BoxyCharm recognized a gap in the popular beauty subscription box market. Most companies were shipping boxes with sample-sized products that were not on trend or seasonally appropriate. As a proponent of the subscription box businessmodel, BoxyCharm makes money via subscription revenue.
BoxyCharm was founded in 2013 by entrepreneur Joe Martin.
Martin recognized a gap in the popular beauty subscription box market.
Most companies were shipping boxes with sample-sized products that were not on trend or seasonally appropriate.
The first BoxyCharm subscription box incorporating trendy full-sized products was shipped later that year.
For the next three years, Martin invested more money into growing the company until it had $20 million in annual revenue.
He would feature subscription box promotions on Instagram and other social media platforms to save on marketing costs.
He also minimized shipping costs by ensuring each package was under a certain weight and identified countries where he could sell and ship efficiently.
As a direct consequence, initial operations were focused on Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico.
To access a regular beauty box, customers must complete a beauty quiz to help the company create personalized product recommendations.
Once this has been completed, the subscriber has three options:
BoxyCharm ($25/month) – with five full-sized products in a base box up to a value of $235. After the first box is delivered, members on the basic plan can choose one item for their next box.
BoxyCharm Premium ($35/month) – with six full-sized products up to a value of $275. Premium members receive free shipping and can choose from two items each month. Note that the company allows customers to subscribe to BoxyCharm and BoxyCharm Premium simultaneously.
BoxyCharm Luxe – for an additional $24.99, customers can opt to receive 8 full-sized products every quarter with a value of around $455. This includes makeup, skincare, lifestyle must-haves, and hair tools. The Luxe box replaces the base box in March, June, September, and December.
Add-ons
The purchase of additional products is also available in the BoxyCharm add-ons store.
This option is available for those who prefer not to receive a subscription box.
In most cases, shipping is free. However, the company charges $5 for orders sent to Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. Territories, and Canada.
BoxyCharm PopUp
BoxyCharm PopUp is a shopping event featuring large discounts on makeup, skincare, haircare, and lifestyle products.
Discounts may be greater than 80%. As a result, the service is only available to subscribed members.
Key takeaways:
BoxyCharm is an American subscription box service for beauty products. It was founded by Joe Martin who noted that similar services did not incorporate full-sized products that were seasonally appropriate.
BoxyCharm makes money via three subscription plans, with each differing according to product quality, diversity, and customization.
BoxyCharm sells its beauty products on a one-off basis and also runs regular shopping events with heavy discounts for subscribed members.
Subscription-based business models are built on a recurring customer base, where customers usually have access to the product or service rather than their own. The customer can have the upside of the service without owning the good underlying it, which is maintained by the company running the subscription-based business.
Ipsy is a monthly subscription service for cosmetic and beauty products founded in 2011 by Michelle Phan, Marcelo Camberos, and Jennifer Goldfarb. Phan used her large YouTube following to launch and grow the platform. Ipsy makes money by charging customers monthly for beauty subscription boxes. Various subscription plans are available depending on the beauty product size and customization level. Ipsy also operates an eCommerce store selling branded and in-house beauty products. The company also sells product placement spots to brands eager to receive highly targeted exposure.
Birchbox is an online American monthly subscription service for skincare, perfume, and other cosmetic items. Birchbox was among the first players to start leveraging a subscription-based model to reshape how value is delivered to customers. Instead of a one-off purchase, Birchbox curates a set of samples that each time are sent to its subscribers, enabling them to discover new cosmetic products while reducing the friction and cost of discovery for new products.
FabFitFun is an online subscription box service sending electronics, cosmetics, fitness, wellness, and fashion items every quarter. Founded in 2010, it started as a simple website, and as it gained popularity, thus following later on a similar subscription-based model to Birchbox. It now generates revenues through membership services and brand sponsorships.
Dollar Shave Club is an American online subscription service delivering razor blades and grooming products monthly. The Dollar Shave Club business model flipped upside down the “razor and blade” model popularized by Gillette. In short, where Gillette sold its razors at cost while making fat margins on its blades, Dollar Shave Club offered a subscriptionmodel to cut off the costs and friction of getting new blades and grooming products with a curated package.
BoxyCharm recognized a gap in the popular beauty subscription box market. Most companies were shipping boxes with sample-sized products that were not on trend or seasonally appropriate. As a proponent of the subscription box business model, BoxyCharm makes money via subscription revenue.
The razor blade business model, also known as the razor-razorblade model, involves selling a product at a lower price to sell a related product later for a profit. The razor and blade business model was popularized by King C. Gillette, founder of the safety razor company Gillette, which sold a durable razor at cost while selling disposable blades at a premium.
Gennaro is the creator of FourWeekMBA, which reached about four million business people, comprising C-level executives, investors, analysts, product managers, and aspiring digital entrepreneurs in 2022 alone | He is also Director of Sales for a high-tech scaleup in the AI Industry | In 2012, Gennaro earned an International MBA with emphasis on Corporate Finance and Business Strategy.
