ENTREPRENEURSHIP
shipping out hugs
ME TO YOU BOX SENDS CURATED CARE PACKAGES TO DISTANT LOVED ONES
WRITTEN BY JACKIE GOLDSCHNEIDER PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANNE-MARIE CARUSO
Sometimesthe best gifts are the ones you give“ just because” – unexpectedgestures that let people know you’ re thinking of them no matter how far away they are. Annyssa Cantor and Brianna Ricks, sisters separated by distance, have always sent each other gifts just because, and that sentiment is at the core of Me To You Box, their new care package business.
Me To You Box offers clients the optionofsending acuratedcare package to aloved one away from home, on either amonthly, occasional or one-time basis.
“ Brianna and Ihave always mailed littlethings to each other’ s children just to say Iloveyou,” says Cantor, 43, from her Wyckoff home, where she assembles the boxes that then ship all over the country.“ Our father used to sign his cards‘ just because’ when we were kids, and that always made us feel special,” she says.
Though Ricks, 45, amother of three, lives in California, the sisters have built athrivingbusinessaslong-distance partners in justafew months.
The majority of their boxes are shipped to college students, so the options are largely based on acollegiate schedule.“ We offer three different types of boxes right now,” explains Cantor.“ There’ s aMonthly Box, where you can choose to send justone month or all eight months of the collegiate year, and we also offer an XOXO Box and our All-Nighter Box.” They’ re available for either male or female recipients, with itemsgeared towards what ayoung adult might want and need when they’ re away. Details for the differentboxes are available at metoyoubox. com.
“ The contents of aMonthly Box are a surprise and every month is different,” says Cantor, who carefully selects each item with Ricks based on several categories.“ We do atech item, health and beauty, atrendygift, asnack and adorm essential,” she says, adding that while clientscannotcustomizethe items in a $ 34.99 Monthly Box, they can go online and see what’ s inside once the boxes shipatthe beginning of the month.“ We have differentadd-ons, like cookies and wallets, so people can customizethat way,” Cantor notes. Every box also includesapersonalized message from the sender.
In response to parents asking for a special package to send to children they miss terribly, they created the XOXO Box, aone-time box for $ 59.99, which they describe as an extra specialhug from home.“ We put in items like a cozy Sherpa fleeceblanket, socks, some Brownie Brittle, little comforts that say I love you,” says Cantor.
The All-nighter Box, for $ 49.99, contains study essentials likeatravel coffee mug, organic energy chews, USB memory stick and Badger focus balm, all designedfor students preparingfor exams.
“ When we started this we decided
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28 FEBRUARY / MARCH 2017 |( 201) FAMILY 201magazine. com