Top 4 Subscription Box Businesses To Learn From

The subscription box market has seen remarkable revenue growth over the past 10 years. From 2011 to 2016, the industry's revenue surged from a mere $57 million to $2.6 billion, with the market reaching $22.7 billion in 2021 and projected to reach $65 billion by 2027. That’s a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18.3% for the 2022-2027 period—an astounding number for any industry.

Brands like HelloFresh, Dollar Shave Club, BarkBox, and FabFitFun have become leaders in this space, capitalizing on factors such as convenience, customer personalization, and social media influencer marketing to drive revenue. For many ecommerce brands, this means an unprecedented opportunity to jump in on the growth. 

We’re here to help you achieve the same—starting with understanding why subscription boxes sell, diving into key industry insights, and then looking at strategies based on real-life for how you can launch a successful subscription box business. 

Why Subscription Boxes Can Help Your Business Grow‍

Subscription boxes are a powerful tool for ecommerce businesses to increase customer loyalty, customer lifetime value, and revenue. As a product offering, they’re a convenient option for shoppers and fun to experience as a customer; as a source of revenue, subscription boxes help boost average order value and increase customer lifetime value. An added benefit to subscription boxes is excess inventory management—adding excess inventory to subscription boxes often allows customers to get a great deal on your products without cheapening the brand, as the extra product is seen as “exclusive.”

The Customer Psychology of Subscription Boxes

Here’s how subscription boxes add to the customer experience:  

• The "Surprise and Delight" Factor: Subscription boxes create a sense of discovery for customers. They’re experiencing something new and unexpected every time a box is delivered, and when the products match their preferences, this leads to delight. The element of delight keeps customers coming back for more.
  
  
• The Convenience Factor: Receiving curated products regularly saves time and effort for customers. They don’t have to lift a finger, and a selection of goods will show up at their door. Even better if the subscription boxes allow for subscription flexibility such as pausing, skipping, or cancelling subscriptions. 
  
  
• The Community Aspect: When paired with a steady email marketing flow, subscription boxes create a constant cycle of contact between you and your subscribers. Curated content that speaks to your customer helps strengthen their familiarity with your brand and create a sense of belonging. The addition of personalized items, seasonal gifts, and even handwritten notes in your subscription boxes further add to this experience. 

The Benefits of Subscription Boxes for Ecommerce Businesses

Here’s how subscription boxes can help your ecommerce brand grow: 

• Increased Customer Loyalty: Consistent deliveries strengthen brand loyalty through repeated positive experiences and an increase in brand familiarity. The key (and perhaps the difficult part) is being able to deliver that “discovery and delight” factor every time.
  
  
• Higher Customer Lifetime Value: With subscription boxes, you can encourage customers to pay more per purchase over a longer period of time, as compared to one-off orders.
  
  
• Predictable Revenue Streams: Subscribers serve as a stable long term source of recurring revenue. This means less uncertainty for the ecommerce business for financial planning and forecasting.
  
  
• Enhanced Brand Awareness: Subscription boxes help boost a brand’s reach by becoming a regular part of subscribers’ lives. As a brand, you can encourage customers to share user-generated content about your offering, feature their UGC on your landing pages, and even have options for customers to gift your subscription boxes to their friends and family.

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Trending Product Types for Subscription Box Businesses

There’s many options within the subscription box space worth exploring. If you’re looking for inspiration, here are the current 2 most popular product types for subscription boxes you should consider: 

Beauty and Skincare

• Why it's popular: These boxes offer a curated selection of makeup, skincare, and haircare products, often tailored to individual preferences. This segment is driven by the demand for personalized beauty experiences and the desire to try new products without committing to full-size purchases. 
• Examples of successful Beauty and Skincare subscription boxes: Ipsy, Allure Beauty Box
  
  

Food and Drink

• Why it's popular: Food and drink subscriptions provide a convenient way to explore new flavors and culinary experiences from the convenience of customers’ homes. The rise of specialty diets has also made food and drink subscription boxes increasingly popular.  
• Examples of successful Food and Drink subscription boxes:  SnackNation, BlueApron, HelloFresh

Top 4 Subscription Box Businesses on Shopify 

Now that you know the value of subscription box brands, it’s time to research some ideas on how you can create the same offerings for your Shopify store. We looked at the top subscription box brands on Shopify for you, taking into account the brands’ key go-to-market strategies and how they built their landing pages to attract customers. 

