One of Cratejoy’s longest-standing and most popular sellers is A Little Bundle, a monthly curated box designed for expecting mothers and their newborns. Every month, founder Annie Lin works with a variety of designers and brands to bring exclusive, beautiful and unique products to her 400 subscribers – and we’re thrilled we can help along the way. “It’s really what differentiates us compared to other baby brands is that we deliver products to people that they won’t find anywhere else in the world,” Annie recently shared with us. “In response, customers are always telling me how much they enjoy discovering new brands and products through our boxes, and it’s definitely rewarding.”
So why boxes of mom and baby products? Well, before moving to Austin, Annie was living in New York City and working in the fashion industry. After becoming familiar with Birchbox and other subscription businesses and seeing how much her friends were drawn to them, Annie came up with her own idea for a subscription business.
Since moving to Austin, A Little Bundle has become more than a typical full-time job for Annie. She says she typically spends seven days a week working on her boxes, which include products for both the mom and the baby. For moms, that means women’s jewelry, clothing and a variety of other lifestyle products and accessories. For the babies, it’s anything from nursing products to clothes and toys.
And these aren’t your average toys!
In fact, Annie brings an exclusive product every month in which she collaborates with a brand to create a product. For example, in September, Annie collaborated with Hazel Village in Brooklyn, NY to create Stuart the Penguin. “With toys like Stuart as an example, our customers truly experience the luxury of receiving all these exclusive products along with the already curated products for that month,” Annie explained.
Annie says the biggest challenge of running her box is that she does the vast majority of the work by herself, aside from a few friends that help her during shipment day. “In general, running a small business means it’s always evolving. I’m always looking for different ways to work more efficiently, whether it’s bringing down costs or continuing to provide really great customer service, which I believe is part of our core,” Annie told us.
But, as she points out, her relationship with Cratejoy makes every other aspect of her business remarkably easy. “Cratejoy is so kind and responsive,” Annie said. “As my box grows and the number of subscribers I have grows, they have been so easy to work with and I am grateful for their help.”
Annie is just one of Cratejoy’s sellers with an awesome success story, and as more sellers join the beta, we look forward to seeing how other people can make their experiences just like hers.
By the way, Annie also runs an Instagram account with some of the most adorable baby photos you will ever see, also featuring many of the products they ship out each month to new brands she’s discovered along the way. If you’re interested in trying out Annie’s box, go to her website today and check it out!
