Baking Their Way to a Subscription Box Business | EP 164

interviews podcast Jul 03, 2024

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Last week I hosted our annual Subscription Box Week and it was so so good! Part of the week features interviews with subscription box owners who have various types and sizes of businesses. This year, I interviewed 4 subscription box owners at once - all of whom have some type of bakery box. Each serves a different niche and each followed a different journey. All are SO inspiring!

Lauren is the “celebrity” of the group! You might have seen her on Food Network’s Christmas Cookie Challenge. She was amazing - and so were her cookie creations. Lauren went from being a mom and art teacher who loved to bake cookies to a full-time entrepreneur who designs and produces her own cookie cutters, an online and in-person cookie decorating instructor, and a successful subscription box owner.

Lauren’s family is her why. She wanted to grow her business to help put her two sons through college. She was proud to tell us they will both be able to graduate debt-free, thanks in large part to Lauren’s subscription box business! Oh - and they’re awfully proud of their mom and her business.

Jonica owns a bakery and a successful subscription box business, and coaches people who want to open bakeries. In addition to serving lunch and baked goods to her local community, Jonica makes the MOST delicious treats and sends them across the country every month.

Jonica has taken all the lessons she learned through her business journey - opening and closing two other bakeries - and poured them into doing things the right way. The way that serves both her customers and Jonica and her family.

Kimberly is a former military spouse who tried to retire from baking but just couldn’t do it! After leaving a successful bakery in North Carolina to move “back home” to Iowa after her husband’s military retirement, Kimberly started selling her baked goods again. She was inspired by how much her former customers missed her baked goods and got creative.

Kimberly wanted to start a subscription box but knew how complicated it is to ship baked goods. She hit on the perfect solution - her customer-favorite, incredibly yummy biscotti! They’re sturdy enough to ship and stay fresh a LOT longer than traditional baked goods. Kimberly’s customers love them and her biscotti subscription continues to grow!

Jenny is not a baker, but she belongs with this group. She is a passionate advocate for the gluten-free community and served them for many years through her blog, Good For You Gluten Free. When changes in the Google algorithm had a severely negative impact on her traffic - and her income - Jenny pivoted. She turned her love for finding new gluten-free products and vendors into a subscription box.

Jenny launched earlier this year and - well, let’s just say it’s been a hit. The kind of hit that meant she sold out the 125 slots she had available in hours. And the additional 25 boxes she figured out how to fulfill. Jenny is growing as fast as she can manage, selling out every month, and looks forward to even more growth once she moves her business out of the basement and into a space of its own.

These four amazing businesswomen shared advice with people who are thinking about starting a subscription box. Their message? Just start. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Serve your audience - give them what they need and what they want.

Join me for this episode and get inspired by four women who turned their passion for food and serving others into successful subscription box businesses.

Find and follow Jonica:

Find and follow Lauren:

Find and follow Kimberly:

Find and follow Jenny:

Learn from me:

Subscription Box Blueprint eBook: This $10 ebook covers logistics from product selection to packaging to shipping. Plus a 90-day launch plan and bonus ‘Instant Scripts’ for your social media.
Launch Your Box: My complete training program that walks you step by step through how to start, launch, and grow your subscription box business.
Launch Your Box Podcast: I share tons of practical tips and strategies to help you start, launch, and grow your subscription box business. You’ll also hear from industry experts and current Launch Your Box members who are crushing it - get ready to get inspired!
One Box at a Time: Inside my book One Box at a Time, I show you the steps you need to follow to start and launch your subscription box. To turn your dream into reality. This book is filled with proven teachings, valuable resources, best practices, and action steps for you to take.

Find me on social:

Facebook: @SubBoxwithSarah
Instagram: @howtostartasubbox
YouTube: @sarahwilliams5836

Are you ready for Launch Your Box? Our complete training program walks you step by step through how to start, launch, and grow your subscription box business. Join our waitlist and we will notify you when the group reopens.

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