Each of the brands here uses some combination of Shopify Plus to manage their website, product catalog, and online store operations and a Shopify integration to manage their subscription services. Other integrated apps that are often used to complement the subscription page experience include Klaviyo for CRM and Yotpo for loyalty and referral programs.

Using Replo in conjunction with these apps allows for greater control over the design and customization of your subscription landing pages, all without requiring any custom dev work. While Shopify Plus is a great place to start, Replo enables you to take your online store experience a step further with built-in Analytics and Experiments.
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To identify the top subscription box brands on Shopify, we considered a combination of factors:

1. Revenue: Annual revenue generated from subscription box sales.
2. Customer Reviews: Average customer ratings and reviews on platforms like Shopify and Trustpilot.
3. Social Media Following: The number of followers on social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok.
4. Brand Recognition: Overall brand awareness and reputation in the industry.
5. Shopify App Usage: The extent to which the brand utilizes Shopify's features and apps to optimize their business.

Our final selection of subscription box brands is not definitive by any means—there are simply too many great subscription box brands out there. Instead, our leading goal is to narrow down a list of major brands for you to learn from.

Let’s take a look at our top 4 subscription box brands, their go-to-market strategies, and what makes their landing pages convert:   

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Allure Beauty Box

1. Key Go-to-Market Strategies: Allure Beauty Box offers a curated monthly, quarterly, or annual selection of high-end beauty products with personalized recommendations based on user preferences. 

• Editorial Content Marketing: The brand leverages its strong editorial background and reputation in the beauty industry to create valuable content that attracts and engages potential subscribers. This includes beauty tips, product reviews, and unboxing videos.
• Influencer Marketing: Allure Beauty Box collaborates with beauty influencers to promote their boxes and reach a wider audience. This strategy has proven effective in driving subscriber growth and brand awareness.
• Social Media Engagement: They actively engage with their audience on social media platforms, sharing unboxing videos, promoting new products, and responding to customer inquiries.
  
  
  

2. Landing Page Excellence:

• Landing Page Link: https://allurebeautybox.com/
• Strong Headline and Value Proposition: The headline "We Know Beauty Best" asserts authority and expertise. The subheading "Premium products curated by Allure editors" highlights the value of receiving high-quality, expertly chosen beauty products.
• Clear and Concise Offer: The offer "First box for only $18" is prominent and easy to understand. The discount code "NEWYEAR" is clearly visible as a call to action. 
• Multiple Subscription Options: Offering monthly, quarterly, and annual plans caters to diverse preferences and budgets. Highlighting the "Most Popular" plan guides users toward a specific option.
• Benefits-Oriented Copy: The copy emphasizes the benefits of subscribing, such as receiving premium, expertly curated products at a discounted price.

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BarkBox

1. Key Go-to-Market Strategies: BarkBox is a brand that offers 6 month or 12 month subscriptions for dog toys and dog treats for dog owners. 

• Starting Small and Scaling Up: They began with a small subscriber base and gradually scaled their operations as demand grew.
• Social Media Marketing: Barkbox actively engages with their audience on social media platforms, sharing user generated content, running contests, and partnering with influencers. This keeps the brand top of mind for shoppers and subscribers.
• Marketing Through Unique Packaging and Themed Boxes: BarkBox utilizes creative packaging and monthly themes to encourage unboxing videos and social media sharing, driving organic growth and word-of-mouth marketing .  
• Personalization: They offer personalized experiences by tailoring boxes to dog size, chewing intensity, and allergies, increasing customer satisfaction and retention
  
  
  

2. Landing Page Excellence:

• Landing Page Link: https://www.barkbox.com/
• Hero Section with Strong Visuals and Value Proposition: The hero image features an adorable puppy playing with BarkBox toys, instantly grabbing attention and conveying the joy the box brings. The headline "Dog Joy, Delivered Every Month" clearly communicates this core offering as well. 
• Transparent Product Descriptions: The "What's in a BarkBox?" section uses visuals and concise descriptions to showcase the variety and quality of toys and treats included.
• Compelling Offer and Incentive: The "FREE Double Upgrade" offer with a playful graphic creates excitement and provides a strong incentive to subscribe. 
• Social Proof: A section labeled “Some Nice Things Dogs Have Said About Us” includes customer testimonials to build credibility and trust. 
• Personalization Quiz: Barkbox offers a customization quiz for all subscribers, so the box contents are tailored to the dog's size, breed, or preferences. This offers maximum value for the dog owner. 

