AIBU to think this could be a good business idea?

[Pickledturnip]

Sorry to post here, mainly for traffic, I hope that's ok?
I had an idea to supply giftboxes which somehow led me too this....I am thinking of starting a subscription box service offering subscription boxes on a monthly basis for:
Elderly people. Parents/grandparents that are home alone a lot for example. Just a treat to cheer them up. Can be purchased as a christmas gift and received throughout the year, can personalise with a 'Love from...' kind of thing
Uni students. Useful, surprise items and the option to select things you need on the website, ie bottle opener, pillowcases etc.

With a view to adding more as we go along. Is this the sort of thing you would consider buying? Any feedback much appreciated!

Amazon does this, though, OP. How can you improve on that? I frequently buy my adult children (living away from home) gifts from Amazon - they're delivered free of charge the next day. I can't see how you could supply the range and beat the price and deliver the next day.

No... random items would just be purchased as needed/as wanted/when I see something and think "oh, x would like that".

Subscription boxes really need a theme to be marketable. Like, kids craft boxes, or learn a language box, or food/drink box. But random household items... That's a hard sell.

Thanks for the feedback both, it's really helpful.

I agree about the amazon point actually.

I think the elderly box specifically was more aiming to send a treat/pick me up to hard to buy for older relatives or friends. But I see what you mean about it being very broad.

Hmmmm, maybe not the genius plan I thought it was!

Buddybox already do it

I don't know Op, I think the elderly one would be lovely. I subscribe to Neveo which is a little monthly booklet/newspaper type thing that's sent to my grandparents. I select photos from my phone and type in captions and my grandma gets this "newsletter" every month. She's not on Facebook so she gets lots of pictures of my son and she ABSOLUTELY LOVES IT! she takes it out with her and shows it to all her mates at her clubs. It's just a little thing that costs me about a tenner a month and it's made a real difference to her. I think it would be a lovely service for people to get for their old people. You could even have a website with profiles or case studies about how the box helps people and people could opt to send someone in need a box. I think it's a lovely idea. Screw amazon!

But that's a heartfelt, lovely thing with a purpose. A box with a bottle opener or pillow case isn't.

Encouraging people to think of and get something for their elderly relatives is lovely, but I can't see anyone subscribing to a service with those sorts of products at inflated prices, when they can get basics on other sites.

The products in a subscription box do need to be a bit special, different, meaningful.

I think you’d hit a problem if you planned the contents of the box around homogenous groups.

Looking at uni students: would a girl on location doing a marine biology course want/need/be thrilled about the same box as a boy at a music Conservatorium in a major city?

And ‘older people’ are certainly not some kind of ‘hive mind’ either. Some would love sweet treats, some would find them patronising, some wouldn’t be allowed them. Some would be frail, some very active.

There are very few groups of society any more that you can say are ‘in the same boat’. I think I found one when I used to make up ‘newborn/toddler’ first aid kits for friends. Not all kids needed what was in my basket, but they were products that were good to have on hand and specialised enough that parents might not otherwise know these products existed (eg the Snot Sucker!). I added leaflets for infant first aid, and eco friendly samples of botty creams, etc.

Keep thinking though, there may be a gem idea just around the corner!

Sorry, for some reason the notifications didn't come through for this thread!

I don't think I explained very well (and my idea is half baked at the moment!) The student box was intended to be thoughtful/quirky things with the option to add on practical items. On reflection, and with your feedback, I agree it might not work well.

I still really like the box for elderly relatives or friends. It needs a lot of thought as, as a poster above said, people are individuals so wouldn't all like the same thing. But, I do think older people are more likely to be lonely and to appreciate a little 'I'm thinking of you' every month. People are busier than ever and tend to not live as close to extended family members as they once did so I think, with thought, it might work. A lot of thought though.

The boxes would also be eco friendly and vegan friendly in keeping with my beliefs.

I also like the idea of a period box with different types of reusable sanitary wear/eco friendly pads, vegan and cruelty free treats.

Food for thought, thanks again for feedback!

I think you’ll find that there’s little profit to be made for a lot of work. You’ll have to market the business first and get a decent number of subscribers to start with. With few subscribers you won’t be able to buy in bulk and reduce your purchasing costs.

