Subscription boxes have become incredibly popular over the last several years, both with businesses and consumers. In order for your subscription box company to really grow and thrive, you have to understand the business model — how it works and why the best companies have so much success.

The more you understand how the subscription box business model works, the better prepared you are to launch and grow your business. And, thankfully, there are plenty of super successful subscription box businesses to learn from. Subscription boxes are a physical delivery that ships automatically to a consumer.

While many of the items in a well-designed subscription box are practical, the delivery itself is designed to be an experience, giving the consumer something to look forward to each time a box is dropped off at their doorstep.

Depending on the subscription box model, items included in the box are either highly curated, offered at a discount, or, better yet, both.

To make it even easier to understand exactly what a subscription box business is, below is a list of features every successful brand includes:. These essential components for subscription box businesses are necessary if you want to create a real brand that can grow for years to come.

Subscription box businesses work best when they have reliable systems supporting all of their day-to-day operations.

Below are a few of the most important business aspects of subscription boxes you need to consider before you launch your own business:. The more integrated this system can be with your product suppliers, the easier it will be to grow your company. Your subscription box business can decide if customers can customize how frequently they receive their boxes.

While there is a potential upside to allowing customers to choose if they want boxes to arrive monthly or every other month, for example, this type of customization could make the logistics for your business slightly more complicated.

Be sure to weigh the pros and cons of offering this type of customization before launching your brand. And, remember, sometimes the fewer options your customers have the better! One of the biggest components to starting a subscription box business is, obviously, knowing what exactly is going to go inside your boxes.

Will it be the same products each shipment or will products change month to month? Will customers be able to choose the products they want or will you curate the products? Additionally, setting up relationships with suppliers is essential, as well as knowing the cost of each product, including shipping and the labor required to physically put boxes together.

Just like some subscription box companies allow customers to select their shipping frequency, others allow for customization of size and, therefore, cost. For example, a person with one dog would need fewer gourmet treats in each subscription box than someone with four dogs.

One of the most difficult parts of operating a subscription box business is ensuring that all boxes get shipped on time and delivered safely. If your products are perishable or highly breakable, then shipping becomes even more critical. Because of shipping complications, many subscription box businesses only ship to certain countries and states.

As with any retail business, owners should expect returns and cancellations. In order to keep your subscription box company up and running, you have to provide stellar customer service.

Ensuring that your customers have an easy place to go to ask questions or voice concerns will help your business maintain its good reputation. While you might have to handle customer service yourself when you get started, be sure to look into all of the different customer service systems available that can help automate emails, text messages, and phone calls.

This makes it so that your business can be responsive and helpful without you having to work around the clock. In order to create a successful subscription box, you need to know your target audience. The more niched your business can be, the easier you can find your people. Zero in on who you want to sell to and speak to them directly.

By knowing your target consumer, you can start to create an experience that they will genuinely love and look forward to each time their box arrives.

In business, competition is a good thing. Because the products really are what a subscription box is all about, this should be a relatively time-intensive stage of building your business. The more selective you are about the suppliers you choose to work with, the happier your customers will be.

Your sample box can also be used to gauge the interest of your target audience as well as for marketing purposes on your website, social media, etc. Subscription box businesses need to have an easy-to-use, informative website so that customers feel confident about signing up for a subscription.

Unlike regular online stores where customers only purchase a product once, subscription businesses ask customers to sign up for several purchases at once. So, be sure to build your online store with an eCommerce platform that has subscription management software built-in. Because you already know your target audience and have now created the perfect subscription box experience for them, online marketing should be relatively easy.

Take advantage of audience tools and paid advertising on social media and search engines to help you put your subscription box in front of the people who will want it most. This entire experience should be as seamless as possible so that you enjoy working on your business — and so that you can be confident that every order is fulfilled.

By integrating the smartest parts of different business models into your own brand, you can create an entirely unique experience that your customers will love. Below are the top ten subscription box services and what you should learn from them for your own business.

