It has been almost four years since sisters and co-founders of Me To You Box, Annyssa Cantor and Brianna Ricks, kicked off their college care package business. Since then they have continued their mission to create meaningful ways of gifting while spreading their childhood sentiment that "there doesn't always have to be a reason to send a gift . . . sometimes the best gifts are given JUST BECAUSE."Â
Though the core of Me To You Box remains gifting for the college market, this care package company has evolved in ways Annyssa and Brianna never expected. We caught up with these ladies to find out what they are up to now and what's next.
What has been your biggest challenge in the last 4 years of Me To You Box?
ANNYSSA: Biggest challenge . . . getting the Me To You Box name out there and letting people know this product/service exists! As you can imagine, when you're a start-up company, you are trying to do everything . . . wear all the hats . . . but that cannot be the long term plan when you're trying to grow your business. We decided to invest in a marketing agency this year and let them do what they are experts at doing while we continue to focus on sourcing new, premium products to keep our site fresh for our customers. We want them to be able to come back again and again, so that means having new fabulous gifts to choose from.
BRIANNA: Most difficult has been learning how to independently manage our website. When we started Me To You Box, Annyssa and I were lucky enough to have connected with the most amazing webmaster, Kay. Designing websites was her very part time 'gig', but boy did she have a knack for listening to us and quickly delivering exactly what we were looking for. But, Kay's real gift to us was teaching us how to eventually manage our site independent of her (don't get me wrong though because I still have moments when I send her a text with an SOS). We had NEVER done anything like it so it was a challenging process and thank goodness for her patience! Now it's fun!!Â
What makes Me To You Box different from other care package companies?
ANNYSSA: The actual box content! We attend gift shows and network with buyers to find premium, uplifting and fun content for our care packages. We are constantly changing what we offer. The beauty of our selections though (in most cases) is that the gifts we showcase are appropriate for more than just college students.
BRIANNA: The purchase options are unique. You can choose one of two ways in which to send a Me To You Box:
1. Build Your Own Box. Sometimes half the fun of sending a care package is picking out what goes in it. We are constantly changing our product offerings to accommodate repeat customers. We want them to have fun choosing from dozens of products to build the perfect version of their own college care package.
2. Select A Pre-Curated Care Package. Me To You Box offers gift boxes that are already thoughtfully crafted so a customer can select, for instance, a box for a student who is under the weather, has a birthday needs your encouragement during final exams and much more.
What’s next for Me To You Box?
ANNYSSA: We are going to keep on doing what we are doing, however, we have grown into gifting for special occasions. It was a surprise turn for us, but it makes sense. When you are constantly networking the way we do with so many fabulous companies and their founders, the possibilities of the gifts we can create become almost limitless. From corporate & charity events to weddings & birthdays to incredible retreats, we are growing that sector of our business and could not be having more fun.
Send your college student some love from afar.
