cherry corals
Cherry Corals is a privately-held, founder-led DTC e-commerce retailer founded in 2007 that farms and sells aquacultured corals, anemones, and reef aquarium livestock to US reef-keeping hobbyists via its own website.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2007
- HeadquartersLivonia, United States
- Headcount—
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What cherry corals does
Cherry Corals is a privately-held, direct-to-consumer e-commerce retailer of aquacultured reef aquarium livestock founded in 2007 and headquartered at 12421 Stark Rd, Livonia, Michigan. The company farms and sells captive-bred corals, anemones, and related marine livestock through its own website (cherrycorals.com), shipping nationwide to individual reef aquarium hobbyists in the United States. Its product catalog is organized into five core categories — LPS Corals (including Acanthastrea, Blastomussa, Chalices, Favia, Goniopora, Scolymia, Cynarina, Wellsophyllia, and others), SPS Corals (Acropora and Montipora frags), Zoanthids, Mushrooms and Ricordea, and Anemones (Bubble Tip and Ultra Rock) — supplemented by proprietary insulated shipping boxes and digital gift cards.
The underlying technology is biological rather than digital: coral aquaculture, meaning corals are propagated in controlled facility environments rather than harvested from wild reef systems. Founder Todd is repeatedly referenced in customer testimonials as a domain expert, particularly in zoanthids and palythoas, and the company emphasizes a curated, "hot" variety selection under the positioning "If it's not HOT, it's not here!" Pricing is unit-based per coral frag, ranging from approximately $40 to $400+ per item (e.g., Orange Eye Lobo #3 at $40, Hologram Hammer at $100, Spicy Watermelon Cynarina at $300, Eye of Sauron Cynarina at $350, CC Magic Carpet Mushroom at $400). There are no formal subscription, tiered, or licensing pricing structures.
The business model is exclusively DTC via cherrycorals.com, with no retail storefront or third-party distribution. Marketing and demand generation are conducted through organic social channels (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok), an email newsletter, and live sales events that drive direct customer engagement. The customer base is a horizontal long-tail of individual reef-keeping hobbyists seeking aquacultured specimens. Cherry Corals operates as a small, founder-led business with no disclosed institutional investment, no headcount data, no funding rounds, and no partnerships or M&A activity in the available record.
cherry corals firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- cherry corals
- Legal name
- Cherry Corals
- Website
- https://cherrycorals.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2007
- Operating status
- Operating
- Short description
- Cherry Corals is a privately-held, founder-led DTC e-commerce retailer founded in 2007 that farms and sells aquacultured corals, anemones, and reef aquarium livestock to US reef-keeping hobbyists via its own website.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
cherry corals industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Reef Aquarium Livestock
- NAICS
- Other Aquaculture (112519)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Ornamental & Aquarium Fish Farming (AFAEAAAJ)
Keywords
Where cherry corals is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Livonia
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
cherry corals business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Coral Sales: One-time sale of aquacultured coral fragments (frags) including LPS corals, SPS corals, zoanthids, mushrooms, ricordea, and anemones. Individual coral transactions at varying price points from $40 to $400+ per item.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Individual coral fragment sales |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels6 records
cherry corals product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Cherry Corals farms and sells aquacultured corals, anemones, and reef aquarium livestock directly to hobbyists through its own e-commerce website. The company cultivates captive-bred coral fragments (LPS, SPS, zoanthids, mushrooms, ricordea) and marine anemones rather than harvesting from wild reef systems, and ships live specimens nationwide across the United States.
