Who we are: Introduction to Jens & Melanie Christ

From the first-aid kit to the Reiseboxx

The business idea came up on a trip around the world

Long-distance travel is at the top of Melanie and Jens Christ's hobby list. Soak up grandiose landscapes, fill up on culture, get to know people. Get on the plane and off to the next destination: Canada, Morocco, somewhere different every year. With their thirst for adventure and energy, the two (born 1976) are typical Aries. And pragmatic too: the Wendlanders go on tour without bulky suitcases or XXL bags, always with hand luggage. Carry less, smoother through the airports: professionals get from A to B with little ballast.

It's logical that the globetrotters didn't get the idea for their Reiseboxx on the sofa at home. They got the inspiration in 2017 on their honeymoon under the motto "Around the world in 30 days". Whether in Hong Kong, Nepal, Tahiti or Chile, the picture at the airports was always the same: the hand luggage checks of fellow travelers took forever. What was the problem? Many had too big or the wrong bottles with liquids, disinfectants or mosquito repellent. Melanie Christ's conclusion: "Totally disorganized".

The first-aid kit in a zip bag

In her experience, it was no wonder. After all, even frequent flyers get a lot of tips on health or travel cancellation insurance when booking on the Internet or in travel agencies - but there is usually no trace of useful information about the first-aid kit. Melanie and Jens knew each other, because of their travels and their jobs: Both work in the pharmaceutical industry, he in sales and project management of auxiliary materials for drugs, medical products and nutritional supplements and she as an assistant in the development department of a pharmaceutical manufacturer. He has now quit his job in the industry to take care of the Reiseboxx full-time.

With this know-how, they finally opened up the business: well-designed, pre-packed, 100 percent airport-compatible mini first-aid kits in zip bags. Fast. Comfortable. Orderable.

Two strong partners

Two important partners completed the Reiseboxx team. Jens and Melanie commissioned a “Lebenshilfe” workshop, which today folds the shipping boxes and provides them with the contents that do not require pharmacy: Zip bags, plasters and sunscreen are included. The founders were already familiar with “Lebenshilfe” through their jobs. The company already had a lot of experience in the pharmaceutical sector and also turned out to be a stroke of luck when it came to logistics.

Since pharmacy-only medicines - for example for travel sickness, diarrhea and fever - should also be in the travel box, the company founders had to organize a pharmacy for stocking and shipping. That worked very quickly: The West-Apotheke in Zweibrücken in Rhineland-Palatinate immediately took part. "The pharmacy receives the pre-assembled travel boxes from us, equips the zip bags with the medication and sends the package to the customer," explains Jens, "it usually takes one to two days from order to delivery."

Reiseboxx as full time job

The two started with a Reiseboxx for the summer vacation, then they added the themes of winter, family, surf & kite and festival to the program. More mini travel pharmacies soon followed. Jens gave up his previous job and made the travel box his main occupation. Appointments, calculations for the business plan, procurement of goods - the to-do list got longer every day: "Just organize 5000 tubes of sunscreen, that's real work," he says.

Melanie and Jens take time for travel plans anyway. I want to go to Canada again to visit friends. Then to Japan: The country made a big impression on her on her world tour. And finally Melanie's big dream: “South America”. Good Trip!