The Hub March 2017 | Page 11

There are Canadian Beer Club boxes , book & tea club boxes , coffee boxes and recipe boxes . There are boxes for vegans , boxes for yogis and boxes for razor blades or board games . If you ’ re into Marvel or Disney , there ’ s a box for that too .

While it might feel like you ’ ve been able to get beauty goodies delivered to your door for ages , ( does Avon still call ?) the subscription box trend is only about six years old . In 2010 , two women launched the Birchbox , wanting everyone to have access to a beauty editor best friend - someone to get the scoop on the newest , hottest products , without having to invest in full size items that might not be your thing . At $ 21 per box ( slightly cheaper with a subscription ), you had more than $ 21 worth of the newest beauty products delivered to your door .
Other companies were quick to catch on . Ipsy , the second beauty box company on the wagon , makes a monthly delivery to my roommate . I ’ ve been getting dog treats and toys delivered every month for over a year in my BarkBox . And every 3 months I get an escape room / adventure game in a box sent for me to check out with my friends . From March to December I get local , fresh produce delivered weekly .
I hadn ’ t realized how much subscription services had taken over until I sat down to write this article .
CityCrate Windsor is about to launch its first box . This local subscription box company is set to offer a variety of box sizes and is focused on supporting and / or featuring YQG .
“ The Shop Local movement is really big right now . My box combines the two , giving you a taste of a bunch of different small businesses in the area , along with allowing you to add on to your box with qualities specific to you ,” says Justine , City Crate Windsor creator .
Subscription boxes range , on average , from a few dollars to one hundred dollars . CityCrate Windsor has offerings from $ 15.99 to $ 39.99 .
“ The longer you subscribe for , the less expensive each box is ,” says Justine . “ One month of CityCrate Classic is $ 39.99 , but if you subscribe for one year , each box becomes $ 29 . I am also offering a CityCrate Mini box starting at $ 15.99 and several optional add ons ( extra themed items like coffee , foodie , children , pets , etc . starting at $ 29.99 ).”
Birchbox , the original , has close to half a million subscribers . Other companies , like BarkBox , went from 1500 subscribers to 55,000 in 2012 . The services fall into two categories : discovery and convenience .
My weekly vegetable delivery falls into the convenience category , as do subscription services
Above : The contents of a FabFitFun box
City Crate Windsor says on their Facebook page :
A subscription box is a recurring , physical delivery of niche-oriented products packaged as an experience and designed to offer additional value on top of the actual retail products contained in a box .