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FabFitFun

1. Key Go-to-Market Strategies: FabFitFun sells curated boxes of lifestyle products, including beauty, fashion, and home goods, with seasonal themes and limited-edition boxes.

• Seasonal Subscription Model: FabFitFun differentiates itself with a seasonal subscription model, delivering boxes four times a year with full-size, premium products across beauty, fashion, fitness, and lifestyle categories.
• Product Personalization: They offer a high degree of customization, allowing subscribers to choose some of the products they receive in their boxes, enhancing the personalized experience. 
• Cost-based Value Proposition: FabFitFun emphasizes value by offering products with a retail value significantly higher than the subscription cost, attracting budget-conscious consumers. 
• Influencer Marketing: FabFitFun collaborates with influencers to promote their boxes and reach a wider audience, leveraging the trust and engagement influencers have with their followers. 
• Exclusive Products and Collaborations: They partner with brands to offer exclusive products and collaborations, highlighting the uniqueness of their boxes.
  
  
  

2. Landing Page Excellence:

• Landing Page Link: https://fabfitfun.com/get-the-box‍
• Hero Image Showcasing Premium Items and Variety: The hero image features a visually appealing arrangement of various premium products, showcasing the diversity and value of the box's contents.‍
• Compelling Headline: The headline "Want Nice Things at Nice Prices?" directly addresses a common desire and positions FabFitFun as the solution. It's concise, attention-grabbing, and clearly conveys the brand's value proposition.‍
• Incentive and Urgency: The "$200+ FREE GIFT" banner with the code "GIFT200" creates a strong incentive for signing up.‍
• "How It Works" Section: The "How It Works" section with clear visuals and concise explanations simplifies the subscription process and removes any potential confusion that can prevent a shopper from signing up.
• ‍Emphasis on Lifestyle Enhancement: The tagline "One Place To Elevate Your Lifestyle" positions FabFitFun as more than just a subscription box, but a way to enhance customers’ overall lifestyle. 

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HelloFresh

‍1. Key Go-to-Market Strategies: Hello Fresh offers subscription boxes of fresh, pre-portioned ingredients for easy weeknight meals with a diverse range of recipes and cuisines.

• Flexible Subscription-Based Model: HelloFresh's core strategy revolves around a flexible subscription model, offering various meal plans and the freedom to pause, skip, or cancel subscriptions .
• ‍Targeted Digital Marketing and SEO: They use data-driven insights to personalize email campaigns and social media ads, targeting specific audience segments with relevant content. They also employ a strong SEO strategy to attract organic traffic and establish authority in the meal kit industry.
• ‍Influencer Marketing: HelloFresh actively collaborates with influencers and celebrities, particularly on YouTube and podcasts, to promote their products and reach a wider audience.
• ‍Aggressive Advertising: They invest heavily in traditional and digital advertising, including online display ads, television commercials, and social media campaigns.
• ‍Referral Programs: HelloFresh encourages word-of-mouth marketing through referral programs, offering discounts and incentives to existing subscribers who refer new customers.
  
  
  

2. Landing Page Excellence:

• Landing Page Link: https://www.hellofresh.com/pages/menus-and-plans‍
• Hero Section with Enticing Visuals and Value Proposition: The hero image showcases a delicious-looking meal with fresh ingredients, instantly appealing to users' desire for tasty and convenient home cooking. The headline "Delicious Weekly Menus and Flexible Plans for Easy Home Cooking" clearly communicates the core value proposition. ‍
• Easy Filter and Customization Options: The "What kind of meals are you in the mood for?" section allows users to filter menus based on preferences like "Quick & Easy," "Family Friendly," or "Veggie." This customization empowers users and increases the likelihood of finding meals they'll love. ‍
• Benefits-Oriented Copy: The copy highlights the benefits of HelloFresh, such as convenience, variety, and healthy eating. It positions itself as a solution to users’ difficulties with achieving a simplified and enjoyable cooking experience.‍
• Brand Consistent Imagery: The landing page maintains consistent branding with HelloFresh's overall aesthetic and messaging, reinforcing brand recognition and trust.

