Support Small Businesses; The Subscription Box Edition

As we all know, small business are doing all they can to get through these tough times, so with the power of Twitter, I’ve found a super huge array of subscription boxes! If you are able to, why not support small businesses by signing up to one today?!

Food Subscription Boxes

Vedge make veg-based snack bars (the only ones in the world as far as we’re aware). The idea came about 7 years ago when the owner, Giles, started taking more interest in nutrition following a couple of bouts of depression. At the time he was working long hours in finance and whilst he had always ate a lot of fruit he was concerned that he wasn’t getting as much veg as you should, and discovered that there really weren’t any veg based snacks. There were lots of fruit based ones, though! There have been lots of ups and downs, trial and error etc, so it was only earlier this week that we were able to launch officially, after Giles focusing on it full time for about 18 months!

The Spicery Subscription Box invented one of the world’s first recipe kit subscription way back in 2006 and have spent the last 14 years perfecting it! Boxes are sent out at the end of each month after lots of prep work making sure their recipes are up to scratch. There are eight options including the Indian Restaurant Box and the Street Food Box, all starting at £26.

Now, the Cake Tasting Club does exactly what it say on the tin; caked delivered to your door for lots of yummy tasting! There are 5 options starting from £8 including the classic box and the brownie box. I mean, who wouldn’t want homemade cakes or brownies delivered to your front door, with free shipping, every month!

Drink (Non-Alcoholic)

Rose & Dragon is a brand new tea company that puts an emphasis on creating a moment of calm by pairing deliciously flavoured teas with a mindfulness card. It has been created so that each tea looks, smells and tastes incredible to create a full sensory experience. The first month’s flavours are Millionaire’s Shortbread, The Study Zinger and finally Moonbeam Explorer.  A lot of the inspiration came from Gabrielle, the owners, time living in Tokyo because in Japan, tea is made and drunk in a very slow and careful manner, which makes it a very soothing and calming process. At the moment, during the lockdown, Gabrielle is also offering free Instagram Live guided meditations.

Vintage Tea Time isn’t just another tea subscription; In each box, you will receive a vintage china teacup, saucer and plate, and a selection of 8 diverse branded teabags, a pack of top-notch biscuits, a brand new ‘feel-good’ book chosen to either entertain, gently inform or just make you smile and a super cute extra gift which could be a vintage item or something included just because it’s lovely! How cute?!

Lost Sheep Coffee are a Kent-based speciality coffee roastery that have recently launched a subscription service. In response to the growing demand for its hand-roasted, speciality grade coffee and a recent surge in online sales as a result of Covid-19, the new subscription service is available for both Lost Sheep Coffee’s Nespresso® 100% compostable, plastic-free capsules and their speciality hand-roasted coffee beans. From £15 per month, customers can select either a box of 40 or a bulk package-less box of 100 compostable capsules where there are three varieties, one of which is a decaf to be delivered automatically as often as needed with time scales ranging from 14 – 60 days. The carefully curated coffee bean range includes whole bean and custom ground coffee depending on what equipment you will be using at home, as well as its famous compostable, plastic-free capsules. With a fully air-tight design Lost Sheep Coffee capsules will keep the contents fresh for over 12 months.

North Star Coffee offer filter or espresso coffee subscriptions. They last either 3 months or 6 months and start at just over £50. You can pick to receive one 250g bag every week for a period of 3 months so 12 bags in total or to receive one 250g bag every two weeks for a period of 3 months so 6 bags in total and shipping is included in the price.

Drink (Alcoholic)

Children’s Subscription Boxes

Mud & Bloom is a monthly children’s gardening and nature crafts box, for 3-8 year old’s aimed at connecting children and their families with nature. Their boxes are eco friendly and their seeds and compost pellets are organic. Owner, Anja, has three young children and she used to subscribe to craft subscription boxes for them; always thinking they were a great, as you everything there to spend some quality time together. She was surprised there was nothing out there related to gardening and nature, so decided to set one up herself; Anja launched Mud & Bloom in December 2017.

Mysteries in Time are an award-winning subscription that brings history to life for 7-11 year olds through an exciting combination of stories, facts, puzzles, stickers, crafts and more! Time-travelling adventures delivered to your door each month explore fascinating topics from Ancient Egypt to being an evacuee in World War 2. The business was launched in 2016 by a teacher with a passion for history, who has seen it go from strength to strength, from a concept started at the kitchen table in London to having customers in over 30 countries worldwide.

Home

This next section is for those who want to bring a little colour to their homes in the form of flowers and plants. There’s a few postbox delivery services such as Bloombox, Freddie’s Flowers and Bloom and Wild. Bloombox Club start from £35 with their classic plant box with a ceramic pot once a month, Freddie’s Flowers start at £25 a month for a bouquet (use code HaydnS60 for a free box) and Bloom and Wild start from £20.

Positivity Subscription Boxes

Sugar & Sloth was started by Anita after years of crying in various office toilet cubicles, hating corporate life. She began drawing chonky cats & unicorns and posting them online, desperate for a creative outlet. The Tiny Party Club subscription box is a monthly pick-me-up for those struggling with mental health or just in need of some extra cute and sparkle in their life. Each month Anita illustrate 5 goodies around a monthly theme and each box contains a mix of stationery, pins and stickers. Not only does Anita help share the positivity but she also has a private Facebook group which is a safe space for the community to share anxieties and cat memes and Tiny Party Club is proud to support Kindness Cards Project who send free care packages to those in the hospital with mental and chronic illness.

