Estimated reading time: 8 Min

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Ricardo Rehfeld was born in Germany but fell in love with Mexico. His trip through Latin America showed him up close the world of entrepreneurship and helped him understand what strengths LATAM has in terms of start-ups and business opportunities.

From one of these revelations, Cherish was born, a brand of sexual products that is committed to being the main platform for love life in Latin America. In Mexico, his talks, videoconferences and professional customer service are earning the trust and affection of the public. This is your story!

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Frank: Where did the idea to create Cherish come from?

Ricardo: I am German, and my first contact with Mexico was ten years ago, when I did social service in Puebla, in a home. I loved the experience and later returned for a university internship at a consultancy called Endeavor, which is quite well known in Mexico.

That was my first contact with the world of entrepreneurship and startups. After that, I finished my degree in Costa Rica.

I always had the idea of doing something with Mexico, something between Germany and Mexico, where I could support SMEs and startups.

So when I finished my degree, I founded a consultancy where we did very basic things, such as market research and analyzing whether a product from Mexico had the potential to be profitable in Germany, and vice versa.

Several projects came from that. We were able to grow the company and eventually formed a joint venture with a biotechnology company in Guadalajara.

To make a long story short, one of the products we created at that company was a probiotic lubricant. That was my first approach to the world of sexual wellness.

Today, Cherish is a company dedicated to offering products for sexual wellness. We sell sex toys and do a lot of sex education.

Frank: Have you found cultural and market differences between Europe and Mexico, or between Latin America and Europe more broadly, when it comes to erotic products?

Ricardo: Yes. There are many differences. They are two different worlds.

On a social and cultural level, Europe has already accepted and normalized many things that, in Latin America, are still surrounded by taboos and stigmas.

For a company that sells sex toys, that is something key to understand and master.

Understanding that these differences exist also means understanding that there is enormous potential between both regions, and that we can take advantage of it.

Frank: Did you start as a physical store or as an ecommerce business?

Ricardo: We were born 100% digital.

That was the idea from the beginning, especially because in the sex toy industry, buyers usually want privacy, or at least very little interaction with other people.

In traditional sex shops, the environment is often not ideal, and people do not always feel comfortable.

That is why we wanted to create an online space where people feel comfortable. A place where, of course, you can find the toys, but also a lot of information and trained customer support.

In fact, we have several sexologists who can explain the products and their uses online.

Frank: Was this before the pandemic?

Ricardo: Yes. In fact, when the pandemic arrived, we already had the infrastructure in place to keep growing, and I think it helped us that we were already operating digitally.

Educating as a basis for trust

One of the keys to Cherish’s success has been building a content strategy where high-quality information, education, and awareness help create a community around its target audience.

A community that trusts the brand and, as a result, buys from it.

Frank: Has it been difficult for you to enter the Mexican market? I imagine that, culturally, in Latin America we may be a little more closed off around these topics than in Europe.

Ricardo: Yes, that is true.

And I also think there are two themes here: the culture of entrepreneurship and the topic of sexual culture itself.

On the entrepreneurship side, Mexicans are incredibly warm. They welcome you with open arms, support you, recommend friends, and connect you with business allies.

That part of building the startup structure was an excellent experience in Mexico.

The other part is the cultural side of the product we offer.

It is true that there is still a lot to educate, discuss, and understand around sexuality in Mexico.

But I think creating Cherish at this time was ideal because Millennials, our generation, are already much more open to these kinds of topics.

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Frank: What do you think is most lacking in terms of sexuality in Mexico? On a cultural level I mean.

Ricardo: Platforms with quality content and information. Sites with authority and knowledge, with sexologists and professionals who generate quality content and help guide people. We have struggled to position ourselves there.

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Frank: I understand that you have a team of sexology professionals at Cherish, correct?

Ricardo: Yes, in fact our first full-time employee, Celeste, was our first sexologist. And she is our star sexologist. She studied psychology and then a master's degree in sexology.

And we not only offer customer service but we also generate content, with Celeste and the other sexologists on our team. This content is high quality, produced by professionals in their field and I think that is very valuable to the consumer.

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Also read: HoliHerb, bringing natural balance to all of Mexico

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Frank: What kind of products does Cherish have?

Ricardo: We mainly sell sex toys, that's where we focus, especially on beginner products, products for people who buy a sex toy for the first time. We target that audience because we want precisely to be the ally that guides you through the world of sex toys.

