This is part of uOpen’s 'Industry Insights' interview series - a valuable collection of informative and intelligent insights into how some of the UK's best-known and most-loved subscription box businesses came to be and got to where they are - all shared by the very people who made it happen...

Covering customer acquisition to fulfilment, this blog series offers a behind the scenes look at how the many moving parts of these complex, yet successful operations come together each month to satisfy the ever-growing demand of subscription box customers in the UK.

How did the idea for your subscription box come about?

Early in 2017, I was discussing university student debt with Harvey, my son. Harvey decided to start Blue Coffee Box to pay his way through university instead of taking loans. I agreed to partner with him as I have a lot of business experience.

In the UK around 65% of us still drink instant coffee. In Europe, it’s 2% and the USA, it’s 7%. But why do we spend so much money buying real coffee in Costa and Starbucks? Because we prefer good coffee.

The ground coffee stocked in supermarkets is old and stale (there are no “roasted on” dates). And most coffee is over-roasted (i.e. burnt) so that cheap beans can be mixed together and the taste masked by over-roasting. Adverts point us to “dark” or “continental” roasts. That’s the burnt stuff. We use milk and sugar to cover the bitter taste.

Real coffees taste as varied as wine. They have hints of flavours from fruit and floral to chocolate and nuts. Different countries produce totally different coffees and it takes a specialist roaster to bring out the real flavour. It’s like comparing restaurant food to a microwave meal.

A few years ago in the USA, I read an article about a coffee company that had been on Shark Tank. Their coffee subscription style was not available over here and it was a little frustrating.

We used that as the model and Blue Coffee Box brings it all together in a letterbox-friendly box.

What attracted you to the subscription box model?

I run a number of online businesses and was aware of the popularity of the subscription model.

How did you validate your idea and test the market?

It was not necessary to validate. The model works in the USA and is growing. Coffee shops are opening apace in the UK. Speciality coffee is the fastest growing sector in coffee - even Starbucks is trying to get in on it. Subscription boxes are a fast growing sector in ecommerce. What more did we need to know?

How did you acquire your first customers?

I emailed every person I've ever had an email conversation with, one at a time, and asked them to buy a box.

Did you raise any seed or investor funding to help you grow?

No.

How long have you been running now and what are your most successful achievements and milestones so far?

Trading started in August 2017. Having tested as many free marketing initiatives as possible, in early 2018 we started removing discount offers from our efforts and reworked all our paid ads. The business started taking off as we attracted better customers (as opposed to freebie and bargain seekers). Milestone 1 was to hit breakeven - done. Milestone 2 is to employ packers - happening in July. Milestone 3 is to start paying Harvey's university fees - October, hopefully :-)

With the rise of new boxes launching all the time, what do you see as your USP that sets you apart from your competitors?

Other coffee subscription companies tend to only sell their own coffees.

At Blue Coffee Box, we take you on a tour of the world of “Speciality Coffee” (that’s the top 2% of coffee beans in the world). The beans are ethically sourced direct from single-origin and microlot farmers so they get 30% more than Fairtrade prices and don’t have to live in poverty.

Each box has notecards for every coffee explaining everything about it and where it was grown. You will be able to impress (or bore) your friends.

Our roasters are from the top 20 of the UK’s 300+ craft roasters. The coffee is fresh roasted every week. No two taste the same and we select from over 17 countries.

How does your business continue to find new and exciting products to keep your customers engaged and excited every month?

Single origin speciality coffee is seasonal, so changes throughout the year. We change our roasters each month and no two coffees taste the same. It's a continuous journey of discovery.

Have there been any particularly pivotal moments so far that have required you to make changes to how you operate?

As mentioned earlier, we found that offering discounts and giveaways and offers does not generate long-term customers who stay for the experience. Once we figured this out, our numbers started to grow fast - don't tell anyone ;-)

How large is your team? What type of roles do they have?

Just 5 at the moment, with 2 new packers joining in July when we move into new premises. Roles include growing and talking to our community via social media, blog writing about the world of coffee, outreach to reviewers and journalists, selecting new coffees. Oh, and running a business

Across all operational areas of your business, what do you manage in-house and what do you outsource to external suppliers to support you with - and why is this?

We don't roast our own coffee, as that is a true skill and many roasters are, how do I put it.... not as experienced as others. We offer a ‘Taste Guarantee’ and only use the best of the best roasters so we can put our money where our mouth is.

What types of challenges do you face with fulfilment, delivery and customer service?

Our coffee is fresh roasted each week, so needs to be delivered on time and shipped out before it gets "old". If it is requested as ground, we grind on the day of packing. Unlike once-a-month boxes, we send out immediately on order.

Also, as we grow, some of the smaller artisan roasters cannot cope with our increased orders. This will involve more planning as we grow.

How do you see the subscription box industry is evolving and what do you believe are going to be your biggest challenges over the next 12 months?

Fads come and go, so we did a lot of research of the USA market as it's a few years ahead of the UK. With that knowledge, we try to avoid the pitfalls of a fad and don't regard ourselves as a traditional "subscription business". We are a speciality coffee company. Quality coffee won't be going out of fashion anytime soon.

What do you enjoy most about running your subscription box business?

My other businesses sell fire safety to business customers. People buy that because they are forced to. Our Blue Coffee Box members chose to buy and write in with all sorts of wonderful, unprompted messages of how they are loving the coffee. It makes a real change to get true feedback for a great product.

What excites you about uOpen, and how do you see the marketplace featuring in your business' future?

Any marketplace that will put our product in front of a hungry (or thirsty) audience is wonderful. Unlike Amazon, who are getting free market research in what to sell next, uOpen is product-agnostic. We like that and it's good for the customers.