PCA 2023: German Engineered Cigars

As the team behind German Engineered Cigars likes to say, they are always working on perfecting their lines, both in terms of the blend, the packaging, and how it eventually reaches retailers and their customers.

This year, the company isn’t releasing any new products, but rather tinkering with its existing lines to tell a better story behind its cigars. One of the things that the company wants to move away from is providing too specific a flavor profile, choosing instead to set a scene that lays out the cigar’s experience without being too prescriptive. For instance, for the RAUMZEIT line, the company describes it as “Traveling at the speed of light, far beyond the next galaxy, while a friendly android serves cake.” To support this, the company is working on new secondary bands that will adorn its cigars. The bands offer details on the blend, as well as more of these scene-setters and a QR code that takes the consumer to a page where they can access a corresponding music playlist, imagery, and so on. All this will roll out in the coming weeks and months, as the bands are finalized and added to the production process.

As for the booth, it is an impressively tidy space, marked by a column with the company’s name on it that helps it stand out visually, given its sub-prime location alongside one of the side walls of the trade show floor. A pair of display cabinets shows off the company’s lines, while bold visuals of those lines adorn the back of the booth space, and a seating area gives retailers a chance to visit with the team.