There seems to be a growing trend for fashion-related startups making an impact in Germany – and the same could be said of its cousin in style, beauty. Rocket Internet-backed Glossybox is a so-called beauty box service which sends regular packages of products to subscribers, and it’s now celebrating seeing off its 2,000,000th such box.
And there are other impressive numbers: In the 18 months since it started operations, the Berlin-based startup has launched in 16 countries and employs more than 300 staff, while receiving €55 million in funding from the likes of Holtzbrinck Ventures and Investment AB Kinnevik alongside the Samwer brothers’ investment vehicle.
The monthly Glossyboxes contain at least five ‘deluxe’ versions of ‘decorative and care cosmetic’ including a mix of high end, niche and trend brands. Consumers can sign up to a variety of memberships, starting from €15 a month.
Having reached 200,000 customers despite only being founded in February 2011, Glossybox has become something of an unheralded success on the Berlin scene. It boasts that is proves beneficial not only for its users who can discover some of the latest products, but also manufacturers, which gain access to the crucial early adopters, partly through a magazine which is included with each package.
CEO Charles von Abercron founded the company behind Glossybox, Beauty Trend Holding, alongside Brigitte Wittekind. He said: “The delivery of the 2,000,000th Glossybox is a wonderful milestone to top off an already very successful year… It can be said that Glossybox has created a new standard, revolutionizing the ways in which people discover new beauty products, and beauty brands reach early adopting target groups.”
The platform is currently available in nine European countries as well as Brazil, Canada, China, Israel, Japan, South Korea and the US, where it faces competition from the likes of Birchbox and Blissmo.