When the circuit breaker was deployed in April last year, many companies were affected after forced closings under government regulations to contain the Covid-19 virus.
The situation is different with Nikhil Charan and Robert Rajeswaran, who both started new businesses in the middle of a pandemic.
Called Boxaroo, it's essentially a one-stop shop for all corporate swag and corporate merchandising needs. It offers a wide range of products, including clothing, office supplies, technical accessories, drinkware and bags, as well as preset boxes such as a work-from-home box, a new hire box and a client appreciation box.
"We help companies design, manufacture, customize and distribute products to their team members, customers and partners," said Nikhil.
While Boxaroo in its current form was set up during the circuit breaker, the duo had previously consulted independently on the corporate merchandising strategy for global customers.
Nikhil's first entrepreneurial venture was a B2B marketplace, but he also previously worked and advised companies such as Samsung, Singtel, and Uber.
Meanwhile, Robert started in the banking sector in London. He saw an opportunity in EdTech that led him to develop and operate GoCode – a coding platform for children in the UK – which was later expanded to Qatar.
In their corporate roles, both of them were at the end of buying corporate goods.
“We both had a decent understanding and network in manufacturing, supplying and selling in this area. We were already used to coordinating delivery and logistics to and from multiple markets, ”said Robert.
An effective marketing tool for businesses
Photo credit: Boxaroo
Another big reason they chose corporate goods is because they feel like the industry is lagging behind.
The supplier model in the merchandising and promotional products industry in many parts of the world has remained unchanged over the past three decades, but the customer and customer needs have changed dramatically.
Today the customer places great value on quality, is well-versed, strongly influenced by the brand and the good design and wants a lot more than just printing logos on cool things.
– Nikhil Charan, co-founder of Boxaroo
He added that loot and goods are "extraordinary marketing tools" – but they only work if recipients can find a use for them. Indeed, statistics have proven that it works not only as a marketing tool but also as a loyalty tool.
That is why they formed Boxaroo to address three main challenges consumers face: poor product quality, lack of price transparency, and the utter inconvenience (the tedious search and negotiation with traditional suppliers over the phone, lack of visibility, and slow turnarounds).
With the aim of eliminating the weaknesses of consumers, they decided to get rid of cheap, low quality products and instead source high quality products from both branded manufacturers (Nike, Adidas, Moleskine, Swell, etc.) and non-branded ones.
The duo spent months validating their business idea and speaking to companies and the people in those companies who order loot and freebies.
Swag isn't just for employees. Some companies (especially B2B) spend a large chunk of their marketing budget on loot due to the proven high levels of brand recall and brand awareness.
But again, it has to be useful to work and the quality has to be top notch.
– Robert Rajeswaran, co-founder of Boxaroo
After validating their business idea with early customers, they worked on simplifying the ordering process with a self-service platform.
Photo credit: Boxaroo
"As soon as customers place an order, a dedicated account manager works closely with them to create their orders," he said.
"Then we established partnerships with global warehouse and logistics partners to help our customers seamlessly store and ship goods around the globe at the best possible prices."
They don't just stick logos on products
Photo credit: Boxaroo
Right from the start, the founders knew that they wanted to set themselves apart by not opting for a “one-size-fits-all” approach, which made a big difference.
"We were not acting as a supplier. We approached this area as consultants who could take prey, but who could also help brands achieve their goals with it," emphasized Robert.
Nikhil agreed that they didn't want to settle for just putting logos on products. They wanted to work with high quality brands and help them solve problems they faced in this area.
Despite their enthusiasm, however, he confessed that they had a "slow start" at the beginning.
"Bringing new customers on board wasn't easy, but a great opportunity opened up when we received calls from global organizations wanting to send care packages to their teams during the lockdown," said Nikhil.
“We have accessed all of our resources remotely to accomplish this. I think it comes down to being able to solve real problems for customers. "
While the initial response was indeed slow, they quickly learned what customers were looking for and quickly adapted to their needs.
A solid understanding of the corporate target audience has helped us focus on the right people. When we had the first ten customers on board, it was a snowball effect from there.
– Nikhil Charan, co-founder of Boxaroo
Her customers so far include giants such as Netflix, PayPal, Spotify, Coca Cola, Uber and Amazon.
Automation of the “complex space” of corporate merchandising
Nikhil Charan (left) and Robert Rajeswaran (right), co-founders of Boxaroo / Image Credit: Boxaroo
Nikhil notes that most companies share a common goal of getting the same result in an easier way.
Since corporate merchandising is a "complex area" and there are endless opportunities to develop unique products, they wanted to help solve this problem.
"We are only just beginning to simplify this process," said Nikhil.
Currently they are already creating tools and services that can automate the entire process to make it easy, efficient and fast.
The integration of your services in personnel, marketing and sales platforms is in preparation. This means that very soon, companies will be able to automate the entire process of sending swag-outs to new team members, new customers, and new sales managers.
"You wouldn't have to lift a finger. Just lay down a few basic rules and the right items with the right branding will be sent like clockwork to the intended recipients."
All in all, there is still a lot to be done to achieve further innovation in terms of technology, logistics and product offerings.
The founders of the Bootstrap startup stated that they are doing their best to change or redefine many processes in this industry.
"Getting this right and fulfilling customer needs is what we've been focusing on. Once we're ready to grow the business, we will certainly look at the fundraising opportunity."
"When we raise funds, we want to do it for the right reasons and at the right time," added Nikhil.
Selected image source: Boxaroo
