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 businessmodel, BoxyCharm makes money via subscriptionrevenue.
The razor blade businessmodel, 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.
HelloFresh is a German provider of meal kits founded by Dominik Richter, Thomas Griesel, and Jessica Schultz (née Nilsson) in 2011. HelloFresh has a relatively simple revenue generation model. The company makes money by charging users a weekly subscription fee for meal deliveries.
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.
