From Stitch Fix to BirchBox to BarkBox, the subscription box services market has never been harder to break through. Finding a niche is no simple task, but one Columbus, Georgia startup says it's breaking the mold by focusing on what's really important: family.
Founder and CEO Alicia Werle was sitting on her couch watching ABC's "Shark Tank," pregnant with her second child, when she came up with the idea for a subscription clothing service for children, from infancy to preteens.
Six months later, she was operating Wee Blessing out of her garage.
"What we kind of wanted to do was focus on the family," she said. "We wanted to differentiate ourselves to say, ‘You know what, yes, it’s about the fashion, and you want your kids to feel confident and look great, but the most important thing is the family.'"
With two children of her own, Werle said she knows just how important spare time and moments with the family are to parents with a full plate. Always committed to the hustle, Werle said she had C-sections with both her children and took no maternity leave to return to her outside sales job. Wee Blessing, a startup she's committed to full-time now, is a way to cut down on the time and stress of shopping for a family, she said.
"What we wanted to do was literally see the parents watch the child at home, try things on and have a fashion show at home," she said. "(This would) create an experience the child and the parent will always remember when they grow up."
A stylist is assigned to each child and through a list of survey questions---such as what hobbies they enjoy, their favorite colors, what activities they participate in---the stylist will select discounted name brand clothing in the price range a parent selects.
"Every outfit that we send is not only hand-selected, but it's also hand-selected at 40 to 60 percent off retail prices," she said.
Since launching Wee Blessing, the subscription service has expanded to include clothing for women, men, maternity and plus sizes. Shortly, the startup hopes to launch a sports clothing option as well for the active family, Werle said.
Wee Blessing heralds itself as a Christian family-owned business that always keeps the focus on the family unit.
"We don’t want to get investors," she said. "We want to keep it family owned."
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In addition to claiming to be the first subscription service that caters to the entire family, Wee Blessing also states it is the only subscriber box that ships to all 50 states, as well as FPO and APO addresses for families on U.S. military bases around the world, Werle said.
"We style just under 2,000 individuals," she said. "We probably add somewhere between 100 to 200 new families every single month."
Subscribers have the option to select a budget they can afford, how often they would like to receive a blessing or subscribe with a payment plan.
"We know moms are on a budget," she said. "Some moms can’t afford an outfit that costs $40. They have a variety of options."
Differentiating themselves is as simple as "just putting your customers first and treating them like family," Werle said. Gestures like calling a family to thank them once they've signed up, writing handwritten thank you notes with each box and wrapping boxes in birthday gift wrap for a child's birthday month make a difference with customers, she said.
"Sometimes it's the little things in life that makes the most difference in the world," she said.
