Camita Bienestar: Delivering Pet Products in Hours
Estimated reading time: 8 Min
Michelle Reza is the founder of Camina Bienestar along with her partner and best friend Armando. This team has embarked on the adventure of producing beds for our dogs and pets. A trendy product that, in addition to being a more than well-deserved affection for our furry friends who share our lives, is something extremely necessary from a health point of view for our animal companions.
Today we spoke with her to find out how they decided to create this venture, why they opted for theecommerce, how and when they launch to produce 100% and Mexico and why they join forces withCubboto leave, in their hands, the logistics for the delivery of the well-being and rest of our dogs.
Frank: How was Camita Bienestar born?
Michelle:Since I was a child I always wanted to start and have my own business. And it turns out that my best friend Armando, who is also my partner, already had experience in grocery stores.ecommerceSo one day while talking we decided to start something together. And we tried to find something that we were passionate about, especially me, because I was going to want to dedicate a lot more time.
And there came the idea ofpet beds, because I have a dog and she had a problem when she was little, a dog bit her and she became anxious every time she saw puppies and just while we were looking for a business idea, we saw that the beds help so that the puppies are more comfortable, calmer and with a better quality of life and that they were also in trend. And from there came the idea of creatingCamina Bienestar.
Frank: When does Camita Bienestar start?
Michelle:It was born at the end of 2019, a little before the pandemic. We are literally children of the pandemic.
Frank: Do you start as an ecommerce or as a physical store?
Michelle:From the beginning it was aecommerce. We chose this channel because at that time I had what they call in Mexico a godin job - an office job - and I had a certain time limit. That's why from the beginning what we thought was to start asecommercebecause the business with a physical store requires much more time and I couldn't be dedicated to it for so long.
Frank: And how long did it take for them to be operational?
Michelle:It took us about a month. That's how long it took us to prepare the material, the tent and get the beds. Because the first phase was to import the ready-made product and market it.
This helped us bring the product quickly to the Mexican market, test it and see if it really worked. And when we saw that it was working and that we were selling, we moved on to a second phase which was moving to Mexico at the production level. That is why our beds are 100% Mexican, because they are produced here with Mexican materials and worked by Mexicans. We do absolutely everything locally.
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Frank: If in fact we were going to ask you about that because on the website it says big “Proudly Made in Mexico” tell us a little about why you made that decision and what it represents for you.
Michelle:We made that decision because importing the products was too expensive and did not allow us to be competitive. But, thanks to that situation, we decided to take a risk for Mexico. And I say take risks because at the time we decided to produce locally it was a risk, since the pandemic was still raging, it was April-May 2020 and nobody knew what could happen.
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national production
All Camita Bienestar products are produced in Mexico. And the brand opted for it in the midst of the Covid crisis, as a way to provide employment during the pandemic, be more competitive and also improve quality.
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That's when we made the decision to say “we're going to do everything at home.” And it represents that love and effort that we have put into the business, into our project. And the desire we had to provide employment to people in Mexico who also needed it very much at that time. During the pandemic many people lost their jobs and we are proud that we were able to help alleviate that burden a little, providing employment to families who needed it.
In addition to this, there is an undoubted improvement in quality that is also a consequence of producing in Mexico. Here we can completely review and control the type of material that is used, improve it, and adapt it. While when we bought abroad we were tied a little to what was available.
In fact, it only took us two months to import the product and then we decided that everything was our decision: Material, filling, what seam it had to have, etc. That's what it means to be made in Mexico.
Frank: How do you know how to design a bed for a pet?
Michelle:The design is not ours, but we can say what material it will have, what shapes, some minimal changes and the brand of the product and the values that we want the brand to have. Within this design process that we can do, we seek to greatly improve the components and facilitate hygiene and cleaning.
For example, many brands of pet beds on the market have only one piece. We want our beds to have two pieces, so that you can remove the donut and put it in the washing machine and it will fit perfectly. This is vital for the pet's hygiene and quality of life.
