The sustainable subscription box of your dreams
I am a sucker for a subscription box.
Seriously, though. I remember signing up to a beauty one and just forgetting to cancel it and I am no beauty connoisseur. Years later, I STILL have about 4 miniature mascaras that I’ve never used, but can’t throw away for fear that I’ll need one on a future plane journey somewhere tropical. The concept, then, of a wellness-based subscription box was extremely exciting. More than just food, Lofty Box, is a plant-based and therefore environmentally friendly subscription box, basically the stuff of socially conscious people’s dreams.
Co-founders, Claudia and Emily, are on a mission to support small and emerging ethical businesses in the wellness and lifestyle sector by including them in their Lofty Boxes. They want us to become or evolve into more ethically aware consumers by urging us to eliminate waste and make more sustainable choices with the brands we buy. I got a chance to have a chat with Claudia and Emily to find out what spurred them to start the business, their top 5 tips on how to live more sustainably and their Lofty Box launch event later this year.
Who came up with the idea for Lofty Box and how did you go from idea to full blown business?
EJ: The idea came from the two of us considering subscription box options for reaching a wider customer base for Claudia’s fashion brand, Claudia Meller England. We found a gap in the market for a sustainable box of products and Lofty Box was born.
To become a fully-fledged business, we've made really great use of social media and relationships, and we've had a really can-do attitude. Every idea is considered, reworked and trialled. Positivity is absolutely key at the beginning!
We both benefit from extensive business experience from working for other people and we've made even better use of that knowledge when working for ourselves. Claudia has certainly been the horsepower between the idea becoming a reality, so over to her for the full details.
CM: As Emily said, I wanted to get my fashion line out there to more people but begrudged paying for PR and advertising. We discussed the idea of promotion through subscription boxes but there didn't seem to be any that fitted what I needed. We decided to give it a go ourselves, which coincided with myself being made redundant from my PA job due to Covid. The redundancy meant I had some time to put into a new project but also a salary shaped hole I needed to very quickly fill!
How do you both pick which brands go into each box with so much choice out there now? Do you have a favourite brand you’ve used/work with?
EJ: We started out with us approaching brands, but now I'm so happy to say, that lots of brands also approach us. We work extremely closely with our brands and explain our Lofty Box concept and listen to their values to ensure that they fit the lofty profile. We only work with brands that we've formed a relationship with. We generally look for small to medium brands which are lesser known as part of our model is help brands reach a select audience. Lofty Box bridges the gap between customers searching for ethical brands and ethical brands searching for interested customers.
A favourite brand? That's so tough because they are all so great. One of my favourites is Inside the Pantry, because Birgit is so so engaged and supportive, she's wonderful to work with (and the mango is delicious!)
CM: Initially we reached out to brands we believed in, from B corps to small businesses. The main focus is sustainability in production and product. We choose brands who give back to the community who make their products, or those who are actively changing the way we shop for the better.
What has been the lowest moment of starting the business, and then what has been the highest moment?
EJ: For me, the low moments of starting a business are not being able to be as involved as I’d love to be as I still work full time. I’m planning to change this very soon!
The highest moments are knowing that I get to work with my best friend every day, Claudia and I are so aligned. It’s a cliché to say, but working on your passion project is incredible - I am so excited every time I even think about Lofty! The fact that we are able to make a positive impact on the environment and people’s shopping culture is fantastic.
CM: No low moments really, of course it's hard work and the money is tight but it's totally worth while to be working for myself and in control of a business we really believe in. The highest moments - every time someone subscribes it feels amazing! We have gained some corporate customers too which is great.
Do you have any advice for women reading who are looking to take the plunge and start their own business?
EJ: Do it. Don’t wait until everything is perfectly planned, because it never will be. Take the plunge and be dynamic.
CM: Don't do it unless you are 100% committed and happy to work 14 hour days for free. If you know you have a good idea, just go for it, say yes to everything and if you don't know how to do something, Google it! I see a lot of small businesses wasting money on things like fancy business cards - it's all about the bottom line, so don't waste money. Negotiate and network as much as you can!
If you had to give us 5 tips on living sustainably, what would they be?
Emily’s 5 tips
Use reusables – cups, bags, water bottles, dirty kit gym bags etc.
Try to stay away from single use plastic e.g. make your own lunches / food on the go instead of buying in plastic packaging (or look for recyclable packaging), use reusable makeup wipes etc.
Fall out of love with fast fashion – look in charity shops, on eBay and support smaller brands which are leading the way for sustainable fashion (like @ClaudiaMellerEngland 😊)
Sort your rubbish at home – wood waste / recycling etc.
Add sustainability to your checklist when you’re thinking of going on holiday, to a restaurant etc. There are so many amazing initiatives out there to support.
Claudia’s 5 tips
Go plant-based (its the most effective way to lower your carbon footprint).
I love fashion and now buy a lot of stuff second hand instead of new, buy quality over quantity and look for natural fibres to avoid micro plastics.
Don't buy pre packaged food.
Try to buy plastic free skincare and makeup - there are a lot of alternatives now.
Support smaller businesses, choose an independent coffee shop over a chain, they are generally much more eco conscious.
What other women do you look up to?
CM: My mum of course - she has always worked for herself, taught me to question everything and gave me the confidence to do whatever I want.
EJ: Lofty has meant we’ve met so many amazing female entrepreneurs all of which are to be admired. That’s one of the things I love about Lofty, meeting so many people doing what they love. There’s so much buzz. I have a lot of respect for Fearne Cotton, for leaving Radio 1 and following her passion to pursue her work on wellbeing and metal health. I’m inspired by her to fully make my move away from the corporate world and into sustainability.
What’s the first thing you do when you get out of bed?
CM: I seem to have a rather elaborate skincare regime these days, so 15 mins of that followed by an espresso, a pint of water and then onto emails.
EJ: Find coffee in some form… I try to go for a walk every morning before I start work and get a coffee (in my reusable cup!) Exercise and fresh air are my favourite way to start the day.
What does the rest of 2021 hold for Lofty Box? And how can our readers subscribe?
EJ: We have so many exciting things on the horizon for Lofty Box. Most excitingly we are looking at arranging a Lofty launch event at an incredible venue later this year, so keep following our journey @loftyboxuk on Instagram to find out the full details soon.
CM: As Emily said, we have a couple of rather exciting collaborations coming up, we really can't wait to get off zoom and meet brands in person to take our business to the next level. We hope to move to new premises in the next few months and navigate our first round of funding. All the info to subscribe is at loftybox.co.uk
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To subscribe, head over to @loftyboxuk on Instagram, Lofty Box on Facebook or www.loftybox.co.uk