High-quality products at an affordable price are one of the reasons men and women subscribe to the Dollar Shave Club. The brand makes the customer experience even better by offering up-sells, including shaving-related products.

The ultimate subscription box for pop culture fans, Loot Crate understands the importance of extreme customization, which is exactly why their business model has exploded over the last several years. From gaming to sci-fi, pop icons to sitcoms, Loot Crate is the definition of knowing your target audience.

Offering primarily bi-monthly subscriptions customers get billed every other month when boxes ship , Loot Crate keeps the novelty factor without running out of unique items to send.

Want a box filled with Harry Potter goodies delivered to your door every other month? Hello Kitty? Loot Crate is the place to go. The ultimate subscription box for makeup lovers, Ipsy is popular because it allows customers to try a variety of makeup and beauty products for a fraction of the cost.

And because makeup sections at stores can be so intimidating, having the best, trendiest products hand-picked for you helps to relieve that feeling of being overwhelmed. The brand continues to beat the competition because of two huge selling points: One, you can add custom features to your box depending on your style, skin, etc.

The brand is also smart because, as it got to know its audience, it expanded its offerings. Now you can also subscribe to the Ipsy Glam Bag Plus, which gives subscribers 5 full-size skincare and makeup products each month, as well as the ability to choose 3 of the 5 products.

As a more straightforward subscription box, you choose your teas and Sips By ships them to you each month for less money than it would cost to buy them yourself. As an added bonus, Sips By offers free shipping throughout the United States. One of the most popular meal kits on the market today, HelloFresh is a successful subscription box primarily because its price point is within reach for its target customer: busy families that still want to gather around the table for a home-cooked meal.

They carry an extensive inventory of beans from roasters all over the country, and the box is highly customizable based on coffee preferences and drinking cadence. Read more about our favorite coffee subscription services to learn about all of the options.

Trade Most Popular Coffees Subscription. Even people who have a toddler-aged sourdough starter and like to bake from scratch will appreciate a Wildgrain subscription box, which is like having an artisan bakery in your freezer.

The contents are sourced from small bakeries all over the US, and the company donates four meals to the The Greater Boston Food Bank for every new subscription, so you can feel really good about spending your money on this one. Gourmet Chocolate of the Month Club. You probably know at least one person who is always trying to come up with a new cocktail or master a classic recipe.

This is probably the same person in your life who owns multiple novelty ice trays and has a well-stocked bar cart. Mouth is a Brooklyn-based company dedicated to helping people discover the best, most delicious, and most interesting indie food products.

With their pickle subscription box, you get three of the best jars of pickled cucumbers and one jar of something more unique, like cherry tomatoes, watermelon, or string beans. With selections like Whiskey Sour Pickles from Brooklyn Brine and Spicy Caribbean Pickles from The Real Dill in Denver, the gift will be a delight to snackers, adventurous cocktail makers, and tart-and-tangy fiends.

Mouth Pickles of the Month Club Subscription. If you know someone who could use a monthly delivery of deluxe artisanal snacks from local makers in Japan, a Bokksu snack subscription is the perfect gift. Shipping is free worldwide. Classic Bokksu Subscription Box.

Home-cooked pasta beats takeout any day. Past pasta offerings have included beet fusilli, porcini trumpets, and cuttlefish ink spaccatelli. The Sfoglini Pasta Club Half Year of Pasta.

Each subscription includes quarterly shipments of new products that are sure to become your new favorite hot sauce varieties. Fuego Box Hot Sauce Subscription.

For your friend who has made warm beverages their whole personality,get a tea subscription box. Each box comes with either four ounces of loose leaf tea or 12 tea bags, and the offerings can be customized to suit their tastes.

Art of Tea Subscription. The company has tons of options to fit your needs, like the Favorite Pear Club which ships three-month subscriptions of South Oregon pears starting in June , or the Citrus of the Month Club which comes with three-, six-, or month subscription options and includes everything from sumo mandarins to California Valencia oranges.

