Birchbox Men launched in early April. The service promised to deliver the same sort of goodies as the woman’s Birchbox, just with a male theme. As Kim-Mai wrote at the time, this could include four to five picks per month with samples like high-end shave gel, deodorant and skincare products from brands like Billy Jealousy, Costume National, Kérastase and Kiehl’s. The Birchbox Men boxes could even include headphones or socks. But the company just ratcheted up the marketing with a little teaser in the woman’s Birchbox this month, clearly targeting the subscriber’s male counterpart — Father’s Day being this Sunday might have something to do with the timing, too.
My wife first discovered the little surprise, yelling through the house to tell me there was something in her Birchbox for me this month. Sure enough, there was a small vial of John Varvatos Star cologne sitting alongside the standard collection of trial-sized makeup (and designer Band-Aids?).
The back of the packaging describes the new service. “Here’s a peek at our new Birchbox Men subscription service. For $20/month, he’ll receive deliveries of trial and full-seize grooming and lifestyle goods from top brands. There’s also an info-packed online Guide, well-edited shop, and generous rewards program. He’s looking handsomer already. Get him on the list now at birchbox.com/men/join.”
“We thought it would be fun to let our female subs know that we launched Men’s,” Birchbox confessed to TechCrunch this afternoon, adding, “Birchbox Men is going great.” Apparently the service is growing organically and surprisingly to Birchbox, through social networks as the guys Instagram, tweet and make YouTube videos of the box of goodies. “We are very excited and think that there is a huge opportunity for Men’s,” I was told in closing.
Successfully launching the new male Birchbox would secure the company in two similar, but still niche markets. With products for both fashion-conscious males and females, Birchbox has a small safety net if one market collapses. Still, while this smart product placement will likely net new subscribers to the male service, I find the cost a bit steep. I’m fine with spending $10 to provide my wife with little gift box of makeup each month. But personally, I’m not going to spend an additional $20 per month, bringing the total cost up to $30 per month on trial-sized grooming and lifestyle products. A household can only use so many little bottles of lotion and smelly things.