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 a subscriber to a similar box and liked it so much I thought, I can do this! When I told my husband Rob about my crazy idea, he was immediately so enthusiastic that I suggested we should run the business together. It was always meant to be a sideline to run alongside my graphic design business, but now two years on, we have subscribers in 44 countries and it's completely taken over, although my design skills have certainly been a help.

What attracted you to the subscription box model?

The success of the model throughout the US and its more recent rise here in the UK.

How did you validate your idea and test the market?

I researched other stationery subscription businesses and monitored their activity and feedback on social media.

How did you acquire your first customers?

Twitter! By the time our website went live we had a good following on Twitter, who were anxious to finally see exactly what we had to offer.

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?

We've been running for two and a half years now. Milestones:
- Reaching our subscriber number target for the end of 2017 with three months to spare.
- Being asked to be a judge in the London Stationery Show Awards in 2017.

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 make our subscriptions as flexible as possible, i.e. monthly or bi-monthly, 3 and 6 month prepays and we don't have lengthy contracts; subscriptions renew each month and subscribers can cancel at any time, or skip a month or more if they want to.
We get very positive feedback from our subscribers about our promotion of  young illustrators and support for a national charity.

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

We continue with research of new artisan producers and new products from the leading premium stationery brands both in the UK and abroad, we visit specialist stationery retailers to see what they're stocking and we go to trade shows including the wonderful London Stationery Show.

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

Not yet...

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

We are a husband and wife team of co-directors. I look after the creative side of the business, marketing, and customer contact. Rob handles the finance and IT. We share responsibility for deciding on what goes into the boxes and market research. We have additional help available to us when we need another pair of hands for packing boxes.

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?

Everything is handled in-house.

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

As subscriber numbers increase we need to devote more time to packing boxes, which dictates that we need to keep on top of time management when it comes to all other aspects of the business. We see this as a positive thing; it forces us to be better organised.

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 believe it will continue to grow. I know that many of our subscribers see their box as a monthly gift or reward for themselves, and everyone loves a surprise treat! There will come a time when we will have to decide either to cap our number of subscribers or find a fulfilment company. It will be a difficult decision, but a nice problem to have!

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

As someone who's been obsessed with all things paper and ink from a very young age, it's the perfect job! I have a legitimate excuse to spend as much time as I want in stationery shops, browsing stationery online, meeting producers, trying out the products... what could be better? Another thing I particularly enjoy is engaging with our subscribers through social media. In a few cases we've met in the real world, usually at trade fairs or markets, and it's great when they tell us they like what we're doing.

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

It's exciting to finally have a marketplace like this available to us in the UK. The marketing power that uOpen has will potentially open a whole new revenue stream for us and I can't wait to see what other subscription businesses will be on there.