In 2015, two people with no plans or intentions to launch a business discovered they both had the same idea, talked about Lovetreats as an actual project in January, went live in October and shipped their 400th order in December. Here's how it all started...
much to our surprise, that we both had the same idea of making sexual wellness products available in India. The same questions bugged us both - "Why is it not normal?", "Why are conversations around intimacy and sex such a big taboo?", "Isn't our sexuality a big part of who we are?", "Why is buying intimate products associated with sleaze?", "Why do marketing campaigns for sexual wellness products and condoms objectify women?". We both felt the urge to bring this topic out in the open and to make exploring intimate products fun, non-intimidating and inclusive for everyone. After embracing the serendipity of meeting each other and weeks of brainstorming, the idea had a name – Lovetreats.
Having done the initial market and legal research, we asked each other a question – Is opening up an online sex shop in India really something you see yourself working on for the following years of your life? When the answer was yes, Ute cancelled her plans to return to Europe and gave up her placement for a Master's degree at a prestigious university. I cancelled my plans to relocate to Europe and quit my job in the video games industry. From July, we both focused full-time on getting the business off the ground. What followed was months of grunt work comprising legal research, market research, focus group studies, surveys, meeting suppliers and manufacturers, and a lot of leg work to set up a legit business selling sex toys in India.
One of the first things we did when we set our minds to working on creating India's first women-friendly sex toys online shop, Lovetreats, was to tell our families and friends. Though the initial reactions were a mix of surprise and disbelief, they all supported and encouraged us after we explained our vision and why we wanted to do this. They helped us when we broke, made introductions that helped us at critical junctures of the business, relentlessly spread the word when we launched and motivated us when we were frustrated. Two of those amazing friends invested in our idea and helped us with the capital to buy our first inventory. We constantly bugged numerous friends with awkward questions about their sex lives and asked for feedback on products we curated and different aspects of our online shop. We are eternally grateful to all of these people and know you have our love forever.
No success story is possible without teamwork. Many people contributed to our vision in their capacities and business partners. We had passionate writers, designers and programmers who worked hard to make Lovetreats align with our vision. Preeti kickstarted our blog initiative, Shraddha contributed to our website content, Nupur conceptualized our initial design, Hozefa helped with tech and a lot of leg work, Hrishi and Leni helped with much photoshopping, Arpita of Barefoot Consultancy contributed to our branding and marketing strategy, Rheea and Kala of Write Leela Write became our content and design partners, Rochelle managed our physical events, Paromita and Carlos made our first in-house video, Zac took team photos for us, Jamie played bartender for our parties, Polina gave us crazy cool ideas, Meghna gave us her expert presentation tips for our stalls, and Ida took care of product photography for our website.
Apart from those mentioned here, many others went out of their way to help us by volunteering at events, making awesome stall decorations, coding, designing and writing for free, making helpful introductions, and many other things. We are eternally grateful for all the big and small favours, your hard work and your passion. Lovetreats is as much a story about you all as us, and we feel lucky to have met all of you!
Lovetreats was given the honour to speak at TEDx Bangalore where Ute gave a talk about “Making Female Sexuality part of the equation”. The response was overwhelming and we were happy that we got the chance to spread the message about a topic that is close to our hearts. Post that, Lovetreats was asked to speak at Social Media Week in Mumbai where we hosted a panel on “Diffusing the Taboo on Sex Digitally”.
After months of delay due to unforeseen bureaucratic speed bumps, we launched on October 10th, 2015, with shipping exclusively to Bangalore. We wanted to start small, test the waters, get feedback and make improvements. The response was overwhelming. We got our first order (a vibrator) within 15 minutes of launching. We remember that special feeling when we shipped our first treats. It was priceless. Encouraged by the response, we started shipping all over India soon.
We put up stalls at Sunday Soul Sante and Kitsch Mandi to interact directly with our audience. Bangaloreans brought out their spunky side at these events! We sold all of our sensual massage candles, edible massage oils and blindfolds. Aunties bought funky Bachelorette gifts for their nieces, friends had fun choosing kinky wedding gifts for other friends, couples selected sensual products together, and single women chose treats for themselves. Most importantly, people were curious and asked many questions!
It’s one thing to make your idea and passion a reality but another thing to hear joyous words from your customers. Whenever we get emails and messages from happy customers, it fills us with pride and provides us with the most excellent motivation to continue doing what we started. Here are some of the messages we got from our customers from different parts of India:
“This was my first toy. It has been so helpful in getting to know my body better. The second time I used it, I experienced the first climax of my life. I am not exaggerating when I say this was a life changing experience. I hope the best is yet to come.” - Female customer from Bangalore
“Everything was sooo perfect.The package itself was just ❤️❤️❤️...Thank you lovetreats for giving me the courage to buy my first vibrator!..Lol the toy is sooo good you know. I'm sooo in love with it😂😂” - Female customer from Hyderabad
“I want to thank you and your team for helping me change my love life. My wife and I have been together for 3 years, but never could get this pleasure for her. And this has changed our relationship for the better and we are being more focused on her needs. It’s incredible for me to see her pleasure like this. I am looking forward to buying more pleasure products for my wife.” - Male customer from Mumbai
“I was surprise to know that adult toys were available in India. It was my first time purchase and the products were satisfying. After more than 5yrs of marriage it really helped to spice up our sexual relationship. Will be visiting your store again soon. Thank you!!!” - Male customer from Delhi
To all those who bought from us - a BIG Thank You from the bottom of our hearts. Without you, we have no reason to exist.
Bala – Co-founder & CEO, Lovetreats.in