NatureBox
delivers: weekly, biweekly, or monthly
founders: Gautam Gupta ’07 (responding below) and Ken Chen ’06
Briefly describe your business.
NatureBox offers more than 100 snacks, created by our company, that have no artificial sweeteners, flavors, or colors. We make smart, delicious snacking easy.
Why subscription deliveries?
Prior to co-founding NatureBox with my best friend, Ken, I worked at a venture capital firm in the direct-to-consumer space and saw firsthand the tremendous potential to bring an e-commerce model to the food industry. By shipping directly to consumers, we take the retailer out of the equation and form direct relationships with our customers. We also can bring new products to market in just two to three months—a timeline unfathomable to large food companies.
Do you have any direct competitors?
Yes, the industry is growing quickly, but we’re the only company that personalizes every part of the subscription service, from how often customers receive the product to what those products are. It’s all flexible. There is an aspect of discovery in that we’ll recommend products to people based on their preferences. We collect that data and drive customers to products they may like. But they get to choose. What they receive in the box is not a surprise.
A challenge unique to your delivery business?
When it comes to trying a new food product, consumers like to sample it or buy a small amount, which they can do at the grocery store. So at the end of the day, we have to give consumers a reason to come check us out because they’re not running into us at the grocery store. Media engagement is key. For example, one thing we do is partner with influencers—podcasters, YouTube celebrities. We get someone the customer might know as a trendsetter to talk about NatureBox. We’ve also created a commercial. I think TV will be important to our brand in the long term.
Biggest achievement?
The talented, passionate team of employees we’ve built over the past three years. Also, really early on when we were testing the idea, we launched a website over the course of a weekend and got 100 people to immediately sign up online. These weren’t people we knew. So we were thinking there is something here that could work. We had no idea how big it could be.
Toughest lesson?
The importance of surrounding yourself with a talented leadership team that you can partner with to drive the business forward. As we started to build a team, we found that we could focus on things we are good at and enjoy doing, and hire people who are better at everything else. We could have done that even sooner. We didn’t have to do it all ourselves.
Beyond convenience, why use your service?
NatureBox is about the uniqueness of our products, not just the variety. We develop our own snacks. You can’t find them in any neighborhood store. We use dieticians and nutritionists who we have on staff, and we also have a team of people who work on product development who came out of larger food companies. The best analogy I can think of is shopping at Trader Joe’s. Most people who shop there will say they can’t find those products at any other store. I think we are in a similar vein. Hopefully, we have the beginnings of a brand that will stick with people.
What are customers’ top three snacks?
Three all-time fan favorites are Big Island Pineapple, Sriracha Roasted Cashews, and Mini Belgian Waffles.
Stork
delivers: every 3, 4, or 6 months
founder: Greg Schwartz ’12
Briefly describe your business.
Stork offers our own brand of premium crew neck and V-neck undershirts at affordable prices. They’re the best-fitting undershirts you’ll ever wear.
Why subscription deliveries?
Men’s essentials—socks, underwear, and undershirts—are often an afterthought when guys are buying clothes at physical locations. As noted in a recent article on the website Quartz, men’s clothing is outpacing cameras, computers, and beer in growth of online sales. Also, I believe launching and growing a consumer goods business with an online presence is the most cost-efficient way to reach early adopters and grow my business.
Do you have any direct competitors?
Men’s essentials take the biggest beating of any part of a man’s wardrobe. These items are meant to be worn and replaced regularly. There are a few players in the “better-fitting” undershirt space, but none that combines a better fit at a competitive price. Mr. Davis, Tommy John, and Mack Weldon all sell shirts for $25 to $45-plus per shirt. Stork sells three-packs of Pima cotton undershirts starting at $30. I’m targeting consumers who buy undershirts three to four times a year and want a premium cotton undershirt but don’t want to spend $40 per shirt. Manpacks is a competitor in the subscription business model, but they don’t make their own clothes. They just sell discount brands at a premium.
A challenge unique to your delivery business?