Once you have your subscribers, each month you’ll have to source new products, continue to promote the business, update the website and also package and post out all boxes. It’s a lot of work for not much profit. People don’t tend to want to spend a lot on monthly subscriptions. You also need to think about packaging and postage costs which all add up.

I speak from experience as I was a supplier to a company that sent out baby subscription boxes. It folded after a few months as the costs were too high to sustain.

I think it’s a great idea but you need a lot of purchasing power behind you to be able to drive down the costs of your box items.

Amazon does this, though, OP. How can you improve on that?

Completely agree. A lot of stuff purchased on Amazon can be gift wrapped and delivered.

Sorry OP, but no. My grandfather is 93 and has had a lifetime to acquire bottle openers, pillowcases and general "stuff". He lives in a small flat which is cluttered enough as it is.

Similar, I suspect, could be said for a lot of elderly people.

I like the general idea of running a subscription service but I think it’s a really hard area to get right.

People are thinking more about the environment and sometimes they can seem wasteful unless they involve something that is consumed or used, like food.

Packaging is important. I tried gousto for a while and it was good but expensive. Our local council area changed our recycling system and it just seemed like there was far too much packaging.

Monthly sanitary products could be good, but I think more and more people are going for washable pads and cups. The rest (probably still a majority) might prefer just to buy when they do their weekly shop. Maybe it’s all in the marketing.

Good luck finding something :)

Sorry OP, but no. My grandfather is 93 and has had a lifetime to acquire bottle openers, pillowcases and general "stuff". He lives in a small flat which is cluttered enough as it is.

Yes. Even younger people.

I think your difficulty is that there aren't generic 'elderly' gifts. You might be better to consider hobby-based boxes, which could be marketed at the elderly as one possible recipient group.

If you could identify a gap in the market (I have no idea what is already out there!) you could look at, e.g. knitting, gardening, sewing as hobbies which would include the elderly in the groups you could market to.

The boxes would also be eco friendly and vegan friendly in keeping with my beliefs

How is encouraging people to buy more stuff eco friendly? Most of us have more than we want/need and are drowning in it.

Then there's the packaging. All this posting stuff around needs huge amounts of packaging, even if it is recycled.

It would be very hard to do this profitably. A few of the subscription services have folded because the numbers don't add up. Or they start off well but they don't get the suscribers, or the discounted first boxes don't turn into regular subscribers. I bet there are a few people who've lost quite a lot of money with subscription box businesses.

But if you can find enough people who are happy to pay over the odds to have random crap sent to them each month, and will also pass the favour on to their nearest and dearest, go for it.

How is encouraging people to buy more stuff eco friendly?

^ Also this.

Old people IME generally want LESS stuff not more.
(got to go help an old lady tomorrow who wants to get rid of stuff)

If I were you I would cost up 3 monthly boxes - ie the cost of :
the cardboard box,
packaging materials,
marketing materials - business card / list of items included / personalised gift message
The actual items
Postage costs

Once done, you need to decide how much profit you want to make on top of that (how much is your time worth I suppose). Then you have your monthly price per box.

I would then get some more opinions from your target market of whether they would be prepared to sign up to such a subscription.

It will also give you an idea of whether you can source suitable products for 3 different monthly boxes. I think I could manage a couple of them for an elderly relative but would soon run out of ideas beyond fancy teabags and chocs / biscuits.

There's also the monthly cost of the website, a business email address and advertising.

True. I forgot to include that

I also like the idea of a period box with different types of reusable sanitary wear/eco friendly pads, vegan and cruelty free treats.

I’m sorry OP, I know you were looking for encouragement but I just don’t see how these various boxes would work either I’m afraid, and I definitely can’t see how a ‘period box’ would work.

Surely once you’ve sent out the first box with reusable sanitary wear, the point is the recipient then wouldn’t need anymore? Because, you know, it’s reusable.

And although I’m vegan myself, if you were thinking of doing vegan ‘treats’ (dairy-free choc etc), then I don’t think non-vegans would be interested I’m afraid. I certainly wouldn’t choose vegan chocolate over the dairy stuff if I wasn’t vegan!

Ok, all feedback noted. Thanks ladies, you have probably saved me from an expensive mistake as I think you are right.

Back to the brain storming for me!

Good luck with any future ideas! sorry for pissing on your chips OP but hopefully it’s saved you an expensive mistake

But don't let it stop you going into a different business. Entrepreneurial spirit is a great thing; keep working at your ideas board!