Barbella Box CEO Explains How Her Subscription-Based Business Has Grown Sales Consistently – Even Amidst The Global Pandemic

Ella Ozery is the CEO of Barbella Box, a Florida-based subscription box company founded in 2015. Barbella Box delivers premium fitness apparel, gear, accessories, snacks, supplements, and more to women who exercise regularly. Their brand promise is that their subscribers will get the latest products in the fitness industry at a great value without having to do the work of finding them.

Though Barbella Box has only a handful of employees, the company has grown revenue year over year since 2017. Most notably, in 2020, the company increased profit margins and grew sales 9.5%- a year when some subscription box businesses saw a positive impact, others experienced a revival, and others faced more challenges than opportunities. Based on current industry trends and revenue to date, Barbella Box expects to once again grow annual revenue by at least 15% for 2021.

Below, Ozery explains how through pivoting, motivation, and innovation, her subscription-based business has grown sales consistently – even amidst the pandemic.

Christine Michel Carter: What was your strategy to not only stay afloat amidst the global pandemic?

Ella Ozery: Initially, in 2020, we focused on increasing sales as we were in the beginnings of the pandemic and, like many businesses, didn’t know what to expect. We planned to hold steady and “wait out the storm.” However, as we watched 2020 begin to unfold, we quickly switched gears. We immediately pivoted from our initial box plans to include more at-home workout apparel, gear, and accessories, as lockdowns started and gyms closed their doors.

Carter: Why do you think Barbella Box remained successful?

Ozery: Everyone loves getting packages in the mail- it’s like your birthday every month. Subscription Boxes are unique because you can subscribe to a box that provides products that coincide with your hobbies while still surprising you! Subscription boxes are discovery boxes featuring products that elevate your specific lifestyle. Primarily through the pandemic, it was a great way to get some “happy mail” without spending a fortune. Barbella Box grew significantly throughout the last year because it provided some motivation and at-home workout gear while most people were stuck indoors and gyms were closed.

Carter: Did you see a change in consumer behavior?

Ozery: We recognized quickly that so many of our subscribers and target market refused to let the pandemic’s closures derail their fitness lifestyles. As an e-commerce-based business, we could react immediately and shift slightly to meeting that at-home fitness demand. We created additional limited-edition boxes and mystery boxes filled with inventory from previous boxes for the months we sold out.

Carter: Have you experienced any challenges as a result of the year-over-year growth?

Ozery: Although we have tons of data on what our typical growth rates are, it’s challenging to pinpoint the growth along with the sizes our members will request. As we’ve grown, we’ve also needed to order products further in advance, making forecasting even more difficult. We’ve overcome these challenges by creating an e-commerce store in addition to our subscription, which serves as a one-stop where we sell inventory at retail value, providing an outlet for inventory that we may not have been able to place in a subscription box.

Carter: With what types of companies does Barbella Box partner?

Ozery: We partner with companies of all sizes every month. We are lucky to have been able to collaborate with companies like Reebok, Nike, FLEO, Born Primitive, and more to create exclusive designs or colorways exclusively for our subscribers. Each box features 5-7 different brands and products. We’ve also been able to partner with elite athletes who maintain large followings in the CrossFit space to curate their own Barbella Box and non-profit organizations during special months where we can give back.  

Carter: What does innovation look like at Barbella Box? 

Ozery: We leveraged social media to innovate Barbella Box. Creating a community of like-minded women through a closed Facebook group was something we found innovative in our space. Over the years, I realized that we were missing a key value for our subscribers, finding a way for them to connect. So we created a Facebook group called “Barbella Family” where our subscribers can post about their fitness successes, questions they may have about nutrition, or even discuss some embarrassing workout stories only to find out you’re not the only one!

Having a background in marketing, I also noticed very quickly that subscription boxes were also a way to get the latest new products and brands into our subscribers’ hands. Our insert and sampling program for customers (companies) can include marketing inserts or samples in our boxes for a fee. This is the perfect way for them to get their products into the homes of their target market and include a call to action and incentive for our subscribers to go back and purchase more directly through their website. So we’ve created both a customer benefit for the companies we work with and an experience for our subscribers who receive these exciting and new boxes each month.

Carter: How do you plan to continue innovating?

Ozery: Innovation has become one of our core annual discussions. We are constantly testing out new technologies, platforms, and apps to find ways to help our business grow to new heights in the subscription and fitness industry. The fitness industry is constantly changing and evolving, and our team’s job is to continuously search for products that are making moves within it and are disrupting the industry. In addition, we work to deliver products that help solve a problem you didn’t even know needed solving. We want to be the first to bring them into our subscribers’ homes.