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Subscription Box Business Strategies To Build Customer Loyalty

The key to a successful subscription box business is retaining your current subscribers while quickly attracting new ones. This means using a strategic mix of pricing, product offers, marketing, and loyalty programs to create a personalized and community-focused customer experience.
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Personalize Customer Experience With Unique Pricing and Product Offers

The top subscription box businesses leverage data and customer feedback to personalize the subscription experience starting from their product page. They tailor product selections to individual preferences and offer custom recommendations. 

This includes providing unique pricing and product offers, such as:

• Tiered Pricing: Offering different subscription tiers with varying levels of value. This allows customers to choose the plan that best suits their needs and budget. For example, Dollar Shave Club offers various subscription tiers with different blade counts and additional product options.
  
  
• Limited-Time Offers: Create a sense of urgency by offering limited-time discounts, promotions, or exclusive products. FabFitFun frequently offers limited-time sales and seasonal boxes to entice customers to consider becoming subscribers or to keep current subscribers engaged.
  
  
• Subscription Bundles: Some brands offer multiple subscription boxes into a single, discounted package for convenient purchase and to boost average order value. KiwiCo offers bundle deals that include multiple subscription boxes for different age groups.
  
  
• Personalized Pricing: With enough data on subscribers, brands can offer customized pricing based on customer preferences and purchase history. This can include discounts on a bundle of a customer’s most purchased products to deliver greater value.
  
  
• Subscription Box Add-Ons: This allows customers to add additional products to their subscription box for maximum customizability. For example, Blue Apron offers a variety of add-ons, such as desserts, snacks, and meal kits for special occasions, saving subscribers the hassle of having to order items individually.
  
  
• Gift Subscriptions: Encourage customers to gift subscriptions to friends and family. Many subscription box companies offer gift subscription options with personalized messages to provide a standout un-boxing experience. 

Build Community With Marketing and Loyalty Programs

On top of personalizing your customers’ experience, you want to make sure they feel a strong sense of affiliation with your brand. Leading subscription box brands achieve this through an ingenious mix of marketing, rewards programs, and service to make sure customers are satisfied with their subscription offering at all touchpoints. 

• Marketing Flows: Social media and email marketing flows are important for continually engaging subscribers and keeping your brand top of mind. This includes investing in influencer marketing (where appropriate) on Instagram and TikTok, and setting up referral programs to encourage organic word-of-mouth marketing.
  
  
• Implement a Loyalty Program: Reward loyal customers with exclusive perks, discounts, and early access to new products or promotions. A well-designed loyalty program incentivizes repeat purchases and creates a sense of appreciation, strengthening customer relationships.
  
  
• Offer Exclusive Benefits: Provide subscribers with exclusive benefits that enhance the value of their subscription. This could include early access to new products, limited-edition items, members-only content, or special discounts. Make your subscribers feel valued!
  
  
• Prioritize Customer Service: This tactic is a lesser emphasized one, but it’s no less important. Offer multiple support channels, respond promptly, and go the extra mile to address inquiries and resolve issues. Not only does better service make a better product, it also just helps your brand build stronger relationships with your subscribers. 

Launch A Successful Subscription Box Business With Replo

When done right, subscription boxes are great for driving long term revenue and customer loyalty for your ecommerce brand.

Common threads on ideas for a successful subscription box business include selling highly custom product collections in the beauty and skincare or food and drink industries. High quality marketing through social media and word of mouth is key, as is a well-designed subscription landing page that hooks in audiences and conveys the value proposition in a clear and enticing way. Finally, a good subscription landing page with well thought out design, text, and powerful calls-to-action does wonders for boosting subscription rates. 

