Founders Q+A: Lofty Box on scrunchies, best before dates and hustle-hustle-hustling
Lofty Box on scrunchies, best before dates and hustle-hustle-hustling
We had the pleasure of speaking to Lofty Box founders Claudia Meller and Emily Joyce about their journey bringing the Lofty Box subscription service to market. We were surprised to hear that scrunchies were a fundamental part the story, but they played a key role in fast-forwarding Claudia and Emily’s thought processes as to how to bring ethically sourced, environmentally responsible surplus products to as many people as possible.
ESGmark®: How did you come up with the idea for Lofty Box?
Emily Joyce (EJ): Claudia has a luxury, sustainable, fashion brand (Claudia Meller England) and in late 2020, she was looking for a subscription box to get her scrunchies into, which shared her sustainable values and couldn't find one. We thought - if one doesn't exist, why don't we do it!
Claudia Meller (CM): Exactly - I was then made redundant in Nov 2020 and it felt like the perfect time to get stuck in to a new project! Emily and myself have taken totally different career paths until now which means we work well as a founding team.
ESGmark®: How do you decide on the suppliers and partners that make it into the box?
EJ: We started out looking for brands with a great ethos and sustainable credentials and asked them to get involved and now more and more brands approach us. We (Claudia) is able to really get to know the brands and the people behind the brands as she works so closely with them.
CM: We have developed some really great partnerships with brands over the last year and now have longer-term working relationships with a few of them which is brilliant and means we can continue to support the small businesses we love.
ESGmark®: We love your social media videos and jingles - what is your inspiration?
EJ: Over to Claudia, she's the Insta queen :)
CM: We worked with a talented photographer for some of the rather more professional reels, but now we are creating ourselves. It's very time consuming but I have learnt that reels really don't have to be that slick to work well on Instagram - TikTok, on the other hand, is a law unto itself and we need a teenager on our team!
ESGmark®: Subscription services have exploded in the past 18 months (whether it's streaming, digital or physical) - as the world opens up what do you think will be the main challenges to the subscription model as we venture out of our homes again?
EJ: Competition, the industry is set to boom and is set to continue, whether we get locked at home again or not! I think the biggest challenge is being the best of so many options and being clear about our USP (saving waste) and getting our brand out there.
CM: Yes, evolving in a quickly changing climate is challenging but exciting.
ESGmark®: What did you learn from your first year in business?
EJ: Speak to as many people as possible, everyone adds value and suggests another connection or idea. People love to help!
CM: Don't be a perfectionist - just get on with it, tons of trial and error and see what sticks. 5 am starts are a given and you can kiss goodbye to any weekend plans for the first 6 months! Hustle Hustle Hustle.
ESGmark®: If you could change one thing in the Lofty Box journey so far, what would it be?
EJ: This is so tough...you can never be too ambitious - success has led our ambition to date and now ambition will lead our success.
CM: I am really proud of what we have achieved and don't think we have done anything particularly wrong but we have been messed around by other people and larger brands quite a lot, so we would have stricter agreements in place earlier if we started over again.
ESGmark®: What are your short term 2022-2023 business goals?
EJ: To expand our reach and educate society about best before dates and waste in the wellness industry. We also want to expand our digital community.
CM: Double our subscribers, double our sales and double our corporate partnerships. Plus, move into a larger workshop space and hire our first assistant.
ESGmark®: Where do you see LoftyBox in 5 years time?
EJ: A sustainable accreditation and household name, along with other small businesses we've championed being there too.
CM: We have plans for European expansion (in the most sustainable way) watch this space!!
ESGmark®: What are you most excited about?
EJ: EVERYTHING - sounds cliche, but the highs of running your own business are like nothing else! We are really excited to expand our team.
CM: Yes! Building our team and our systems is super exciting. Getting our first round of investment in is what we are most looking forward to in the short term.
ESGmark®: What are you reading at the moment?
EJ: "Atomic Habits" by James Clear and "Reflections" by Holly Willoughby
CM: The Ultimate Sales Machine by Chet Holmes, Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T Kiyosaki (as I am a sales nerd these days) and Magpie by Elizabeth Day to try and switch off at night.
For more on Lofty Box and their work to stop the waste, visit their website.
Lofty Box is the perfect corporate gift for organisations looking to offer their employees a well deserved well-being perk - it’s a pick me up for your staff as well as spreading the word about surplus stock and supports emerging ethical businesses. For more please contact Claudia directly.
Speaking to our founders is a fundamental part of how we keep the ESGmark® community connected - read our other interviews with NOICE on the toothpaste revolution, Green Glamour on sustainable fashion or booheads on innovation and compromise.