Product overview
Cherry Corals is a coral reef aquarium retailer offering a curated selection of aquacultured corals since 2007. Their product portfolio centers on marine corals organized into major categories: LPS (Large Polyp Stony) Corals including Acanthastrea, Blastomussa, Chalices, Favia, Goniopora, and specialty varieties like Scolymia and Cynarina; SPS (Small Polyp Stony) Corals such as Acropora and Montipora frags; Zoanthids; Mushrooms and Ricordea; and Anemones including Bubble Tip and Ultra Rock varieties. The company also offers shipping boxes for safe coral transport and gift cards. The business model emphasizes 'hot' or high-demand coral varieties with a focus on quality aquacultured specimens.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Companies that use cherry corals
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
cherry corals technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
cherry corals partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators2 records
Recent moves2 records
Expansion highlights2 records
cherry corals competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Reefs2Go: Online retailer of aquacultured corals and dry goods serving US reef hobbyists, with deep SKU breadth across LPS, SPS, and zoanthid categories — directly competing for the same DTC coral-frag buyer as Cherry Corals.
- World Wide Corals: One of the largest US aquacultured coral vendors, selling LPS, SPS, zoanthids, and anemones direct-to-consumer via its own website — the same product mix, customer base, and DTC model as Cherry Corals, but at meaningfully larger scale.
- Tidal Gardens: Aquacultured coral vendor founded and run by Travis Wilsoni, selling curated frags across LPS, SPS, zoanthids, and anemones via DTC. Comparable curated-brand positioning and founder-led live-sale engagement to Cherry Corals.
- AquaSD: San Diego-based aquacultured coral vendor selling sustainably grown frags across major coral categories via its own e-commerce site — directly overlapping Cherry Corals on category mix, sustainability positioning, and US shipping.
- Unique Corals: US coral vendor specialising in rare and unique zoanthid/palythoa cultivars — overlapping Cherry Corals' strongest specialty (Z/P) and competing for the same collector hobbyist.
- KP Aquatics: US-based aquacultured coral farm and DTC retailer offering a similar curated mix of LPS, SPS, zoanthids, and anemones to hobbyist reefkeepers — a same-model, smaller-scale competitor to Cherry Corals.
Broad incumbents
- LiveAquaria: Long-running US online retailer of freshwater and marine livestock including corals and anemones — a broad incumbent that competes with Cherry Corals for the saltwater hobbyist buyer across a much larger catalog and brand recognition.
- Bulk Reef Supply: Large US-based aquarium retailer with a strong saltwater livestock and dry-goods assortment — a broad incumbent that overlaps Cherry Corals on reef livestock but operates across equipment, supplements, and education at much larger scale.
- CoralVue: Established US aquarium-products distributor and DTC retailer selling a much broader portfolio (livestock, dry goods, equipment) across many categories — a wider incumbent overlapping Cherry Corals only on the livestock/coral shelf but with substantially more reach.
Regional players
- Pacific East Aquaculture: Wholesale aquaculture producer of marine ornamentals (clownfish, damsels, etc.) serving the US hobbyist and LFS trade — comparable aquaculture-operating model to Cherry Corals but skewed toward fish, regional supplier positioning, and B2B channels.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
cherry corals social profiles
Digital presencecherry corals financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
cherry corals leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
cherry corals funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
cherry corals M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about cherry corals
What does cherry corals do?
Cherry Corals farms and sells aquacultured corals, anemones, and reef aquarium livestock directly to hobbyists through its own e-commerce website. The company cultivates captive-bred coral fragments (LPS, SPS, zoanthids, mushrooms, ricordea) and marine anemones rather than harvesting from wild reef systems, and ships live specimens nationwide across the United States.
Is cherry corals a public or private company?
cherry corals is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was cherry corals founded?
cherry corals was founded in 2007.
Where is cherry corals based?
cherry corals is headquartered in Livonia, United States, in the North America region.
How does cherry corals make money?
One revenue line is on record: coral Sales.
Who are cherry corals's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Reefs2Go, World Wide Corals, Tidal Gardens, AquaSD, Unique Corals and KP Aquatics. Broad incumbents are LiveAquaria, Bulk Reef Supply and CoralVue. Pacific East Aquaculture is listed as a regional player.
Does cherry corals have an API?
No public API is recorded for cherry corals.
What industry is cherry corals in?
cherry corals's product category is Reef Aquarium Livestock. Its primary akta.pro industry code is AFAEAAAJ, Ornamental & Aquarium Fish Farming. Its NAICS code is 112519.