Ten Years of an Idea That Refused to Become Simple

This year marks our 10-year anniversary since our cigars first became available, in March 2016. What began as a question—almost a thought experiment—has quietly turned into a decade-long journey. We did not set out to build just another cigar brand. We wanted to know whether it was possible to create something modernist, reduced, and engineered in a category that often leans heavily on tradition and repetition.

At the time, we did not understand how difficult that question really was. But we also could not imagine how far it would take us. Today, German Engineered Cigars is still a small project run by two people, alongside our regular professions. That has never changed. What has changed is everything we learned along the way—and everything that came into existence because we decided to continue.

Where It Began

Our first exposure to the industry was a visit to IPCPR New Orleans in 2015. We were observers then—curious, analytical, asking ourselves whether there was space for a different approach. A year later, in 2016, we took our first real step and introduced our cigars to the market under the name Rauchvergnügen – German Engineered Cigars. That moment — March 2016 — marks the official beginning of our journey.

In 2019, another quiet but important turning point followed: the formal foundation of the German Engineered Cigars company. Not as a reinvention, but as a consolidation of intent. By then, we knew this was not a short-term experiment. It was a long-term commitment to a way of thinking.

Engineering as a Mindset

From the beginning, “engineered” was never meant as a slogan. It was a mindset. A way of approaching decisions. A refusal to accept complexity where clarity would do, and a refusal to accept simplicity where precision was required.

This mindset shapes how we develop blends, how we design packaging, how we communicate, and how we structure our processes. It is also why we embraced generative AI early—not as a gimmick, but as a natural extension of how we work. We already thought in systems, iterations, and constraints. GenAI simply became another tool to support that way of thinking, from concept development to creative execution.

The result is not automation for its own sake. It is focus.

A Small Team, A Long Road

We started as three. Over time, we became two. That change was not part of the plan, but it became part of the story. We mention it not for drama, but for honesty. Long journeys test ideas, partnerships, and resolve. What remains after those tests tends to be clearer.

What also remained was the reality that this has always been a side project—built at night, on weekends, between responsibilities. That constraint forced discipline. It made us careful with decisions, deliberate with releases, and patient with growth.

Obstacles You Don’t See on the Band

There were delays we could not control. Pending FDA regulation froze decisions and timelines. Covid disrupted production, logistics, and planning. Local regulatory changes required constant adaptation. Tariffs and international trade insecurities added another layer of unpredictability.

Some lessons were more mundane but no less impactful. We learned, for example, how difficult it is to produce something as seemingly simple as a high-quality, well-designed cigar box—at a price that still makes sense. Materials, tooling, minimum quantities, shipping, timing: every decision had consequences.

None of these challenges were unique to us. But each of them shaped how we work today.

The People Along the Way

If there is one aspect of this journey that consistently exceeded our expectations, it is the people. We met farmers, rollers, partners, retailers, and customers who approached the cigar world with generosity, curiosity, and integrity. We made friends. Real ones.
The spirit of the cigar business—its openness, its willingness to share knowledge, its respect for craftsmanship—remains second to none. It is one of the reasons we are still here.

Looking Forward, Carefully

W

e are not interested in loud promises or fast conclusions. What we can say is this: we have ideas. Many of them. And we are eager to present them — when they are ready.
The next ten years will not be about becoming bigger for the sake of scale. They will be about continuing to refine what we do, how we do it, and why it exists at all. If the past decade taught us anything, it is that progress does not need noise. It needs intention.
Thank you for being part of this journey—whether from the beginning, or somewhere along the way.