What you actually make on a can.

Start with your cost

Our published ladder runs from $3.87 a can at one carton to $2.45 at 41 cartons and above. Your cost is fixed by the size of the order you place, not by negotiation, so you can calculate before you call.

Then your shelf price

US shelf prices for nicotine pouches generally sit somewhere between $4.99 and $7.99 a can depending on the market, the brand and how much competition is on the street. Don't use a national average — walk into the two stores nearest you and write down what they charge. That number is your real ceiling.

The subtraction

Gross margin per can is shelf price minus your cost, before excise tax. Two things make the number move, and only one of them is under your control day to day:

• Order size. Moving from the entry tier to the 11-carton tier takes 82 cents off every can. Your shelf price doesn't change; your margin just widens.
• Shelf price. Raising it works until the store down the road undercuts you. Most retailers find the ceiling quickly.

What to subtract as well

State excise tax applies on top and varies significantly by state. Depending on where you are, it may be levied on the wholesale price, per unit or per ounce. Work out your state's treatment before you set a shelf price — and note that this is one of the reasons a national "typical margin" figure is close to useless.

Margin per inch of shelf

The comparison worth running is not against other nicotine products but against whatever currently occupies that counter space. A can is small, never spoils, and doesn't need a case or a cooler. For most stores, the space pouches take was previously earning less.

The competitive angle

Our cans are priced to sit under the big national pouch brands on your shelf while giving you a wider spread than you make on them. That is the entire commercial argument, and it either works on your numbers or it doesn't — which is why we publish the price rather than making you ask.