Wine or tea, cosmetics, or gourmet: each product and on each occasion the set-top box. A market that is young, growing, and interest in the brands…
This is what is called, literally and figuratively, a big cardboard box. With their video cleverly “suédée” way Michel Gondry, the inhabitants of Lille to Flavour Beer have exploded the counters. More than 3 million views on social networks, and a mega-shortage of stock: the Advent calendar version hop it promoted (24 “foam” crafts brought together in one parcel a good twenty pounds) has recorded 50 000 orders. For 20, 000 products available… An emblematic case of the success of the “box”, between the resurrection of the surprise bag of yesteryear and science of buzz marketing.
The market, while growing, is still brand new. Two graduates of Harvard, Katia Beauchamp and Hayley Barna, have invented the concept in 2010, with Birchbox. The idea? A box look in a finely crafted, brought in every month to their clients, containing a half-dozen of beauty products carefully selected. With 45,000 subscribers in the first year, their success has given ideas to other: the German Glossybox, the French JolieBox (since acquired by the pioneering american) and My Little Box have followed in their footsteps the following year.
250 box in France
Since then, the runaway. “There are approximately 250 box in France alone,” observes Michael Maarek, who publishes two websites dedicated to the phenomenon, The Box of the month and TouteslesBox. For these ladies or the gentlemen, fans of vials or infusions, expatriate britons or ch’ti… all tastes are allowed.
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And the business proves to be flourishing, especially for the heavyweights of the genre. Birchbox has announced that he had just passed the milestone of 200 000 subscribers in France. “But it also exists in a parallel box with 200 or 300 subscribers, nuance Michael Maarek. Their common point? They are created by passionate people, who their customers are confident to find original products, little-known…” Our expert box has done his calculations: according to him, about 400 000 French are subscribers to one (or more) box.
Still reserves growth
The market, originally a very parisian, has been democratized, “and has focused for the past 2 years,” says David Azoulay, founder and owner of Ziqy, a solution for managing subscriptions, which account for many of the box among its customers. So far, according to him, his growth is not ready to dry up: “three-quarters of the clients are clients, so there are still a lot to do on the male target. And the reputation of its box yet to be constructed: one person in four knows what he’s talking about.” In fact, new market niches (organic cosmetics, or a box of fresh produce delivered each week with recipe ideas recently) do not cease to appear. And to attract the interest of brands.
Masters of the buzz
Because it is another facet of this new market: the box has become a marketing tool not to be overlooked. Be selected in a “box”, enables us to discover its product to a target necessarily receptive, since the package corresponds to a true center of interest. And the fact of being received as a gift never hurts… Especially, the box the more efficient are past masters in the art of making “buzzer” their inward monthly. The wine merchants, The Small Ball (45 000 followers on Facebook) or the “tea box” Envouthé (19 000 fans) are as well able to federate communities respectable.
But they have not yet reached the degree of power of the box beauty: Birchbox has 2 million fans on Facebook, Glossybox a million. More “arty” and out of reality, My Little Box leads the dance on Instagram with 175 000 followers. Multiplying the collaborations with bloggers and Youtubeuses to which they reserve the scoop to their dispatch, these boxes, they can offer brands a sounding terrible… And they still have an ace in their sleeve: the return of their subscribers-testers, a real gold mine for a sector of the cosmetics-hungry client data…
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to appeal To, and explain, Nespresso relies on the paper [Best-of] re-live the conference “Challenge-think of the dematerialization, re-think the communication” [VIDEO] Interview : Yves Xemard (The Post office)
Tomorrow, subscriptions to all?
unless the markings do not choose to short-circuit these new intermediaries? Because behind the resounding success of the box, a phenomenon is emerging: the rise of the consumer by subscription. “Consumers want to be able to regularly change, renting and less owning, think David Azoulay. Software, music, television, and even the common products with programs such as Evian chez vous are increasingly consumed by subscription”. By reallocating the direct sales, the manufacturers take over the hand on the relationship with the end customer. Exactly the calculation made by Unilever with the redemption -for a billion dollars – from the box shaving” Dollar Shave Club.