Light Em Up Lounge expands to a virtual platform. During the early stages of the covid-19 pandemic, Reinhard Pohorec started his virtual lounge under the name Light Em Up. A virtual cigar gettogether with a special guest in every episode. Cigar manufacturers, distributors, media, and other people involved in the cigar industry. In half a year, Light Em Up became a household name. The community is growing but is already reaching over a quarter million viewers in more than 70 countries. 

The next step

The success story of the Light Em Up Lounge continues with a new twist. Pohorec is transforming into a quintessential must-attend event for cigar lovers across the world. With two partners he’s now founding Light em up Com. That is a large-scale online cigar platform for virtual trade shows. 

“Light em Up is the quintessential expression of my deep love and respect for the industry, my most sincere ambition and passion to make a contribution to the cigar industry. The need for a large-scale online solution has become clearly apparent and I realized the keen interest of followers for in-depth information on cigars, as well as the most authentic, close personal exchange with the icons of the cigar world”, Pohorec summarizes. Pohorec continues, “As such, my partners and I created Light em Up COM to offer cigar connoisseurs and passionados an interactive way to access, and forge meaningful connections with producers and leading figures of the industry alike.” 

The idea

The Light em Up COM is a digital mobile-friendly space. It is equipped with the latest technologies and online interaction tools including virtual cigar booths and large format stages. There are individual break-out rooms and one-on-one chat boxes. It is a tool to connect attendees and exhibitors from across the globe, without the logistical efforts, cumbersome arrangements, and expensive resources a traditional trade show requires. 

Light em Up Com will offer a vast array of live masterclasses and seminars, interactive product advertising tools, VR experiences, and instant client feedback tools, thus providing exhibitors with all the data required to connect with and understand their distributors and final consumers. 

New product launches 

Just like at any other trade show, exhibitors can seamlessly present new products. They can make deals with retailers and distributors. It’s a great opportunity to share knowledge and forge connections. It can also act as a way to launch new collaborations in a reliable, efficient, and perfectly structured manner. The platform is meant to be a dreamland of cigars and global get together of all the cigar industry, hence the name “COM”. 

Besides Pohorec, two partners are involved in the project. Combined the three partners have relevant information in business experience, operations, finance, IT, and business development. The other partners are Mr. Raed W. Saqfelhait. He is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of the Leaf Master Tobacco Trading LLC, Dubai – UAE, which is the largest regional cigar distributor in the region. Mr. Kevin Alderweireldt is the Founder of Cousteau Studio, one of Europe’s leading VR Experience companies.

It’s possible to register on the website now and get an invitation for the first virtual expo. That virtual trade show is scheduled for the first quarter of 2021.

Upcoming shows

The new platform does not mean that the weekly live streams are a thing of the past. The live stream will continue. Light em Up Lounge is lining up a great schedule for October and November.

October 14: Nick Perdomo, Perdomo cigars.
October 21: Aitor Zapata, Condega cigars
October 28: Zaya Younan, El Septimo cigars
November 4: Edward & Eddie Sahakian, Davidoff of London
November 11: Benji Menendez & Jose Blanco