Launching a subscription box business has become a rising and popular trend for existing retailers, motivated entrepreneurs and startups. Whether you’re looking to acquire more online sales or are keen on building the next big name in the thriving subscription box world such as Birchbox or Hello Fresh, learning how to break into the marketplace is the first step you need to take on your path towards success.

Here at uOpen, there has been an exponential rise in applications for listing new boxes from sellers on our marketplace as a result of the 2020 pandemic. We have seen approximately 40-50 new seller applications per month which are up from 10-20 per month in 2019.

To ensure maximum customer satisfaction, we only approve existing boxes that are shipping a high-quality monthly experience. This meticulous process has allowed uOpen to list over 200 different boxes, from an estimated 2000 subscription boxes that are now operating in the UK.

The opportunity of growing a recurring revenue is an attractive proposition for any budding entrepreneur or existing retailer. However, running a successful subscription box service can have its challenges when it comes to researching and planning, especially since the business model is still in its infancy here in the UK.

We have partnered up with successful subscription box founder Moira Fuller from Craftiosity to provide key insights into how to start a subscription box and all the obstacles to consider along the way. 

Moira’s monthly crafting box is one of the most popular subscription boxes on the uOpen marketplace. Each monthly box comes packed with all the materials you need to tackle different crafting projects and create beautiful homeware products and accessories.

Additionally, Moira has just launched her own Subscription Box Academy to help aspiring entrepreneurs, startups and others to launch their subscription box businesses with expert advice and coaching.

The following is a carefully curated guide adapted from Moira’s Subscription Box Academy to help kickstart your business journey. Plus, find more about Moira’s coaching at the end with an exclusive offer.

Grab yourself a coffee, a notepad, turn off all distractions and shift your focus to our eight steps on how to start a subscription box. Let’s get started:

Have you done some brainstorming around your ideal customer? Set aside a chunk of time to get inside your customer’s head and figure out what they want specifically for your subscription offer.

Ask yourself how well you know your customer and get clear on the basics with the following questions: 

 - Who are your ideal customers? 
 - What is your niche? 
 - What types of products do people in your niche already enjoy? 
 - How could this be leveraged into an ongoing subscription experience?

Make your approach and strategy as easy as possible by focusing on a small, tight-knit group of super fans that will love your niche box instead of attempting to cater to everyone. Focus on a core group and work with them – collect helpful feedback and watch as a community of super fans become your thriving subscriber base. 

Think specifically about the appeal of subscription boxes and the type of box you want to create. The following is designed to give you an idea of the different categories and approaches subscription boxes aim to offer:

 - Curation (creating elements of excitement and discovery)

We can easily buy all our essentials online. However, subscription boxes provide that element of surprise, excitement and discovery that regular online shopping does not.

 - Create Connections & Communities
Subscription boxes create connections and bring communities together. They provide a feeling of being a part of something as everyone receives the same monthly experience and can exchange views, tips and showcase them using the products.

 - Positive Messages & Experiences
Supporting local independents or worthy causes. Many people want to support small local producers, and subscription boxes make accessing these local products seamless by bringing them to customers' doors without any fuss.

 - Convenience & Ease 
A monthly box is something that the customer has complete control over – convenience at its finest. Customers have the power to schedule something they want to consume or experience. They get a monthly surprise without the need to re-order or think about it.

 - Gifting
Having the opportunity to give a beautiful, exciting and innovative gift that keeps on giving to someone special for any occasion.

Are you already in business? You should already have a fair idea of what your existing products, packaging, delivery, marketing and overheads will cost. However, if you’re just getting started then it’s best to lay it all out on the table and face the potential numbers. 

When looking at a subscription box service, you’re going to need to consider the costs for the following: 

 - Packaging
 - Pack & postage
 - Processing fees
 - Printed materials
 - Advertising costs
 - Will you look into outsourcing fulfilment?
 - Or will you pack the boxes yourself, to begin with?
 - Website costs
 - The products you’ll include

Once you’ve roughly tallied up and considered each of these components, you will have a clearer idea of how your numbers are looking and what your budget will be for each box.

Next, you’ll be able to get a better grasp on your profit margin. It's worth ensuring you have enough margin to soak up unexpected issues. For example, you may need to consider the following:

 - Box returns
 - Increases in costs
 - Advertising & marketing opportunities: This is where you might want to give away a free box to an influencer to provide an unboxing on social media or a percentage to an affiliated partner to promote to a wider audience. These tactics will benefit you in the long-run and help support your reach and engagement.  

Looking at your numbers may seem daunting. However, it will be better for you and your business to confront all the nitty-gritty details right from the start and account for these possible costs now rather than later. For example, deciding to increase your selling price, later on, can be tricky when you already have paying subscribers fixed on an existing rate.

Building and growing a subscription box business can be an exhilarating and exciting venture, especially as you begin to see your subscriber base increase. But as you ship your monthly boxes, the next month is always right around the corner and planning is an essential part of the process of running a scalable operation. Planning and staying organised will put you ahead of the game and keep your customers away from clicking that cancel button.  