For serious fruit fanatics, splurge on the Signature Classic Club: a yearlong gift of the best snacks nature can offer that includes a pineapple, sweet cherries, and a handful of honey mangoes.

Butter makes everything better, and there is, in fact, better butter. Give the gift of butter made with cream from local Georgia cows with this collection, which is loaded with flavor and churned to perfection.

The sampler always includes one round of sea salt butter, one round of roasted garlic, one sweet butter like honey rosemary or dark chocolate , and one seasonal butter like red pepper mash or BBQ.

All are grass-fed and hormone-free, and they make great companions to freshly baked bread, corn on the cob , or a stack of pancakes. Banner Butter Grass-Fed Cultured Cream Butter Subscription. For anyone in your life who would appreciate the regular delivery of a pound and a half of cheese to their door, this gift box will get rave reviews.

Shipments are delivered the second Thursday of every month and come with an informative pamphlet that explains the idiosyncrasies and provenance of each cheese. Murray's Globetrotter's Cheese Club.

This gift gives charcuterie lovers the opportunity to try 12 different salamis crafted from Northwest pork. One of our editors has gifted this box and can confirm that they received ecstatic text messages from the recipient on a monthly basis all year long.

Olympia Provisions Salami of the Month Club. Think Hawaiian hot sauce, chocolate from Oregon, and barbecue spice rub from South Carolina. This is a great box for foodies looking to sample regional cuisines around the country without leaving home.

Mouth Indie States of America Box. Each monthly delivery contains between 8. Butcher Box Subscription. Goldbelly sources high-quality ice cream from local and regionally beloved creameries and sends the bounty directly to your doorstep.

You can enjoy Humphry Slocombe from San Francisco, Coolhaus Ice Cream Sandwiches from L. This is a surefire way to keep your giftee in complete ice cream heaven all year.

The Best Subscription Services for Every Type of Person (That Also Make Great Gifts) ; LeMel Stud Club. From $95 ; KidPik I Heart Fashion Box While there had been wine clubs and subscription based services for decades, this was a new idea: a monthly box curated with goods you'd love. This new form of Beauty Sample Subscription Boxes ; Ipsy Glam Bag · ; Allure Beauty Box · ; Walmart Beauty Box · ; New Beauty TestTube · ; AVTREE ·

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Sample subscription box service - Shop the top subscription boxes in beauty, grocery & snacks, lifestyle, toys, pets, and more. Manage all of your subscriptions in one place The Best Subscription Services for Every Type of Person (That Also Make Great Gifts) ; LeMel Stud Club. From $95 ; KidPik I Heart Fashion Box While there had been wine clubs and subscription based services for decades, this was a new idea: a monthly box curated with goods you'd love. This new form of Beauty Sample Subscription Boxes ; Ipsy Glam Bag · ; Allure Beauty Box · ; Walmart Beauty Box · ; New Beauty TestTube · ; AVTREE ·

This quarterly self-care box is filled with sex toys, bath and body items, and books. Trivia buffs will appreciate History by Mail, which sends detailed replicas of historical documents along with additional information on the context and cultural significance.

Help your bookish friend stay up to date on the latest releases with a Book of the Month subscription. Each book comes with a review from the person who selected it. YiLing Chen-Josephson reads hundreds of picture books each month, so you can trust her recommendation. Clearly they want to show off their socks, so help them keep new ones in the rotation with a monthly delivery of nice-looking patterned options.

Co-founded by actresses Daniella Monet and Evanna Lynch, Kinder Beauty fills its boxes of skin care and makeup with products that are guaranteed to be cruelty free, vegan, and nontoxic.

Rocksbox is a jewelry-rental service that will allow them to expand their jewelry collection without making any long-term commitments.

