- CubeCrate is a subscription box service that offers customers monthly mystery boxes filled with a mix of beauty products, food items, and handcrafted accessories.
- Founded in late 2015 by Jen Li, CubeCrate now delivers to 2,000 customers monthly.
- Prices start from RM35 for a one month purchase, and goes up to RM90 and RM197 for 3-month and 6-month subscriptions respectively.
Since we last spoke to her about her business, CubeCrate founder Jen Li has seemed to make the subscription box model work pretty well in her favour. Back in 2016, it was only a few months old and still seeking the best avenues for growth.
Launched in late 2015, Jen Li initially founded CubeCrate after facing the dilemma of not knowing what to gift to get for someone. The idea of creating a subscription service in the vein of popular subscription box services available in western countries then occurred to her.
Today, CubeCrate offers its customers monthly mystery boxes filled with healthy treats, handmade accessories, and beauty products from a number of different local and international brands.
Prices start at RM35 for a one month purchase, and go up to RM90 and RM197 for 3-month and 6-month subscriptions respectively. There is also the option to customise your own CubeCrate box.
Currently, CubeCrate delivers to 2,000 customers monthly, with about 70% of them being recurring customers.
Collaboration Is Key
Speaking about CubeCrate’s growth within the past two years, Jen Li was keen to share some of the things that has led CubeCrate to do well for itself in a market that is still trying to fully find its feet locally.
For starters, Jen Li has found that working together with other businesses has proven vital to their growth.
“CubeCrate has been consistently supported by local vendors through collaborations, and because of this, we were able to expand our selection of products from skincare to chocolates, healthy snacks, and other similar offerings,” she said. “Currently, it is growing more due to corporate and customised orders.”
“For example, the hamper orders from Digi and PersonEdge as well as the continued orders for staff gift boxes from Ipsos have helped us stay consistent as well as help us continue to expand.”
They have also brought on board social media influencers such as Jazel Lim, Tiong Bowen, and Damnyoudan, through whom they have been able to reach a wider audience.
“Our subscriber list has been consistently increasing through influencer marketing and sponsorships,” she said.
We wondered why someone would be happy to get something they could easily walk into a store to buy the same.
Addressing that, Jen Li listed some of the products that CubeCrate has been able to include as part of its offerings as a result of collaborations.
These sometimes include exclusive products such as homemade peanut butter, organic cookies, and artisan scented candles from vendors such as Beyond Beauty, Joey’s Homemade Peanut Butter, and The Tea Republic that are not always readily available in most supermarkets or stores.
According to Jen Li, the increasing variety of high quality products gives her customers the chance to constantly try out new products, and that has allowed her business to keep them interested and coming back for more.
“What I like about CubeCrate is that [customers] always get a box filled with random items that always gives off an element of surprise,” she said.
“These random items also allow us to do themed boxes such as Christmas in December, Halloween in October, as well as other themes so people can always try and guess what’s coming.”
“This also allows our subscribers to try out both new commercially and locally made products, which is what CubeCrate is all about. You’d be surprised at how other much people enjoy getting surprised.”
As for what lies ahead, Jen Li mentioned CubeCrate’s intention to collaborate with more influencers and organisations to improve their product offerings, including a box series catering to the care of women’s menstrual cycles.
“Also, we are revamping CubeCrate’s website to make it more user-friendly and easy to understand.”
Don’t Rush, And Always Have A Plan B
Finally, Jen Li was also keen to share some of the lessons gleaned from her entrepreneurial endeavours, including the importance of always have a clear plan for growth.
“Take time and think of the path or theme of your company, don’t rush things,” she said. “Have an alternative when one plan fails. Think fast as time is ticking as well.”
“We handle lots of problem solving and time management as we have to be flexible with our customers and respond to their feedback.”
“Most importantly, aim to also build relationships with one another.”
- For more information about CubeCrate, visit their website or Facebook page.
Feature Image Credit: CubeCrate