These products are simple and economical and seek to create a good experience. There we have different products for couples, for women, for men and then we also have a catalog of wellness products such as lubricating and stimulating gels and a catalog of candles and gift products for dates such as Valentine's Day.

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Frank: What do you think is your main lead generation channel?

Ricardo: I think that, in general, the informative work that we do. For example, El Sexuario is our blog where we generate content, videos, meetings and now we are starting with specialized appointments where you can speak directly with our sexologists.

This has become all digital due to the pandemic, but we have a project that we are resuming, which is the famous Cherish meetings, which are similar to Tupperware Parties. These are events where the sexologist comes to your house for a bachelorette party or a meeting, and carries out educational work in sexology.

In addition, we have returned to different bazaars in Mexico City and hopefully soon in other cities.

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Frank: Do you have many offline activities?

Ricardo: We are very limited by the guidelines on social media and Google.

Because of the type of product we sell, we are usually not allowed to run advertising campaigns, so we have to rely on forms of promotion that are not paid online marketing campaigns. We have to be more creative. For example, people who live in Mexico City have probably already seen the Cherish truck, which has a giant toy on top.

We copied the famous message from the old Mexico City street signs, saying: “Vibrators, dildos, etc. for sale…” I think it is very funny, and we have had very good results because people react positively when they see it. It makes them laugh and creates good moments. And that is what we want the Cherish brand to be: a happy experience.

Discreet, on-time, and perfect deliveries

Because of the very nature of the products Cherish sells, deliveries must be discreet, on time, and supported by continuous communication with the customer.

These elements define a perfect delivery, and for Cherish, this is not optional. It is the standard. Every delivery must be like this.

That is why they looked for Cubbo.

In fact, having fulfillment in Mexico City has allowed Cherish to guarantee same-day shipping in the capital, while maintaining the discretion and precision its customers value in every order.

Frank: How did you find Cubbo?

Ricardo: We came to Cubbo because our business angels, our investors, recommended them to us.

I had a very good relationship with Josu and Brian, Cubbo’s founders, and reaching out to them came from the need to solve a good problem: we had grown so much that we could no longer control logistics properly.

We needed an ally that could operate perfectly from a logistics perspective.

I first approached Cubbo when they began operations last year. We evaluated the option and decided to wait a little until our order volume was optimal. Now, we have changed our logistics operation and placed it in Cubbo’s hands. We want to offer the best customer service in delivery, and in our case, even more so. Discretion has to be perfect.

The customer has to be well informed, and the product has to be delivered discreetly and on time.

We are seeing that Cubbo delivers on this, and we are achieving it.

Frank: Was Cubbo your first logistics operator?

Ricardo: No, we had another one before, but we made the decision to switch to Cubbo for several reasons.

First, scalability. We have activations on dates like Valentine’s Day or Hot Sale, when we can receive up to 500 orders in a single day.

Previously, those flash sale peaks could take three or four days to process. Now, with Cubbo, we got through the first flash sale peak and shipped everything within 24 hours.

Then there is the very interesting fact that Cubbo offers same-day delivery, which allows us to compete with Amazon and Mercado Libre, especially in Mexico City, where they already offer it.

And finally, there is the issue of cost and operation.

At our volume, Cubbo offers a good price, and operationally, it is ideal. Before, our team spent a lot of time processing logistics. Now, that is in Cubbo’s hands.

Frank: What plans do you have for Cherish in the future?

Ricardo: We want Cherish to become the number one sexual wellness platform in Latin America.

To do that, we need to expand into other countries. I believe Cubbo will once again be fundamental there, because they are already building that logistics network across different Latin American countries. We will continue to be allies, expanding as a team.

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Are you looking for an ally that improves your delivery process, compliance, and customer satisfaction? Contact us. Cubbo is a fulfillment center for ecommerce brands in Mexico, Colombia, and Brazil.

During 2021 in Cubbo:

Our clients achieved 21% savings in operating costs.

97.1% of received products were processed and ready to sell within 24 hours.

We reached 99.7% shipping compliance.

We recorded 99.9875% order preparation accuracy, equivalent to 1 error every 8,000 shipments.

60% of our deliveries in CDMX were completed the same day.

We completed nationwide deliveries in an average of 1.3 days.