Replo lets you build top pages for your subscription box offerings, plus analytics-tracking and A/B testing right where you build your landing pages. This means you can get live analytics reports on how your subscription box sign-up pages are performing and experiment with different versions of content across pages to see which drives the most sign-ups. When paired with a well-executed landing page, your subscription box offerings can help your business grow even more.  

Check out our full list of subscription integrations to see which ones would work best for your brand, and start building a landing page for your subscription box now.

Frequently Asked Questions About Subscription Box Businesses

1. What is a subscription box business?
   
   A subscription box business delivers curated collections of items to customers regularly, typically on a monthly or quarterly basis. These boxes cater to specific interests, such as beauty products or pet supplies, and the subscription gives customers a new box of items each delivery cycle. This model plays on the convenience and the excitement of discovery for customers, while providing businesses with a predictable revenue stream and valuable customer data. Subscription boxes are a popular choice for established brands to expand their revenue streams and for newer businesses looking to tap into the rapidly growing subscription ecommerce market.
   
   Read our complete article on 4 market-proven tactics you can follow to grow you subscription business revenue, with real life examples from leading subscription brands. Or, check our complete article on everything you need to know about starting a subscription business on Shopify.
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2. How to start a subscription box business? How to start a subscription box business with Shopify?
   
   Starting a subscription box business is highly similar to what you would do to start a subscription business. As mentioned above, it requires identifying a customer need or pain point, and identifying high-quality products that can solve that problem.
   
   The key difference is that your product offering would be a collection of items rather than a single product. Like its namesake, the product of a subscription box business usually comes in a box, with all the offerings relevant to your brand. The items can be custom-selected or highly variable between deliveries, but they should all adhere to some core theme or value proposition of your brand. To test your product idea, you should create a prototype subscription box and gather feedback first.
   
   The set up process of a subscription box online store is very similar to that of setting up a regular subscription business. Using Shopify in conjunction with a third party subscription management app such as Skio or Loop is typical, and Replo helps store owners maintain greater control over the design and performance of their store. Replo Analytics and Experiments enable users to monitor and A/B test their subscription pages to identify the winning product offer or landing page design.
   
   Develop a marketing strategy to attract and retain subscribers. Use marketing, social media engagement, influencer collaborations, and email campaigns to reach your target audience and drive them toward your landing pages. Offer attractive incentives, such as discounts and free trials, to encourage sign-ups. Make sure to prioritize your customer experience by providing excellent customer service, an easy onboarding process, flexible product delivery, and personalized interactions.
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3. How to create a subscription box on Shopify?
   
   Here’s everything you need to know about setting up subscription boxes and the subscription landing page for your Shopify store in 6 easy steps: 

• Go to your Shopify Store. From the Home Page, head to the Subscriptions in the left hand panel, under Apps.
  
  
• On the Subscriptions page, follow the Shopify Subscription Setup Guide to create your subscription, also known as selling plans. Select “Create Plan.”
  
  
• Customize the frequency and the quantity and the specific SKUs that will be  regularly delivered to your customers. For a subscription box business, each SKU would be one box, though you can offer different variants (ex: a lower-priced box with only basic products versus a higher-priced version with a premium selection of items) depending on your product offerings. Fill in the required information, including title, description, product variants, discount percentages, delivery internal, and delivery frequency.
  
  
• To verify your subscription plan, click on Plans to check that your subscription has been set up correctly. You can come back here to edit content, or delete subscription plans when they are no longer needed.
  
  
• To set up our subscription landing page, head over to the Replo Editor. Navigate to the All Pages tab and select “Create New” in the upper right hand corner of the panel. Choose “Template” and select a subscription landing page template from our Template Library, such as the Subscription Prescription Landing Page Template.
  
• Once the page has been created, update the template text using Content AI in the editor bar. This will rewrite all of the content in the selected containers to match your specific product and better target your audience. You can further customize the styling and design of the buy box in our Design Panel on the righthand side.
  
  That’s it! You now have a subscription page for your Shopify store that’s custom-designed to your subscription box brand. All you have to do is hit publish. We recommend using templates because it gives us a quick and already-optimized base to work off of when designing landing pages.
  
  

4. Can Shopify support a subscription box business?
   
   Yes, 100%! Check out the previous question above for a full run-down for how you get started with your own subscription box business on Shopify. 

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