There’s a new fad in sales that seems to have exploded recently. You may have noticed it in your Facebook ads or promoted during your favorite podcasts. You’ve heard of them. Names like Naturebox, Loot Crate, Bark Box…even Dollar Shave Club. With a subscription box, you pay a monthly cost and you get a box full of products. It might be healthy snacks, new products to sample or a collection of toys that they have nothing better to do with.
Subscription Box Benefits
The advantages of a subscription box for these companies include:
- Selling directly to their customers without having to secure retail deals
- Having customers trial their products
- Securing monthly recurring revenue
Naturebox has been particularly successful by offering its own branded healthy snacks. They’ve grown from shipping 50,000 boxes in 2012 to over a million in 2013. They plan to triple that number this year. At the same time, they expanded their product line from 50 items last year to 130.
Varieties
There are subscription boxes for a wide variety of interests and the trend is growing. Here’s a brief list of the better-known companies and what you get:
- Naturebox – 5 full size packages of nutritious snacks
- Loot Crate (my personal favorite!) – A box full of fun and unexpected geek + gamer gear based on a monthly theme
- Bark Box – A box of dog toys and treats customized to the size of your dog
- KitNipBox – Bark Box, but for cats
- Man Crate (one-time gifts, not monthly) – various packages based on many interests geared towards men
- Birch Box – Beauty, grooming and lifestyle samples.
- Get many more listed here
The only downside is that you may get random products that you don’t want. But, most point out that the value of the box is higher than the price they charge. Have you ordered a subscription box? What did you think? Thanks for reading and please share with your friends!