Minuit Tendre is a one of a kind inclusive and liberated space, free of any taboos. Its vision encompasses everyone's sexual health, whoever you might be. It encourages its community to (re)define their own relation to pleasure and intimacy through a positive and diverse approach to sexuality. It showcases a wide range of products meant to suit the diverse realities of its clientele (sizes, skin colors, disabilities, gender identities, ages), and educational information conveyed by different specialists. It is also home to a blog and to a book section to keep everyone informed.
Roxane: Just like Tania and Marie, you two have been friends for a long time. How did you meet?
Catherine + Stéphanie: We've known each other since 2005, so it'll be almost 19 years. We met in high school but we weren’t close friends. After high school, we still kept in touch on a regular basis. When the pandemic hit, we became great friends, sisters even! Which ultimately led to Minuit Tendre!
R: Do you have a background that made Minuit Tendre the logical next step?
C+S: Absolutely not! Catherine studied scenography at UQAM and Stéphanie cooking and pastry at ITHQ. We had work and life experiences that had enabled us to acquire skills to allow us to open and manage a business. Without knowing it, since we were young adults, we had always wanted to be entrepreneurs, but it was without knowing the exact direction at the time.
R: What makes your business different from other erotic stores?
C+S: Our approach! We call ourselves more of a sexual wellness boutique than an erotic boutique, although we use the term too. Our approach is transmitted in several ways. By the wide selection of judiciously chosen products; for all bodies, all budgets, all motor skills, for trans people, for all types of pleasures...we could keep going. Both visually and in writing, it is essential for us that everyone feels represented. We do photoshoots with people in our community to ensure this is reflected on our platforms. We make sure to use neutral and/or inclusive vocabulary. Also, our approach puts at ease anyone who writes to us or who comes to see us at markets; approaching sexuality as if we were talking about the weather breaks taboos and opens up discussions. Finally, our community and educational involvement also helps us stand out. We are official partners of the organization Les 3 sex*, an NPO fighting for sexual rights, access to education and for the LGBTQ+ community. We exchange our expertise, we create educational content and events together in addition to selling their products without taking a percentage of sales.
R: Would you like to have a physical store? What do you see for the future of Minuit Tendre?
C+S: In the short term, no, but in the medium term, yes. We would like a premises more than a storefront. What I mean by that is we would like an accessible location where we could decide to open on Fridays and Saturdays for example, or 2 weeks during the holiday season. A space in which we can organize events, private toy demo evenings, workshops, conferences, etc. So not a typical location, but a place for our inventory and for events. In the long term, maybe a storefront could emerge, who knows?
R: What was your best seller for Valentine’s Day?
C+S: Valentine's Day or not, our best seller is always the Digital Teaser. It can be used alone or between partners, the Digital Teaser from Satisfyer is particularly practical and easy to handle for people with arthritis or dexterity concerns. This digital vibrator is easily placed on the finger using its practical strap. It is ideal for varied stimulation of all erogenous zones, such as the clitoris, perineum or nipples. Its compact effect and its versatility always offer new possibilities of use for everyone to discover!
R: What do you like most about being entrepreneurs?
C+S: What we like most is the schedule flexibility. We have rather fragile health and being able to manage our schedule, our events, our meetings and our business model is an asset that we particularly cherish. The other aspect that we love about being an entrepreneur is meeting wonderful and brilliant people. In all spheres, that is to say, with our customers/community, with our collaborators, with our partnerships or our professional exchanges, over the last two years we have met dozens and dozens of people who give us the strength and inspiration to continue!
R: Meeting new people and building connections is definitely our favourite part too! And finally, we always have to know, what is your favorite Flambette fragrance?
C+S: We looooove Flambette and we have been fans way before we started Minuit Tendre! Catherine’s favourite candle is Rosemary + Mint and Stéphanie’s favourite scent is Fig + Cypress.
Thank you so much for your time! We are confident that there is a bright future for Minuit Tendre 🙂
