Subscription model with a difference

Fellbox was launched by Alexander Lapp and Sarjoscha Kleine. Both previously held senior positions at advertising design agency Hylax and understand digital marketing. In their former roles they also first came into contact with companies in the pet supplies business, advising them on topics such as social media and website construction. While talking to pet product companies, they listened to their concerns about not being able to secure enough new customers in a bigger and increasingly complex pet marketplace in the future. And so the idea arose of creating an entirely new marketing channel for the pet sector that would be attractive to customers and brand manufacturers alike. The idea proved a success, with the company currently delivering surprise boxes to several thousand customers each month. The surprise boxes contain a diverse mix of foods and accessories for dogs.

The business model focuses on maximum flexibility. Customers can order a single box or take out a subscription for three, six or twelve months. The longer the subscription, the cheaper the monthly fee. A single box costs 34.95 euros, a three-month subscription is 27.95 euros per month and for six or twelve months it works out at 24.95 euros per month (including VAT). For this, customers get a box containing goods to the value of more than 50 euros along with a complimentary copy of the Fellbox magazine. Customers also earn “paw points” for each order placed. Once a certain number of points has been accrued, dogs receive additional gifts. Dog owners have a choice between Fellbox and Fellbox Plus, an upgrade on a normal box. Although customers pay another 10 euros for Fellbox Plus than for the standard box, they receive an extra product to a market value of around 20 to 25 euros and a higher number of points.

The success of Fellbox in attracting so much attention from dog owners in just a short time is underlined by the huge number of people accessing the company’s website. The company speaks of over 20 000 visits and 2 million impressions a month. The predominant customer age groups are 25- to 34-year-olds at 30.1 per cent and 35- to 44-year-olds, who account for 31.8 per cent. Another interesting aspect is that over 50 per cent of customers own large dogs.

Most dog owners appear satisfied with the Fellbox offering, as evidenced by the fact that 90 per cent of customers have taken out a…