InterTabac 2026: Wednesday | halfwheel

This will probably be the last InterTabac 2026 post for at least a few days, though it’s not the final one. As I type this, Brooks is unaware of another onslaught of pictures to edit, once again thanks to European companies and their cigar accessories.

Unfortunately, my train out of Dortmund leaves in about 27 hours, and I suspect that I won’t have another dispatch from InterTabac 2026 until I’m back stateside. The good news is, there’s plenty left to cover, including a couple of interesting cigar releases. The bad news is that the train departs at a time that begins with a 5.

Until then, please enjoy five thoughts from Wednesday.

1. China

As a follow-up to yesterday’s comments about the homogenization of the European and American cigar markets, there is a market that I think has some of its own unique identity. It’s the clear growth market at the moment and one with plenty of room left to reach the ceiling.

China.

From what I understand, there are four ways to get handmade cigars in China:

1. The Chinese government, which owns the tobacco monopoly, allows for some companies to operate with an official import license. However, they are given a quota of the maximum number of cigars they can bring into mainland China and every cigar company I talk to says they could sell way more with a higher quota.
2. The surrounding areas, whether they be Chinese areas like Hong Kong or Macau or other countries like Vietnam and Thailand, provide lots of cigars to the area. Some of these cigars enter mainland through e-commerce, others by people physically crossing borders.
3. The gray market is a very real thing and there are American retailers who are selling lots of inventory that ultimately ends up in China. Some through e-commerce websites targeted at Chinese consumers, others through more sophisticated operations for more of a gray market wholesale.

Then there is the Chinese domestic manufacturing, led by Great Wall, a subsidiary of China National Tobacco, the largest tobacco company in the world.

A decade or so ago, I smoked my first Chinese-made cigar and it was one of the worst-tasting cigars I’ve ever smoked. However, after the COVID-19 pandemic, I tried some newer Great Wall products and was quite impressed by the progress. The cigars tasted somewhat different than the typical cigar sold in America, though not in an off-putting way, and the construction was excellent.

Great Wall and the other Chinese factories presumably sell lots of cigars in China, with their own identities including distinctly Chinese packaging and oftentimes less common vitolas. A Chinese-focused retailer told me that the store’s top vitolas include lanceros, a complete outlier for the American market.

Oddly, one of the main issues with the Chinese-made cigars entering other markets is their prices. Previously, Great Wall representatives have told me that labor costs in China are much greater than that in Central and Latin America, meaning their prices are a lot closer to the higher-end brands than I would have ever thought.

But, the Chinese market—the largest official market for Cuban cigars—is massive, young and growing, something we see reflected in halfwheel‘s traffic. It’s also got some of its own personality, something I’m asking people about at nearly ever booth I bisit.

Take the company above, one that I had never heard of prior to coming here. It’s marketing ammonia removal products in a way that would rarely be done in the U.S., but is a common part of the marketing coming from Chinese companies selling humidors.

I find all of this to be quite fascinating, especially given that unlike most other growth markets, China has lots of people, and thus lots of potential customers.

2. It’s Probably Time to Stop With Generative AI

While I’m not surprised by how bad some of the generative AI that is used in booths is, I’m surprised each and every time I see it. This booth was hardly the only offender.

3. The Plants Tell A Story

I’ve noticed that many booths have live plants, perhaps most notably, this living wall in the newly redesigned and snazzy Plasencia booth.

While at American trade shows, most plants in booths are fake, I gather that most here are real. It’s a stark reminder of the focus on sustainability and waste between Europe and the U.S.

4. Thursday?

I’m quite curious to see how attendance works on Thursday. This is the first year of the Tuesday-Thursday schedule. While I think tomorrow will be busy, I have no idea what to expect regarding attendance.

If there’s a noticeable drop in attendance on the last day of the show, perhaps I’ll get my wish and see the days of the week move back to a schedule that better accommodates my desire to watch Borussia Dortmund play.

5. The Coolest Thing I Saw

In 2018, I saw an ashtray from the ultra-luxury men’s wear brand Stefano Ricci. It used a black base with mother-of-pearl inlays, done so well that it was difficult to see the individual cuts.

The design returned at this year’s trade show, though now with a brown base. It’s a mesmerizing ashtray, though I didn’t bother to ask the price. It’s Stefano Ricci, and if you have to ask, you probably aren’t going to be willing to ash your cigar in however much it costs.

After the trade show ended, I headed to the Vandermarliere Cigar Family party, which is one of the coolest events of InterTabac. Fred Vandermarliere, who also owns Oliva, has thrown these parties for many years, and he invites many of his competitors to attend.

The event always features the VCF team performing a choreographed dance, which also happens once per day at its booth, pictured above. It’s impossible for me to think of which American company could get its employees to do this, let alone at a trade show in front of peers and customers.

When I walked out, there were hundreds, probably more than 500 people, at the event. As I mentioned to a few first-time attendees, in previous years I’ve been at this party past 2 a.m., but I’ve never experienced the event’s closing time. It’s a wonderful moment of coming together, one of these uniquely InterTabac things.

Speaking of VCF, the company always has a special feature in its booth. This year, the Belgian cigar company brought L’Atelier Romah to make custom napkins for guests.

Charlie Minato

I am an editor and co-founder of halfwheel.com/Rueda Media, LLC. Previously, I started TheCigarFeed, one of the two predecessors blogs of halfwheel. I have written about the cigar industry since 2010, covering everything from product launches to regulation to M&A. Beyond writing, I handle a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff from weighing cigars to coordinating the tech. Outside of work, I enjoy playing tennis, watching boxing, falling asleep to the Le Mans 24, wearing sweatshirts year-round and eating gyros. echte liebe.