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100% bienestar
One of the keys for dogs and pets to rest well is that their joints do not rest on hard surfaces. That is the reason why Camita Bienestar increased the quantity and quality of filler in its products, following indications from the Veterinary clinics nbsp; &nb sp; &nbs p;
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Another thing we do is consult with veterinarians to really know what types of designs and what things can help a puppy rest well. Part of what we have done in that sense is, for example, increasing the volume of filling in our beds, so that their joints do not suffer, and also increasing the height of the donut, because to rest well, dogs need their heads to be a little higher than the rest of their bodies. Our beds are designed so that the dog can adopt a more anatomically appropriate position that allows him to rest better.
These types of details are part of our dedication to offering a quality product that is also supervised by veterinarians who can guarantee that they are decisions and bed designs that are really good for our pets.
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Frank: In addition to beds, they sell other products. How and why do you decide to expand?
Michelle:As the name Camita Bienestar says, from the beginning we wanted to give our pets the best rest possible. In this search for alternatives for the well-being of pets, we investigated what other areas are normally ignored by owners and discovered that many times we do not realize that their nose or pads become dry. And that hurts them.
That's why we wanted to add a product that helps them with this. A product that is also healthy for them. And the odor remover, an idea to improve the owner's quality of life. Because puppies sometimes smell strongly, due to the breed of the dog, and you can put the odor remover on the bed, in your living room or anywhere your dog usually stays.
Camita Bienestar and Cubbo, ready to bring rest to all of Mexico
Camita Bienestar currently distributes throughout Mexico with the dream of growing to cover Latin America and the United States. Your ally for this isCubbo, and the way this alliance came about is one more example of that noble and honest code of values that Michelle and his partner Armando have engraved in the DNA of Camita Bienestar.
Frank: How do you get to Cubbo?
Michelle:Cubbo was really the one that came to us. Josu found us at a stage where we were really looking to improve the product, rather than improve the distribution. And on the first approach we really liked it and were very interested but we felt like we didn't have the size to consider Cubbo as an option at that point.
Time passed and luckily, and also because of all the work we have put into it, Cubbo then it did become an option because our logistics needs grew to a level where we felt comfortable looking for allies to carry them. And we went straight to Cubbo because we knew what they did and how they did it and also as a way of thanking Josu for the gesture of approaching us first. That's how we closed the deal with Cubbo.
Frank: Is there anything in particular that you have asked of Cubbo that was an obligatory condition to be able to work together?
Michelle:Yes and he also fulfilled it. The only thing we continue to have problems with is the larger beds, because due to the size of the bed and the type of packaging we have, we still cannot arrive with Cubbo. But from then on, we have done everything else and they have fulfilled what we have asked. Everything we have talked about or brainstormed with Cubbo has been possible. So until now, everything is perfect.
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Trabajo en equipo
For Michelle, one of the great keys to his alliance with Cubbo has been being able to talk, discuss and think as a team, ideas and logistical solutions that help him grow his project
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Frank: In the near future, let's say next year, what plans do you have?
Michelle:We would like to continue increasing sales volume first and we also have a product innovation plan, which goes beyond painkillers or odor removers. We are looking to develop a type of beds that follow this concept of providing well-being for our dogs and that are a little more technical. That's what we're doing: increasing sales volume and bringing new products to the table.
Frank: Michelle, to close, what advice would you give to a Mexican entrepreneur who is reading you right now?
Michelle:The main advice I would give is that you have to take the plunge. You can't start the business 100%. You can't wait to start when you think your product is 100% ready, that you have the perfect packaging, the perfect branding, the perfect product. Because then you'll never start.
If you have to have a product that you think is going to sell but you have to take the risk to get started. You have to launch a product and take a certain risk, a calculated risk, but you have to do it. Because if you wait for the product to be a star product from day one, that is not going to happen and you will never get started.
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