How did the idea for your subscription box come about?

My existing brand - Bookishly - is all about books, and I thought it would be nice to add a subscription to our offering. This was a few years ago but even then the market for book subscriptions was fairly well-established.

What attracted you to the subscription box model?

To be honest, I think that initially it was just about being part of the subscription box trend! But very quickly the advantages became apparent. The recurring payments, economies of scale and the community that it creates around the brand are great.

How did you validate your idea and test the market?

We started very slowly, selling gift bundles on marketplace websites. It became a popular product so we expanded from there.

How did you acquire your first customers?

Our first subscribers all came from marketplaces that we sell through as a brand. We listed the product as a prepaid bundle of months and it took off! It wasn’t for about a year that we created a website just for the subscription that supported recurring payments.

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?

It’s been going since 2014 in one way or the other and it’s been a fun ride. Getting to the point where we could buy our vintage books in bulk was a great milestone. It really made things easier.

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

We are using vintage books, and we also design some of the product that goes into the subscriptions in-house. This gives things a lovely cohesive feel and is a bit different to other subscriptions that are more about curation than creation.

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

Our subscription is not based on curating a different collection of products every month. We design some of the products ourselves so they are unique to the market.

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

The volume getting too large for us to fulfil in house was a big change. So now the person that looks after the logistical side of the subscription in our team doesn’t pack the parcels, they manage the process.

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

There are 12 of us at Bookishly, but not everyone is focused on the subscriptions. We have designers, a picture framer, marketing, admin, customer service and order fulfilment. But everyone tends to help out where needed too.

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 outsource the actual packing of the subscription parcels because there is a company in the same business centre as us who are set up to do this for us really easily. Keeping it local means that we can still manage the posting ourselves. That really helps the customer service side of things.

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

The expectations of international customers for tracked services at a very low cost is sometimes a challenge, as well as people asking for exceptions within the subscription.

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?

I think that customers have a much greater understanding of subscription products than they did a few years ago, and it’s become a go-to gift for people. I hope that technology will keep improving to make the running of a subscription easier and easier, especially for brands that can’t afford to invest £1000s in custom software.

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

Seeing the unboxing photos pop up on Instagram after the deliveries go out!

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

I’m really excited to reach more UK customers, as we are keen to grow and want to reach as many people as possible! Hopefully, uOpen will be a significant part of our future!