The Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Acquires The Cigar Academy

[JohnS]

PCA Acquires The Cigar Academy

April 1, 2026 - Charlie Minato

The Premium Cigar Association (PCA) has announced that it has acquired The Cigar Academy from Oliva Cigar Co.

The Cigar Academy is an online cigar education platform centered around a few courses that teach people about cigars and how they are made. Ricardo Carioni and Thomas Gryson launched The Cigar Academy in early 2024. Gryson works for Vandermarliere Cigar Family, the parent company of Oliva, while Carioni was appointed the PCA’s director of international affairs and education in August 2025.

Currently, The Cigar Academy’s website offers two courses: a one-hour option for $50 and a level one course for $250 that is described as taking one to three months. It is one of a handful of different entities that have tried to turn cigar education into a business.

Full Article: https://halfwheel.com/pca-acquires-the-cigar-academy/465711/

[JohnS]

Image credit: OpenAI

By Menachem Kossowsky - Published at: 04-17-2026

PCA Takes Over The Cigar Academy — Here's Why It Matters

The Premium Cigar Association has made a move that could reshape how the cigar industry trains and certifies the people who sell, serve, and talk about premium cigars for a living. The PCA has acquired The Cigar Academy from Oliva Cigars, bringing the platform under its direct control and positioning it as the go-to education and certification program for the entire premium cigar world.

It's a significant shift — not just for the people directly involved, but for anyone who's ever walked into a cigar shop and wondered whether the person behind the counter actually knew what they were talking about.

From Oliva's Hands to the PCA's

The Cigar Academy wasn't built overnight. Oliva Cigars created it with a specific purpose in mind: to preserve the kind of deep, hands-on knowledge that doesn't get passed down through a product brochure. The craft of premium cigars — the growing, the fermentation, the blending, the rolling — is tied to traditions that go back generations, and the Academy was designed to make sure that knowledge didn't get lost as the industry grew and changed.

Oliva CEO Cory Bappert called the transition to PCA ownership a natural next step for the program. After building the foundation, handing it off to the industry's leading trade association makes sense if the goal is scale. A single manufacturer, no matter how respected, can only take an educational platform so far. An association with connections across the entire industry is a different kind of engine.

What the PCA Is Building With It

PCA CEO Joshua Habursky was direct about what this acquisition means for the association's identity. The PCA has long been known as an advocacy organization — fighting for the industry in Washington, pushing back against regulations that threaten the premium cigar market, and representing retailer and manufacturer interests at the policy level. This move pushes the PCA into new territory: professional development.

Habursky framed it as an expansion of the association's role, not a departure from it. The argument is that a stronger, better-trained workforce across retail, manufacturing, duty-free, and hospitality is good for the industry overall — and that's the kind of work a trade association is well-positioned to lead.

The vision for the Academy under PCA control is broad. There's a new retailer-focused curriculum in the works, designed specifically for the people on the front lines of premium cigar sales. That's the person working the humidor, answering questions from someone who just decided they want to explore cigars, and guiding regulars toward something new. Getting that person properly trained isn't just about professionalism — it's about the entire retail experience that brings customers back.

Full Article: https://www.gentlemanspursuits.com/news/luxury/cigars/pca-takes-over-the-cigar-academy-heres-why-it-matters-69d16cf125283df1a0729df3