Being located in New York City—space. I currently house all my inventory in my apartment, where I live with two roommates. Fortunately, I’ve been friends with them since we were kids, so they are understanding of the boxes of shirts sitting in the living room. When Stork is operating at scale, I will be able to outsource inventory and operations to a warehouse and fulfillment service. I think my roommates may be more excited than I am for that day.
Biggest achievement?
Two of the coolest things to happen were Stork being featured on NBC 4NY for a Father’s Day segment and when we launched on Product Hunt, an online rating service. In both instances, we received an overwhelming influx of orders. Those were two days when I was more than happy to haul a bunch of bags to the post office.
Toughest lesson?
Managing my time efficiently. Every facet of running a business, tedious or not, takes a lot of time. Just changing Stork’s primary email address was a project. Carving out time to do everything that needs to get done is the most important aspect of running a business.
Beyond convenience, why use your service?
My primary reason for starting Stork was because I hated the fit of every undershirt I’ve ever put on; the length was always too short, the sleeves bunched, the fit too boxy. Not only did we design a better fitting undershirt, but we also sourced fabrics from more than 20 factories to find the absolute best. We put thought, time, and effort into producing the best-fitting undershirt available, and it’s been exciting to share it with our customers.
Any plans to expand beyond undershirts?
Yes, absolutely. In the near term, we see an opportunity for underwear and socks to be complementary products to our undershirts. We’re looking into our options and are excited to develop and launch new products in 2016.
ButcherBox
delivers: monthly
founder: Michael Salguero, MBA’09
Briefly describe your business.
ButcherBox offers 100 percent grass-fed, hormone- and antibiotic-free beef, which results in healthier and more flavorful cuts of meat. We also offer hormone- and antibiotic-free chicken and pork.
Why subscription deliveries?
People are looking for 100 percent grass-fed beef, but it’s hard to find at the grocery store. I know because my wife and I were eating a Paleo diet, which calls for organic vegetables and grass-fed meat. We were purchasing our beef directly from a farmer, but we had to buy a quarter of a cow. So we’d get this huge trash bag full of meat, and then we’d have to try to find room in the freezer. We’re trying to make that process easier.
Do you have any direct competitors?
Local farms. You also can buy grass-fed beef from a couple of online sites, but nobody is doing a monthly subscription box. Similar to a CSA [community supported agriculture], our service is building a community. We’ve partnered with top chefs, so in every box you receive recipes. We make it easy and convenient.
A challenge unique to your delivery business?
We ship with dry ice, which burns off at a rate of 4 pounds a day, and we’re using FedEx, so we are relying on them to get the product to the customer. We also have to make sure the customer is there to get the order. If the product arrives in the morning, it can sit on the doorstep until the evening, but it shouldn’t sit for more than a day. So there are a lot of logistical hoops to get through. We have 24/7 support so people can call and adjust shipments for whatever reason, and we work closely with FedEx.
How do you decide what goes in the box?
We want to excite the customer. A typical box may include steak tips, short ribs, tri-tip roasts, rib-eyes, flank steak. We listen to feedback and are learning what people like. We added chicken and pork—thighs, breasts, pork chops, sausages—because a lot of people were asking for them.
Biggest accomplishment?
The Today show did a blind taste test of our beef and ran the results on its website. They compared us to conventional beef and said our steaks were way better. We got a ton of traffic and orders from that appearance.
Toughest lesson?
Inventory. It’s very expensive, it’s frozen, and it has a shelf life, so we have to be super careful about having enough but not having a ton. For an entrepreneur or small business, banks aren’t going to give you an inventory loan, but the people who are creating your inventory want to be paid quickly because you’re new. So how do you build up stock without putting in hundreds of thousands of dollars? We’re still figuring that out.
Beyond convenience, why use your service?
The traditional way of grass feeding cattle is to put them out to pasture, and 20 months later you have your meat. The farmer we’re working with has come up with a protocol to feed his cattle, so the cows feed on different strains of grass throughout their lives, which makes the meat taste amazing. People are loving it. Also, we’re trying to expand people’s horizons with our boxes. Instead of buying the same steak you always eat, you may get a piece of meat that you never would have bought, but it’s amazing. And if you’re empowered with a recipe, which we include, it can be an eye-opening experience.