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?

Our subscription box range was born as a mystery "grab bag" we were giving away with our turntable range. After sending out 20 bags or so, to rapturous praise, we thought it could be something we could sell in itself.

Hours of work and deliberation later, we had our very first subscription box, the Monthly Vinyl Club, a selection of 3 hand-picked unique records. We wanted to build a box that was catered to each and every customer, and break the ‘1 box for many’ mould that has shaped the market.

What attracted you to the subscription box model?

We were originally attracted to the subscription box model, after discovering the hype of Dollar Shave Club. With their innovative advertising campaign, and irresistible website design, I wanted to create something which could have the same brand wit and voice as those guys!

How did you validate your idea and test the market?

Our idea was validated originally by our mystery grab bags, which were given away with turntables. We also new that the cost of new vinyl was skyrocketing, and seen the gap to slide in as a way to collect and discover. We started selling the boxes beside our existing eCommerce range, and expanded organically from there!

How did you acquire your first customers?

When we launched, we had a database of customers who had already purchased turntables and accessories from us, so we had an audience we could advertise and sell to. This allowed us to acquire, and also tweak and adjust as we worked with our target market directly.

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

We did not!

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

The store has been running for just over three years, and the subscription boxes have been around for about 18 months now. It's been really fun, and crazy to see our brand grow and shrink all within that time!

Biggest achievements have to be scoring big influencers and getting our boxes on the screens of customers who we wouldn't have been able to reach otherwise. Large YouTuber Stuart Ashen was someone who we were a fan of for so long, and to appear on is channel was a dream come true!

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 boxes are hand-picked, and totally catered to the customer. Whilst our competitors have the ability to sell on FOMO of one LP or set of products, ultimately some customers will feel short changed, as the industry we're in is extremely subjective.

We have experts in house who curate and pick LP's for each genre, so when we come to packing them for a customer, we know they're going to love what they receive!

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

Thankfully this isn't an issue we have to deal with often. One of our biggest challenges is finding quality games in a market where the market itself is on the rise and prices are rising all the time!

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

Being featured by influencers was both a dream come true, as well as a logistical nightmare. Our operations were not set up to be as slick as other firms, as we are at the end of the day hand-picking and curating products all in house.

Being able to adjust to that with minimal customer impact was both scary yet extremely rewarding!

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

We're a team of 3. James runs the marketing, and Lio is our resident techie. 💻

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 try to do as much in-house as possible. This is both for a cost and control benefit. As a small team, we're able to learn and be involved in many aspects of the business. This means that as I learn about the intricacies of Google AdWords, I'm able to convey what makes landing pages convert more effectively!

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

Fulfilment of second hand goods is a tricky situation. When you're buying from the same place all of your potential customers could be buying, it can be hard to drive and show value the same way other subscription boxes are able to.

If we buy a game for £2, and place it in a £29.95 box, what do we use as a guide for RRP? Old video games don't have set prices, and it can be confusing and sometimes frustrating for veteran fans who maybe feel they aren't getting the same value from us they could by shopping themselves.

We do have great negotiating skills and power at this point, when buying in large numbers we do score some absolutely fantastic deals. Which is fantastic, otherwise we wouldn't have any margins!

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?

Over the next 12 months, we want to evolve to help create a community around our boxes. At the moment, we sell multiple boxes, which is ultimately different from how a lot of other services work. We think thats a successful way to go, and want to try to differentiate our services more clearly, in an effort to make our overall branding more direct.

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

Subscription boxes are a great way for customers to discover and also re-discover what they love from years gone by in our market.

Being able to see and hear about customers who share with community, have nights dedicated to opening their box, it's a fantastic thing and something we didn't plan on.

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

I think an open marketplace for subscription boxes will be a fantastic way to drive competition, see directly the full market (in all of its glory!) and hopefully drive subscription enthusiasts to our boxes, and reach demographics we hadn't considered in the past.