How to become a rolling-paper stockist or distributor

Skins goes to market through counters, and counters get Skins through one of two routes. This note sets out both, what arrives after an enquiry, what a distributor is signing up for, and the small number of legal and import points a trade buyer needs to have in hand before the first box. It is written for a shop owner, a buyer at a chain and a distributor in equal measure, and it ends with a checklist.

Two routes in

The first route is the stockist: an independent retailer, a chain or a wholesaler in one of the four launch markets who wants Skins on the counter. That enquiry goes through the stock page. Skins replies within two working days with trade terms, the technical sheet and a sample booklet.

The second route is the distributor, wholesaler or agent who wants to carry Skins across a territory. That enquiry goes through the partners page, which has an interactive map of the territories that are live and the ones that are open. Territory rights, trade terms and the compliance position for the market are agreed in writing before the first order.

What a stockist receives

Four things, and nothing that needs decoding. The trade terms are a single sheet with pricing, minimums, lead times and delivery for the market. The technical sheet carries the full Skins specification and the six-test protocol, so that staff can answer the questions customers ask about what is in the leaf and what is not; the note on what a verified batch means is the long version. The sample booklet is there to roll with before ordering, on the principle that a paper should be judged in the hand rather than on a page. And the counter display box holds twenty-five booklets in a soft-touch black box with the teal edge and the fingerprint on the face, sized for a standard counter and designed to be the point of sale.

Most counters start with King Size medium weight, the reference paper. The range page describes the other four.

What a distributor receives

Distribution is the same paper with more structure around it. Territory rights, exclusive or regional, are set out in writing before the first order and depend on territory, volume and the compliance position in the market. Trade terms come on one sheet: distributor pricing, minimums, lead times, incoterms and payment terms. The technical sheet is supplied in the language of the market where available, and the lab verification data is available per batch so that a distributor can answer a regulator, a chain buyer or a customs officer with a document rather than an assurance.

Skins ships one paper, one specification and one set of terms per territory. The negotiation is about the territory, not the paper.

Age of sale, market by market

Rolling papers are a tobacco accessory or component almost everywhere, and Skins sells papers only, makes no claims about cannabis and expects the same of its trade partners. The practical consequence is age verification at the counter, and the age is not the same in each market. Each of the four notes linked below carries the statute references and the confidence rating from Skins' research; this is the summary.

The markets page carries the full legal readout for each country and, for the United States and Canada, for every launch state and province. These notes are information, not legal advice; a trade buyer should confirm the position with counsel before selling.

Import basics

Rolling paper in booklets is classified under HS heading 4813, subheading 4813.10, in every launch market. Skins is manufactured in Spain, which matters at the border in two ways.

Into the United Kingdom, commodity 4813 10 00 00 carries 0 percent duty, with a statement on origin under the UK-EU agreement, and 20 percent VAT. There is no tobacco duty on papers, no track-and-trace and no fiscal mark. Into Canada, heading 48.13 is free at the MFN rate and under the Canada-EU tariff, with no federal excise, GST at import and provincial sales tax at retail. Into the United States, the general rate on 4813.10 is free, but an importer permit is required for cigarette papers and a small federal excise applies; a US importer of record handles both. Into Thailand, the applied rate for 4813 had not been confirmed from an official source at the time of writing, VAT is 7 percent, and the low-value parcel threshold was removed on 1 January 2026, so a Thai importer of record with bulk clearance is the working model.

Skins handles export documentation and can route through an established importer in each market; a distributor who already imports paper goods will find nothing unusual in the file.

Before you enquire

1. Which route: your own counter, or a territory.
2. The market, and for the United States and Canada, the state or province.
3. Your channel: independent, chain, wholesale, online, or a mix.
4. Roughly how many counters, and whether they sell tobacco products, which affects display rules in Scotland and Canada.
5. Whether you already import, and through whom.
6. For distributors: the territory you want and what you carry today, without naming brands in the form if you would rather not.

That is enough for Skins to send the right terms first time. The paper itself is described on the paper page and proven in the Research Centre; the enquiry is the only part of the process that needs anything from you.