When it comes to beauty, fashion, and grooming products, this is a great niche for starting your own subscription box business. Just remember, though, the big stores like CVS, Amazon, and Lancôme do have their own beauty boxes! So if you’re interested in starting a fashion, beauty or grooming subscription box, it’s smart to find a point of difference.
1. Makeup
Makeup subscription boxes are the perfect way for customers to try new products without committing to them. You can even personalize your boxes to your customers’ needs — for example, sending specific foundation and eyeshadow depending on skin tone.
2. Haircare
Again, this is the perfect situation to provide customers with sample products so they can try before they commit. Alternatively, if you run a haircare retail store or a hairdressing salon, it’s definitely worth looking into offering subscription boxes. Look after your clients by going one step further and sending them their personalized shampoo, conditioner, brushes, hairspray and serums before they need to reorder them.
3. Shaving
Shaving is another replenishment opportunity. Each month, send your customers a bottle of shaving cream, some new razors, and moisturizer so they never run out of what they need. You can have a women’s box and a men’s box so you can adjust as necessary. Save your customers a trip to the store!
4. Clothing
Whether it’s baby clothes, T-shirts, shoes or leggings, there is so much scope for a clothing subscription box. And while the baby market may be harder to crack than the adult market, after all, babies all grow at different rates with different needs, there is definitely an opening to bring a unique offer to the market.
5. Dental care
More than 3.5 billion toothbrushes are sold worldwide and approximately $2 billion is spent annually in America on dental care. While there are other subscription boxes for dental care already in the market, that’s not to say you can’t join in on the fun. Everyone needs toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss, and mouthwash — so if nothing else, at least you’re saving your customers a trip to the supermarket.
6. Deodorant
No one likes a smelly person, least of all the people sitting next to you. So while deodorant doesn’t seem like it would be a huge market, it is. With so much choice out there, it’s hard for consumers to choose just one. Like makeup and hair care, you can provide samples of different ranges for customers so they can ultimately choose their favorite. Then you can replenish them each and every month.
7. Jewelry
Always very popular, there’s so much room in the jewelry market for new subscription boxes. This is mainly because people will gravitate towards their own individual tastes. And isn’t it lovely to receive a brand-new piece of jewelry in the mail each month? Just make sure you’re producing high-quality, interesting, and unique pieces.
8. Socks and underwear
Who wants drab and boring socks anymore? No one! That’s who. It’s common nowadays to make a fashion statement with our socks and even our underwear. Provide high-quality materials with a good fit and in some fun and funky patterns and you’ll do swell.
Starting a subscription box business
Subscription boxes are one of the best ways to shop, offering consumers curated products, brands and opportunities they may never pursue in other circumstances. Creating a subscription box business also provides the owner financial stability, knowing how much profit is generated each month.
Remember, any idea you have needs to have a sustainable future. That’s why we suggest that the idea captures a few of the seven top properties of a subscription box business – existing fan base, timeless niche, discovery value, habitual need, gifting potential, emotional value or lifestyle value.
But how do you actually start a subscription box business? Just follow these simple steps.
- Come up with your idea! Well, duh, we hear you say. But it’s not as obvious or easy as it seems. Coming up with an idea means thinking about what you love and brainstorming how you can turn it into a profitable business. It also means researching your competitors to see what they are doing and how you can make your product different.
- Price your subscription box. There are calculators online that you can use to figure out the most appropriate pricing for your box. These take into consideration the cost of the products or materials used to create the products, the boxes themselves, packaging, postage and the time and effort it actually takes. You should also consider any fixed monthly costs you have such as email or accounting software and build that in. During this time, it’s a good idea to get prices for different elements such as the packaging materials and the box itself, so you can find the best price possible.
- Build a box and get feedback. Build a prototype box (or a few of them) and start sending it to people in your network! If you can’t afford the postage, simply hand it over to them. Then ask for their honest and constructive feedback. Use your family and friends as test dummies to iron out any issues prior to taking it to market.
- Set up your website and social media channels. While your family and friends are busy checking out your goods, set up a website and social media channels. Start to build a buzz about your product. Also consider listing your subscription box on marketplaces like Cratejoy, which will help you with your sales.
- Start selling! Choose a launch date and stick to it. If you’re taking pre-orders, just remember to advise your customers that you’ll only be posting your box on a specific date.
Why start a subscription box service?
Is fashion, beauty or grooming something you absolutely love? Do you make jewelry as a hobby? Are you heavily invested in makeup? If you love what you do, it will never feel like work.
If you love certain elements of an industry, why not share it with others? Of course,there are advantages to running a business within an industry that you love. For example, those wholesale prices are fantastic as is the extra income. Plus, the flexibility involved is an added bonus, meaning you can choose when and where you work. But at the end of the day, the best part about turning your hobby into a career is that you’ll genuinely enjoy what you do. And isn’t enjoyment what life is all about?
