Valentine’s Day in times of pandemic and digital business

By Jackeline Cardenas

In 2020, when the whole world was facing the anguish of being locked up at home to avoid the spread of COVID-19, a boom in buying and selling products online began.

Peru is the fourth country with the greatest intention to undertake in Latin America and the eighth worldwide, according to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor.

Send love for delivery

Giannina Baca and Richard Rojas are two young people who met working in an office at the beginning of 2020. “They sent me to provide technical support to a lady and that’s how I met her, one day thanks to my good treatment she gave me her number”, Richard says as Giannina laughs next to him.

CAN SEE:

“The pandemic brought us additional expenses, especially for me because my mother got sick, she needed an oxygen concentrator and almost all my savings were gone. So we started thinking about what else we could do, we wanted to find something that would motivate us and be different from what we do”, she as a communicator and he as a computer technician.

They recalled that in the first month of being in love, gifts were sent by delivery, however, the gifts did not meet their expectations.

So they agreed to dedicate themselves to making personalized gifts with which they could convey the feelings of their customers. thus was born Kardia Peruwe put heart to your stories.

:

They acquired a die-cutting machine —which they learned to use by watching videos on YouTube— to shape vinyl, which is a plastic material with which they print names and greetings for birthdays and other special occasions.

“I believe that selling online can be somewhat distant, that is why we seek to personalize our attention more. We send our clients videos of the process of preparing their order so that they have confidence that it will turn out well. I think it’s one of the keys to our growth,” says Giannina.

Kardia Peru is now facing its first campaign for Valentine’s Day.

:

“Online sales will have an optimal performance, since companies that offer products or services related to this date expect to increase their online sales by 160% during this week, compared to the average of previous weeks,” projected the Lima Chamber of Commerce (CCL).

One of the challenges they faced in November 2021 was the increase in prices of the inputs they acquire in the Central Market. “For example, the double glass box cost us 12 soles, and when we returned a month later it cost 4 soles more each,” says Giannina.

For the future they want to expand their product line and train other people to make gifts.

:

scented bouquets

Jimena Ordonez and Ana Paula Larrea They are friends from school. Jimena is a lawyer and had the intention of having her own business, but the years passed and nothing materialized.

“Until the pandemic came and I lost my job, Jimena calls me one day and tells me ‘now, we have to do the business,’” says Ana Paula. The interest in flowers has always been with them, so it was not difficult to decide on the line of business.

Matutina, make flowers part of your routine, was launched on January 24, 2021. With its own website, they offered a subscription service for sending bouquets of flowers. From the beginning they had the idea of ​​only doing delivery on Thursdays.

:

“They began to ask us for bouquets for a single occasion, but we refused. When more than 10 similar requests arrived, we realized that we were losing”, says Jimena. Thus they understood that they should listen more to the needs of their customers.

They were a few days away Valentine’s Day and they didn’t think they would get orders because no one knew their brand. But 20 orders arrived. On Mother’s Day, this increased fivefold: “It was incredible because we were able to reach everyone, although we had to reject several orders and our mothers even had to help us distribute them, that day we were all over Lima,” recalls Ana Paula.

“In Peru, there are more than 7,000 producers dedicated to the cultivation of cut flowers and ornamental plants, both for national demand and for export with more than 4,000 hectares, an activity carried out mainly by small producers,” according to ADEX.

:

The flower market is extensive. How is Morning different? “Our bouquets are different, they generate harmony, they are youthful, but also elegant, thanks to the packaging that we ourselves designed, which cost us a lot to achieve, but it was worth it,” explains Ana Paula, who adds that the bouquets always carry eucalyptus branches, either the serrano or the silver dollar. This adds a unique aroma.

After a few months they had to raise the prices of their products. “We started with S/ 35.00 per bouquet and now they are S/ 50.00. Given the situation, everything has risen and we couldn’t maternity with those prices”. Although both work remotely, they are aware that this is an advantage to carry out their business.

They have plans to formalize their business soon and in the medium term to have a physical store. For now you can find them on their social networks.

:

Start alone or with friends?

The independence and agility of decisions are the most valued reasons in those Peruvians who choose to work alone, says Securex Peru.

However, for self-employment, the number of activities you will have to take care of can be a bit strenuous. With one or more people, the load decreases and becomes more bearable.

Although we are creative, profitable business ideas do not always emerge.