Members receive three pieces of jewelry in each shipment — if they fall in love with something, they have the option to purchase it, or they can return any or all of the pieces from each set to swap them out for something new. Help them stop runs in their tights for good by making sure they always have a new pair on deck.

Lots are from Strategist-approved brands, like BioDerma, La Roche-Posay, and First Aid Beauty. When Strategist senior editor Jen Trolio let her daughters try the service, they ended up loving every item they received.

Each delivery includes four to six full-size products that match a certain theme, like holiday fun, summer, or back-to-school. Strategist writer Lauren Ro and her son liked this toy-subscription box the best of the Montessori toy boxes they tested.

The boxes were created in partnership with renowned toy manufacturer PlanToys , known for its zero-waste practices and its nice-looking and sturdy wooden toys.

Every box contains a thoughtfully curated assortment of educational books, developmentally appropriate toys, nutritious snacks, and more. KiwiCo will occupy your kid with a hands-on project to complete — like a stained-glass kit that teaches you how rainbows are formed, or a felt succulent garden — that nurtures their creativity and curiosity.

The Strategist is designed to surface the most useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Some of our latest conquests include the best acne treatments , rolling luggage , pillows for side sleepers , natural anxiety remedies , and bath towels. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.

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Related: The Strategist Gift Scout. Food and drink. For the coffee lover ready to level up from Starbucks. Driftaway Coffee. For the coffee lover with a highly picky palate. Trade Coffee. For the person with a pantry full of Pocky.

For the person who religiously watches Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. Indie States of America Every Mouth. For the person with a very entry-level spice cabinet.

Raw Spice Bar Spice-of-the-Month Club. For the dinner-party host. For the person who always saves room for dessert. For the person downing mugs of Earl Grey. Atlas Tea Club Tea of the Month Club - 3 Month Subscription.

For the person making matcha lattes at home. For the person who goes apple-picking every autumn. Sprinkles Favorites Dozen Box. For the person who makes popcorn on the stove.

For the person starting to get serious about wine. Splash Wine Subscription. For the casual wine drinker. For the hipster wine drinker.

For the wine drinker who can blind-taste the difference between Cab Sauv and Merlot. Eater Wine Club Monthly Subscription. For the oyster aficionado. Real Oyster Cult Cult Monthly Membership. Sitka Seafood Market Seafood Subscription Box. For the bartender-in-training. For the person who attends every day of the San Gennaro festival.

For the person who dumps hot sauce on everything. For the person whose go-to snack is cheese and crackers. For the person with a candy crush. Candy Club. For the avowed carnivore. For the bread buff. Home and hobbies.

For the incorrigible Kickstarter supporter. For the doting cat owner. For the doting dog parent. BarkBox Gift Subscription, Monthly.

For the person trying to balance their chakras. Crystal Variety Box by Enchanted Crystal. For the person who loves to soak.

For the person who spends their weekends logging miles. For the person who keeps their car spick-and-span. MightyNest MightyFix subscription. Undiscovered Artisan Box. For the person who loves surprises. For the sticker fiend.

Jiggy Puzzles Club Membership - Three Months. For the person who lights up on the regular. For the person who loves all things kawaii. For the music snob who prefers Bandcamp to Spotify.

Vinyl Postcard Membership. For the person who always invites you to game night. Unbox Boardom Subscription Box. For the person who loves a candle. Vellabox Subscription. Bespoke Post. For the new homeowner. Art Crate. These boxes are automatically delivered for the length of your subscription.

Some monthly boxes allow you to set subscriber preferences to personalize your box. A few fully customizable subscription boxes are available.

Typically subscription boxes are sent out once a month, however some boxes are sent more or less frequently. If you purchase monthly subscriptions for 3, 6, or 12 months, there is usually a discount on the box price. Most boxes provide a mix of sample-sized and full-sized sample products.

Sample sized products are usually deluxe-sized. These are not usually the small freebies you often find on other sample sites.

There are some monthly boxes that deliver full-sized products every month.