipulation. It’s strategy.

A well-known factory name can open doors, trigger nostalgia, imply quality. But it only works if the story lands clean. If the message is controlled. If the spotlight is managed start to finish.

You’ll rarely hear a brand say, “Yeah, it’s made at the same factory that also produces ten other lines no one talks about.” That’s not how narrative control works.

The factory becomes a footnote when it hurts the positioning. It becomes the headline when it helps.

That’s the game.

And the brands that win don’t just use the factory. They frame it.

What Happens When You Actually Own It All

Some brands do own the farms. The factories. The process. The entire vertical.

They don’t rent space. They don’t buy access. They don’t share rollers.

They control the seed, the soil, the curing barn, the rolling table, and the shipment out the door.

And that’s power.

But power without clarity is just noise.

Because owning the chain doesn’t mean the story tells itself.

You can have the most experienced rollers. The most consistent draw. The tightest quality control in the game - and still go nowhere.

Because control doesn’t make the sale.

Narrative does.

Vertical integration is leverage. But leverage only works when it’s applied with precision. The strongest vertically integrated brands don’t assume the product speaks for itself.

They frame the story.

They don’t just say, “We own it all.” They show what that means for the smoker. They turn transparency into trust, detail into desire, and ownership into identity.

And when that’s done right?

The process disappears.

The product becomes the proof.

But here’s where the edge starts to dull:

Some vertically integrated brands don’t stop at their own lines.

They open the doors.

They manufacture for others. They license blends. They endorse products made on their own factory floor.

And that’s not a problem - if the message stays sharp.

But most of the time, it doesn’t.

What was once positioned as “ours and only ours” becomes a shared stage with too many acts.

Private labels. Quiet contracts. Side deals with no explanation.

And the core customer? They notice.

The exclusivity they were sold on suddenly feels like just another line item in a production schedule.

That’s not expansion. That’s confusion.

The brands that survive this don’t backpedal. They don’t hide the partnerships or downplay the licensing.

They name them. Frame them. Own them.

Because if you’re going to produce for others, you better make sure your audience knows the difference.

Full control isn’t a trophy.

It’s a responsibility.

And the moment you let someone else benefit from your process, you owe the market a reason to still believe in your brand.

If you don’t give it to them?

They’ll make one up.

And it won’t be in your favor.

Why the Consumer Lives With the Contradiction

A cigar smoker finds out that two of their regular smokes - one they swear by, one they swore off - are made at the same factory.

They pause. They blink. Then they go right back to what they were doing.

Why?

Because the contradiction isn’t a deal-breaker. It’s a defense mechanism.

The story already worked. The connection was already made. Changing the origin doesn’t change the feeling they get when they light it.

And that feeling - that internal alignment - is what makes the sale. Not the blend. Not the factory. Not even the draw.

The smoker decided one cigar was “them.” The other wasn’t.

So when the facts challenge that perception, they don’t revise their preferences. They protect them.

They dismiss the new information. They rationalize the difference. They say, “Well, maybe it’s a different blend,” or “That one just tastes better to me.”

And they’re not wrong. They’re just anchored.

This is how identity-based buying works. Once a cigar becomes part of how someone sees themselves - or wants to be seen - truth gets flexible.

If the brand affirms their taste, they defend it. If the factory contradicts that affirmation, they ignore it.

Even the twenty percent who claim to care about every detail? They’re not immune. They’ll praise a factory when it elevates their choice. And they’ll stay quiet when that same factory produces something they hate.

It’s not hypocrisy. It’s ego management.

Because once the story hits, it’s not just a cigar anymore. It’s a statement.

Retailers: You’re Not Selling Cigars. You’re Selling the Smoker’s Self-Image

Most retailers think they’re in the cigar business. They think they’re moving product, moving boxes, matching flavor profiles to customer preferences.

They’re not.

They’re selling identity. Like an entire shopping mall wrapped into a singular storefront. From Kirkland to Cucinelli - everything for anybody. That's how many operate.

When a customer walks into a humidor, they’re not just looking for something to smoke. They’re looking for something that reinforces how they see themselves - or how they want to be seen.

