Hertz and Selck
Hertz & Selck is a privately held Hamburg-based flavor manufacturer developing premium aroma compounds for tobacco, shisha, vape, smoke-free, beverage, and tea manufacturers worldwide, with a 90-year heritage and a custom B2B sales model.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1935
- HeadquartersHamburg, Germany
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Hertz and Selck does
Hertz & Selck GmbH & Co. KG is a privately held German flavor manufacturer headquartered in Hamburg, founded in 1935, that develops premium aroma compounds for the tobacco, shisha, vape, smoke-free, beverage, and tea industries. Its product portfolio is organized into six categories — Smoke, Shisha, Smoke Free, Vape, Drinks, and Tea — and is supported by three service lines: Kreation (custom formulation), Modifikation (product adaptation), and Applikation (application support including sample testing and flavor adjustment for specific device types such as PODs, disposables, MTL, and DL systems). The technical differentiator the company emphasizes is "application management" — the ability to translate abstract taste concepts into recipes that perform correctly in end-user devices and across regulatory regimes, including the documented reformulation of over 250 products in response to TPD, menthol restrictions, and sucralose bans.
The company operates an enterprise B2B sales motion with a dedicated sales team and regional managers, including a Middle East operation led by a regional Managing Director. Revenue is generated through custom flavor development projects and ongoing flavor compound sales to manufacturers, with quote-based pricing negotiated per project and multi-year contracts; no standardized price list is publicly disclosed. The firm does not publish revenue, headcount growth rates, or customer counts, and operates with no disclosed parent company, subsidiaries, or institutional investors.
Geographically, Hertz & Selck is anchored in Hamburg (Tarpenring 23, 22419) with documented market presence in Germany, the United Arab Emirates, and Indonesia, and pursues international customer engagement through major industry trade shows (InterSupply 2026 in Dortmund, WT Asia 2026 in Surabaya, WT Middle East 2026 in Dubai) plus a multilingual corporate website (German, English, Arabic), a company magazine, newsletter, and social channels. In 2024 the company transitioned to a dual Managing Director governance structure, which the company framed as a strategic expansion of executive leadership.
Hertz and Selck firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Hertz and Selck
- Legal name
- Hertz & Selck GmbH & Co. KG
- Website
- https://hertz-selck.de
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1935
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Hertz & Selck is a privately held Hamburg-based flavor manufacturer developing premium aroma compounds for tobacco, shisha, vape, smoke-free, beverage, and tea manufacturers worldwide, with a 90-year heritage and a custom B2B sales model.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Hertz and Selck industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Flavor Manufacturing
- NAICS
- Flavoring Syrup and Concentrate Manufacturing (311930), Flavoring Syrup and Concentrate Manufacturing (31193), Beverage Manufacturing (3121), Soft Drink Manufacturing (312111)
- SIC
- Miscellaneous Food Preparations & Kindred Products (2090), Medicinal Chemicals & Botanical Products (2833), Beverages (2080), Food And Kindred Products (2000)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Ingredient Blends & Systems / Custom Formulation (Seasoning Systems, Functional Blends) (CRADAOAO)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Soft Drink & Carbonated Beverage Syrups (AFAFAGAA), Coffee & Tea Concentrates, Syrups & Extracts (CRADAHAI), Functional/Fortified Beverage Production (Vitamins, Botanicals, Nootropics) (AFAFABAH)
Keywords
Where Hertz and Selck is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Hamburg
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Hertz and Selck business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Personnel, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Custom Flavor Development: Development of bespoke premium flavors for tobacco, vape, and beverage industry clients. Services include creation, modification, and application support for liquid recipes according to client specifications.
- Flavor Product Sales: Sale of proprietary and customized flavor compounds to manufacturers in the tobacco, shisha, vape, and drinks industries.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Custom development projects |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
Hertz and Selck product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Hertz & Selck develops and manufactures premium flavor compounds for the tobacco, shisha, vaping, beverage, and tea industries. The company offers custom flavor creation (Kreation), product modification (Modifikation), and application support services (Applikation), serving manufacturers with TPD-compliant formulations and regional taste adaptations across global markets.
Product overview
Hertz & Selck is a German flavor manufacturer with 90 years of tradition, operating as a unified product portfolio rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. The company develops premium flavors across six product categories: Smoke (tobacco smoking), Shisha (hookah), Smoke Free (tobacco-free products), Vape (e-liquids), Drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages), and Tea. These are complemented by three service offerings: Kreation (custom formulation), Modifikation (product adaptation), and Applikation (application support). The portfolio serves the tobacco, vape, and beverage industries with TPD-compliant formulations, with demonstrated ability to reformulate over 250 products to meet evolving regulatory requirements.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Smoke Flavors Premium tobacco smoking flavors developed for international markets, tailored with unique aroma concepts to meet diverse consumer preferences for cigarette and cigar manufacturers.
- Shisha Flavors Innovative hookah/water pipe flavor concepts that transform the traditional Persian practice into urban trends, developed for shisha manufacturers with regional taste adaptations for Middle Eastern and Asian markets.
- Smoke Free Flavors Flavors for tobacco-free products including snus, chewing tobacco, snuff tobacco, and Paan Masala, serving emerging smoke-free tobacco market segments.
