How To Start A Subscription Box Business - Subbly

The quick version: Your idea is the foundation of your business.

Begin by deciding what type of subscription box you will sell. You can choose one of the more popular subscription box categories or select something unique.

Popular subscription box niches

Your first option is to select items that are already popular. The graph below shows the most popular types of subscription boxes as well as their average pricing:

If you choose a popular category, the challenge you face is that the market is already saturated.

For example, there are hundreds of food and meal kit boxes already out there.

This means you may have a harder time competing with other subscription services for customers. This is where you may want to lower the price of your box to entice new subscribers.

On the upside, if you choose a popular type of box, it should be relatively easy and affordable to source products to include. For example, if you choose beauty, you can buy these items from wholesale suppliers at a relatively low price.

💡 Need help coming up with subscription box business ideas? Check out our guide.

Specific subscription box niches

Coming up with popular subscription box ideas ensures established demand. However, there are also several benefits of niching down and curating a truly unique box.

Coming up with popular subscription box ideas ensures established demand. However, there are also several benefits of niching down and curating a truly unique box.

Firstly, you won’t be competing with a massive market to sell your boxes, as there’ll likely only be a few available in your niche.

You’ll also be able to charge more per box because subscribers can’t find these products as part of a subscription elsewhere.

Additionally, although the demand for your products may be lower due to their specificity, you’ll have access to an untapped audience to sell to.

However, the downside to choosing niche market products to include in your box is that these items could be more expensive to source.

The best niche subscription service is based on your own passions. You can directly translate this into the products you offer in your boxes.

For example, if caring for your dog is extremely important to you, this can help you choose products for your pet-related box that other dog owners will appreciate.

Need more help figuring out which products to sell? Have a look at our in-depth guide on choosing products for subscription boxes!

Understanding your competitors

Whether you’re choosing a more popular type of subscription box or a highly specific niche, you need to perform thorough market research to determine your competitors.

Conduct a competitor analysis of companies that already sell your idea and find out:

• How many boxes you’re competing with
• What do these subscription boxes offer, and at what price?

From there, you can start thinking about how you can differentiate your subscription box from your competitors’.