Get ready to put your hands to work with the following list of various regular roles and tasks involved in growing your subscription box business:

 - Planning upcoming themes
 - Sourcing products from suppliers
 - Managing stock for upcoming or unsold boxes and packaging materials
 - Managing fulfilment to ensure the right customers get the right box on time
 - Customer service
 - Pick and packing
 - Website admin – Adding blog posts and maintaining your site 
 - Marketing – Email marketing, paid advertising, social media, influencers, content creation and SEO
 - Photography – Creating appealing images of your monthly boxes is key
 - Reporting - New Customers, CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost), MRR (Monthly recurring revenue),  - LTV (Lifetime Value of a subscriber), Churn Rate (How many cancellations each month) – There are many metrics to consider, but these are a solid place to start when reporting how well your business is doing
 - Accounting
 - Then rinse and repeat for the next box

Now comes the fun part!

Subscription boxes are so much more than just delivering products in a box – they provide a memorable, special and unique experience for customers. The thrill of unboxing and discovering surprises that have been carefully curated and tailored to the customer’s interests is what sets a subscription box apart from your typical online shopping packages. 

When creating the ‘thrilling’ element of your unboxing experience, you’ll want to think about the following: 

 - How do you make a beautiful unboxing experience, with a little bit of magic?
 - How do you deliver emotions of joy that the customer will want to experience every month?
 - What can your package offer your customer that is different from your competition?
 - Will your boxes include tracking to avoid any issues with it not arriving? 

There are various opportunities to delight here. From your choice of packaging and print materials to the actual products and thoughtful extras – this is your opportunity to have fun and get creative! 

Take the time to think about what the receiving process will look like for your customer – from the moment their box arrives to seeing how the packaging is presented to beginning their unboxing process. 

 - Is the box all carefully organised or thrown together? 
 - Does the box contain a little personalised message or insert explaining what the products are?
 - Do the products have an interesting backstory that might fascinate your customer?
 - Will the customer feel like they’re getting good value for the overall experience?
 - Will the customer want to share unboxing photos and be proud to show off what they’ve just received to friends on social media?

This is also a great time to think about who your suppliers will be and if you’ll bring in any elements beyond your existing product range. Could you connect with the types of brands that will excite customers whilst still being cost-effective for your box?

Mapping out your customer journey is an essential part of any business. Understanding the wants, needs, interests and purchasing behaviours of your customers will allow you to create a seamless and pleasant journey that is tailored to them and thus, keep them coming back for more. 

You’ll want to consider, think about and refine the following steps in your customer journey: 

From when they first come across your subscription box > to your website > to their experience of buying > to your communication through the purchase process > to confirming their box is on its way > to following up afterwards and continuing ongoing communication.

How do you make your subscribers feel appreciated and cared for?

Don’t worry, it’s not as daunting as it sounds – we promise!  

Do you already have an existing online shop (such as Shopify, SquareSpace or WooCommerce)? Wonderful! Most online platforms will allow you to add a recurring payment option so you can have your standard products and subscriptions in one place. 

There are also stand-alone recurring payment processor options specifically geared to subscription box or membership businesses such as Stripe, Recurley and Chargebee

Some options are more expensive than others, but it will come down to ease, the costs involved, and your long-term vision for your subscription business.

During the early days, you may decide to pack your products in your workplace and use your existing postal method to dispatch.

However, as your business grows, you could also look into using a fulfilment centre to handle the packing and delivering of your subscription box. This option will save you time, additional staffing, and will not overwhelm your current space.

All of your stock can be sent directly to a fulfilment centre throughout the month. All you need to do is send over your monthly fulfilment file with packing instructions and your boxes will be picked, packed and shipped through a courier of your choice.

Many subscription box businesses feel that outsourcing fulfilment lifts a huge weight off their shoulders. However, others still prefer to ensure boxes are given that personal touch by packing themselves. 

Depending on what works best for you and how your business is growing, you’ll want to consider the logistics of your packing and delivery processes.

As we have already discussed the technicalities and fundamentals of creating a subscription box, it is key to take a step back and review the bigger picture and recognise your levers for growth.

When it comes to growing your subscription box business, you’ll want to think about the following:

 - How potential customers will find you
 - How many of those people will convert to buying and become customers
 - How much will they spend with you
 - How often will they return to buy from you
 - How will they help spread the word to add more potential customers to your audience 

There are a variety of ways you can maximise each element as you delight your customers and grow your business.

From all the team here at uOpen, we hope that our ‘how to start a subscription box’ guide has given you plenty of helpful insights and has motivated you to kickstart your subscription box business. We’d love to hear your stories, questions and feedback, so feel free to get in touch and connect with our team via our contact form.

Do you already have a subscription box business? Are you keen to maximize your brand exposure and acquire new sales? Start growing your business today and apply to become a seller here on uOpen.

This article has been adapted from a post created by Moira Fuller.

Moira is a coach for subscription box businesses and founder of Subscription Box Academy – the A-Z acceleration programme to take your subscription box from the idea/early stages to a flourishing business.

We’ve arranged the following exclusive offer with Subscription Box Academy. Simply mention “uOpen” when you buy the programme and you’ll receive a free 30-minute one-to-one strategy session with Moira. 

Thank you for reading and we wish you the best of luck on your subscription box journey!