HelloTreacle, which is run by the lovely Amy, offers Treacle Trove; a monthly box of uplifting, themed treats to keep or gift. Each item is individually wrapped, perfect for treating yourself or passing to someone who’d appreciate the sentiment of the items. The #KeepMeGiftMe principle was born of the knowledge that recipients won’t want to keep everything every month, but that someone in their world will always be in need of some love and light. Hello Treacle has been around for about 3.5 years and began while Amy and her partner were experiencing infertility a second time, trying for our son. It’s expanded to become a brand that focuses on fun, positivity, equality and empowerment; she just wants to make people smile!

Books

How Novel are a literary brand based in Manchester but they have customers all over the globe now! The idea for their Mystery Book subscription came from the old adage that ‘you shouldn’t judge a book by a cover’ so as big readers, the owners couldn’t think of a way to avoid this despite their best intentions and that’s when How Novel was born. They started with a standalone Mystery Book at the start of the year, and now have our subscription box going strong! This month How Novel have recently launched an online book club to help members feel less isolated during the current situation. The response to everything they have done so far has been immense and they’re extremely grateful!

The Classic of the Month Club Book Subscription offers a range of subscription offers, starting with a three-month plan of literature’s best-loved classics, their exclusively designed dust jackets and a packet of luxury coffee or delicious themed tea at £39. You can order up to a year in advance too and a mug to drink your tea or coffee out of that will arrive with your first book box.

Stationery

If like me, you’re a stationery fan then you will love Ohh Dear x Paper Gang who plant trees to offset their boxes. Each box has a theme and your box will be filled with brilliant stationery; the product selection will vary but will include the likes of greeting cards, notebooks, desk accessories and art prints. Each box is designed by an independent artist so you will never get the same box twice.

Who doesn’t love a sticker or two? If you do, then check out STICKII; a sticker subscription that allows you to pick the theme you want. Not everyone likes the same thing, so you can pick from their cute, retro, or pop packs that will include 6+ Sticker Sheets, 1 STICKII Notepad 2 Stationery Item like a paper clip, adhesive embroidery patch, postcard, mini letter set, or bookmark) and 1 STICKII Storage. These start $10 per pack.

Make-Up & Beauty

There are lots of make-up and beauty subscriptions but the two you see all over Instagram are Glossbox and Birchbox.

With Glossybox you get 5 beauty items a month and plenty of offers too. Their range of plans start at £8.50 (plus £3.25 P&P per box) if you sign up to a years subscription, but a monthly subscription will cost you £10.99 plus the postage too.

Birchbox will send out a box of five beauty treats matched to your skin, hair and style each month for £12.95 with postage included. You can sign up to three and six-month plans where you can save a little money off each box too.

Fun

Boxed Locks is a subscription box for anyone who loves discovery and puzzle-solving. Each box contains a mixture of clues, hints and objects for you to navigate and discover the final code to unlock your chest! Each box has been carefully designed and decorated personally. Suitable for adults and children aged 10+ when supervised by an adult. Boxes start at £25 a month, but you can save £2.50 a month by ordering 6 months in advance.

Escape the Crate are shipping time-traveling crates to YOU. So gather with your friends and family and open your crate. After imputing some information into a computer or mobile device, they will send you back in time to help the fix changes to various timeline; the events are often ones that require finding an object that does not belong in the time period and destroying it before its presence changes history, but you may also get sent back in time to stop an event from occurring which would change history or to crack unsolved mysteries. Sign up from $30 for 1 pack, but for $58 you can get 2 packs spread over 4 months.

Crafting

Makebox+Co. was created by best-selling craft author, presenter and stylist Hannah Read-Baldry and her husband Brendan, and it was stemmed from their desire to help people connect with their creative spirit and claim back tech-free “me” time.  Each month a different craft box is made available, often partnering with an expert in the field to create the project. ‘Makers’ are able to buy a subscription to the service or a one-off box. Sustainability is an ongoing priority with replacing things like glitter with eco options, reducing plastics and any non-biodegradable materials. The packaging, of course, is all recyclable and from sustainable sources and they always look to choose partners that also have the same values. Boxes start from £19.99.

Pet Lovers Subscription Boxes

Peture Perfect Pet Subscription Box which is great for any pet lover, as they deserve treats too. Each box is different and features a gorgeous personalised item that will include either a picture of your pet or a hand-drawn illustration dependant on what box you chose. Each month you will receive an item with your pets wonderful face on; much like Chess on this wonderful tote bag! Items include linen-covered notebooks, chopping boards, mugs, greeting cards and so much more. I can’t wait to see what other items Chess’ little face appears on!

Adult Subscription Boxes

LVH not only offers a riveting adult romance online subscription service, but there’s also a free magazine for women interested in sex and relationship topics,and there’s also an upcoming advice column where readers can pose their own questions to LVH’s resident sex expert. The Lady Victoria Howard project has been a work in progress over four years, and the subscription service launched in 2019. LVH stands out for its use of modern tech to deliver a riveting, and steamy, story in weekly episodes to a device of the reader’s choice: it’s a new take on the serialised story pioneered by Charles Dickens. After the runaway success of Fifty Shades, LVH Group felt the market was ripe for a quality adult romance story that women could really get behind and relate to. The online subscription starts from £1.99 a month for access to all material.