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?

I was looking for a fun way to teach my own children about different countries and cultures.

What attracted you to the subscription box model?

Subscriptions are growing in the UK and internationally as more and more consumers are becoming subscribers for the enjoyment and convenience.  It seemed like a good business model.

How did you validate your idea and test the market?

Friends with children first tested out the idea and loved it, so I created more countries to add to the journey.  We're now working at an additional 6 countries to add on early next year.

How did you acquire your first customers?

From a local four day Christmas Fair called Living North.  We received great feedback and took our first orders.

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

We are currently seeking investment for growth.

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

We started the business part time in 2015.  We recently won the Made for Mums Gold Award in the subscription box category.  We've worked really hard on making our products great quality and fun so to have that recognition has been brilliant.  Especially, as some very large companies were in the running too.

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

Our subscription follows a story which means it's very engaging for children.  They become really attached to our characters Geo the owl and Atlas the puppy. We feel that this sets our subscription apart from others.

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

We like to look for unique ideas and that is why we launched Space Journey.  Our next journey is going to be ECO based where our characters visit animals in their natural habitats and look at the dangers they face. Children can learn what they can do to help.  Environmental issues are very current.

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

Hitting our first 100 subscribers in the early stages required us to put efficient technical systems in place to keep track of the various subscriptions.

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

There are 2 of us at the moment.  We are sisters and feel this brings a unique and special element to our 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 manage most things in house at the moment but are looking to outsource fulfilment in the near future.  We have an external marketing team that we work with too.

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

The logistics of subscribers being on different months at different times.  As our Geo Journey and Space Journey are in a set order we can have a number of different country boxes going out in any one month.  For example some people will be up to France in the journey and others will be up to Japan etc.

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?

Acquiring new customers and keeping existing subscribers will be the biggest challenge as more and more subscription boxes enter the market.  We need to maintain quality and keep our USP.

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

Receiving photos of the children enjoying the boxes and reading about how much they have learned is the most enjoyable aspect.  We recently had a school doing the Geo Journey and all the children wrote letters back to Geo and Atlas, they were fantastic to read.

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

It sounds like a great opportunity to put our brand in front of lots of people looking for a subscription box.