A gasp came from the crowd as Dr. Simi — the large, mustachioed Mexican pharmacy mascot wearing a white doctor’s coat — walked out of the CVS Pharmacy in Southwest Houston.
Damian Solis, a 12-year-old who donned a green Mexico soccer jersey for the event, persuaded his father to drive him 30 minutes to the CVS after seeing videos advertising it on TikTok.
“I wanted to come here because I just love the character Dr. Simi and I’ve seen him everywhere in Mexico,” Solis said.
Fans at the event who bought $50 worth of Similares products, including skincare products, vitamin gummies and socks adorned with Dr. Simi’s face, could receive a Dr. Simi plush that they could customize on the spot with clothes and accessories.
There were actually two Dr. Simi mascots at Sunday’s event, one in the classic white coat and another wearing a Mexico soccer jersey. Both visited with fans.
“Simi, Baila!” one shouted while waiting in line, as the mascot began to move to the Cumbia music that blasted from the DJ stand.
Nineteen-year-old Ashley Perez, who came with her younger sister and older cousin, said she was proud to see how many people showed up to the event.
“Growing up (and) going to Mexico a lot, seeing Dr. Simi being at the pharmacies, and now seeing it come to the United States, and seeing that he’s also popular here, too, it makes us proud as Mexicans, knowing that it’s not just in Mexico that he can make people happy,” Perez said.
Dr. Simi has been a fixture at Farmacias Similares in Mexico since the late 1990s, but the company didn’t expand sales in the United States until Sept. 2025. Similares, which has a U.S. headquarters in Austin, began selling products at CVS locations in Texas and California before expanding to Florida and Nevada, according to event coordinator and brand ambassador Mauricio Trejo.
“We hope that the people know the brand, but know why we are here because we want to help all the people,” Trejo said. “That is the principle objective.”
While many people lined up to see Dr. Simi on Sunday wore Mexico soccer jerseys and spoke Spanish, not all fans of Dr. Simi are Mexican. Shelby Ward, 31, fell in love with Dr. Simi after seeing a mascot plush on Facebook Marketplace.
“I obviously thought it was KFC, and I was really curious, so I kind of went down a rabbit hole on Facebook or the internet in general, for about three hours, and then, I was like, ‘This is the coolest thing I’ve ever heard,’” Ward said.