- Vape E-Liquid Flavors E-liquid flavor portfolio comprising hundreds of aromas developed for the evolving vaping industry with TPD-compliant formulations for e-cigarette and vape product manufacturers.
- Drinks Flavors Flavors for alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, developing innovative concepts such as reimagined fruit profiles, summer evening concepts, and spirit-free alternatives for drink manufacturers.
- Tea Flavors Tea flavors leveraging the diversity of tea traditions worldwide, developing innovative creations for the growing global tea market for tea product manufacturers.
- Kreation (Custom Flavor Creation) Custom flavor creation service developing tailor-made premium-quality aromas for tobacco, shisha, vaping, and beverage clients based on customer specifications and bespoke requirements.
- Modifikation (Product Modification) Product development and adaptation service for existing flavors, leveraging market knowledge to respond to evolving customer requirements and regulatory changes for manufacturers.
- Applikation (Application Support) Application support services including product applications, sample testing, and precise flavor adjustment for PODs, disposables, MTL and DL vaping devices, ensuring flavors perform correctly in end-user devices.
Quantifiable outcome
- 70-80% internal screening rate during flavor development process
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Hertz and Selck
Customer profileSegments6 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Hertz and Selck technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature2 records
Hertz and Selck partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Hertz and Selck competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Givaudan: Swiss-based world's largest flavor and fragrance company. Operates a dedicated Taste & Wellbeing segment competing across beverage, sweet goods, and savory applications where H&S also sells, but at vastly greater scale and geographic reach.
- Symrise AG: Global top-4 flavor and fragrance house headquartered in Holzminden, Germany. While far larger and more diversified (food, beverage, pet food, cosmetics), Symrise competes with H&S in tobacco flavor systems and Diana division serves adjacent beverage applications.
- Mane: French family-owned flavor and fragrance company with a strong beverage and tobacco flavor portfolio. Operates as a privately held mid-to-large incumbent similar in ownership structure to H&S but with significantly broader product and geographic reach.
- International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF): US-headquartered global ingredients major post-DuPont N&B merger. Offers a competing portfolio of flavors, food ingredients, and scent solutions across virtually every category H&S serves, with the scale and R&D budget to outpace mid-sized specialists.
- Firmenich: Swiss privately held flavor and fragrance house, now combined with DSM-Firmenich. Serves beverage, dairy, sweet goods, and savory customers globally and competes directly with H&S in beverage and tea flavor systems at the top end of the market.
- Takasago International Corporation: Japanese flavor and fragrance manufacturer with global operations. Competes in beverage, tea, and savory flavor categories where H&S also operates, and offers complementary Asian market access relevant to H&S's Southeast Asia expansion ambitions.
Direct peers
- Frey + Lau: Hamburg-based German flavor manufacturer with deep history in tobacco and menthol flavors. Closest direct competitor to H&S in the German specialty tobacco/household flavor niche, serving similar customer types and regulatory environments.
Emerging players
- Flavorah: US-based specialty flavor manufacturer focused on the DIY e-liquid, beverage, and culinary markets. Comparable to H&S in its custom-blend flavor DNA but serves the craft/indie segment rather than large enterprise customers.
- Capella Flavors: US-based flavor house specializing in highly concentrated water-soluble flavors for beverages, vaping, and DIY applications. Smaller and more focused than H&S but addresses the same craft and vape flavor customer base with overlapping product formats.
Regional players
- Hangsen International: China-based e-liquid and flavor manufacturer with a strong vape flavor portfolio serving European, Asian, and emerging markets. Represents the regional/Asian flavor competitor that H&S must contend with in Southeast Asia and MENA vape and shisha accounts.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Hertz and Selck social profiles
Digital presenceHertz and Selck financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Hertz and Selck leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles12 records
Hertz and Selck funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Hertz and Selck M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Hertz and Selck
What does Hertz and Selck do?
Hertz & Selck develops and manufactures premium flavor compounds for the tobacco, shisha, vaping, beverage, and tea industries. The company offers custom flavor creation (Kreation), product modification (Modifikation), and application support services (Applikation), serving manufacturers with TPD-compliant formulations and regional taste adaptations across global markets.
Is Hertz and Selck a public or private company?
Hertz and Selck is a private company. It is classified as unknown and is currently operating.
When was Hertz and Selck founded?
Hertz and Selck was founded in 1935. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Hertz and Selck based?
Hertz and Selck is headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does Hertz and Selck make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Custom Flavor Development is the primary driver. The others are flavor Product Sales.
Who are Hertz and Selck's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Givaudan, Symrise AG, Mane, International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF), Firmenich and Takasago International Corporation. Frey + Lau is listed as a direct peer. Emerging players are Flavorah and Capella Flavors. Hangsen International is listed as a regional player.
Does Hertz and Selck have an API?
No public API is recorded for Hertz and Selck.
What industry is Hertz and Selck in?
Hertz and Selck's product category is Flavor Manufacturing. Its primary akta.pro industry code is CRADAOAO, Ingredient Blends & Systems / Custom Formulation (Seasoning Systems, Functional Blends), with a secondary code of AFAFAGAA, Soft Drink & Carbonated Beverage Syrups. Its NAICS code is 311930 and its SIC code is 2090.