They’re buying something they’ll light in front of friends, clients, colleagues. Something that matches the room they’ll be in. Something that says, “This is the kind of smoker I am.”

And the tobacconist who understands that? He doesn’t sell by the binder. He sells by the mirror.

He doesn’t recommend a cigar because it came from Factory X. He recommends it because it feels like a power move, or a hidden gem, or a badge of taste the customer didn’t know they were looking for.

That’s the real sale. And it has nothing to do with tasting notes or wrapper shade.

Ask yourself - why do certain cigars move faster than others even when they’re objectively similar? Same construction. Same pricing tier. Same shelf position.

The answer isn’t technical. It’s emotional.

Some cigars confirm the customer’s self-image. Others don’t.

And the best retailers understand how to guide that instinct without ever making it obvious.

They listen for cues. They frame the recommendation. They manage the energy of the humidor like it’s a stage - because it is. (Covered this point in "I Only Smoke Cubans" (And Other Retail Conversations That Waste Your Time)

The worst retailers? They lecture. They overwhelm. They throw stats and SKUs at people who didn’t ask.

Then they wonder why the customer grabbed something familiar and walked away.

Retail isn’t about inventory. It’s about intuition.

And the tobacconist who learns to read the room better than he reads the blend sheet? He doesn’t sell cigars. He moves identities.

Brand Owners: If You Don’t Own the Factory, Own the Story

You don’t own a factory. Fine. Most brands don’t.

You’re renting production time. You’re approving a blend. You’re picking out the band, the box, the paper stock. You’re deciding what part of the process to talk about - and what part to keep quiet.

That doesn’t make your brand less legitimate. It makes it vulnerable.

Because the moment you pretend to be something you’re not - The moment you start acting like access equals authority… You’ve already lost the advantage.

You’re not the producer. You’re the editor. You decide what makes it into the story and what gets cut.

And if you’re not telling that story clearly… Someone else is.

It might be a rep. It might be a retailer. It might be a consumer who fills in the blanks with something that doesn’t match your brand at all.

And once that happens, good luck clawing the narrative back.

If you don’t own the factory, you need to own every part of how your cigar is positioned. Because you don’t control the process. You only control the perception.

So stop name-dropping factories you barely visited. Stop posting photos from the floor like you're overseeing production when you’re really there for three days a year. Stop confusing proximity with ownership.

Instead - frame the story. Tell the buyer what this cigar is, who it’s for, and why it exists.Make it clear. Make it simple. Make it believable.

Because if you don’t frame it, someone else will. And they’ll do it without your best interest in mind.

This industry doesn’t punish lack of ownership. It punishes lack of clarity.

You can sell contract-made cigars with integrity - if you stop pretending they aren’t.

And the brands that last?

They don’t need to bluff. They own exactly what they are - Then they sell the hell out of it.

Obligatory Reiteration: The Factory Is the Stage. The Brand Is the Act.

Two cigars. Same rollers. Same floor. Same factory.

One becomes a go-to. The other gets ignored.

Not because of what’s in them - But because of what was said about them.

That’s the business.

The consumer isn’t reacting to construction. They’re reacting to meaning. They’re buying the version of the story that makes them feel like they made the right call.

The factory is where it gets made. But the factory doesn’t follow them into the lounge. The factory doesn’t sit on the table next to the cutter and lighter. The factory doesn’t get remembered.

The brand does.

So if the story hits, the factory becomes a backdrop. A line in the credits. And if the story doesn’t?

Then it doesn’t matter where it was made - because no one cared long enough to ask.

This is why the same room can produce ten different outcomes. Why some cigars move like lightning and others never leave the shelf. Why truth loses to narrative. And why the brands that last aren’t the ones with the best tobacco - they’re the ones with the clearest voice.

So here it is.

The factory is the stage. The brand is the act. And most of the audience never stays for the curtain call.

Control the Narrative Before It Controls You

If you’re a retailer still guessing what drives your customers - If you’re a brand owner hoping the factory speaks for you - You’re already behind.

The Cigar Profit helps you lock your story, align it with your strategy, and make sure the market hears it the way you need it to be heard.

This isn’t about hype. It’s about precision.

Book a Discovery Session today. Because the brands that win don’t just make cigars - They make meaning.