Preston’s thriving local business HappyBoxx has quickly become a popular gift shop nationwide with its large social media presence.

The business has created a viable service where customers can choose from a variety of personalised letterbox gifts that they can then send to loved ones to cheer up their day. There are also ‘Happy Boxxes’ for a variety of occasions and seasons such as birthdays, Mothers Day and Christmas being the most busy period.

In the beginning of the global pandemic, Ayesha Master, who is the owner and founder of Happy boxx, saw a gap in the market that needed to be filled, soon after she launched a personalised service in May 2020.

Ayesha said: “During lockdown I saw a lot of care packages around me being delivered to vulnerable people and to people who were isolating which got me thinking about creating a letterbox gift that would put a smile on someone’s face when they opened it.

“I used to find that reading positive affirmations and quotes would help me with my mindset especially at a time when I was unable to see friends and family and do all the normal things we loved, so I wanted to include these in my gift packages which at the time I called Happy Post.

“Since then, we have rebranded to Happy Boxx which we think describes our product perfectly, a box that makes people Happy.”

The owner talked about the way in which the brand has expanded nearly two years later with over 8000 sales being made on Etsy alone. Ayesha said: “I opened an Etsy store and within a few months we were selling a lot of Happy Boxxes that were being sent nationwide and beyond after the first few months.

“We quickly expanded our range of letterbox gifts to include Happy Boxxes for all occasions such as birthdays, pick me up gifts, thank you gifts and the list goes on as we cater for all occasions, we also set up our own website and soon started catering for corporate gifting for employee appreciation gifts nationwide.”

 

She said: “We have a Happy Boxx ready to go collection on our website and an Etsy store where you can choose from over 30 different Happy Boxxes for all occasions, we also have a Build a Boxx option on our website where customers can choose to build their own Happy Boxxes by having access to our Virtual stockroom.

“We personalise all Happy Boxxes with a handwritten message to give the gifts that personal feel to it. We now also cater for many corporate gifting needs for employers who want to show staff appreciation to their employees.”

The business utilises Instagram to constantly post about the latest products and services to keep followers informed and attract a wider audience. The use of social media has also made interacting with others easier as the owner can quickly respond to people’s enquiries and gifting needs through Direct Message.

She said: “We have a very active Instagram account where we showcase our products and engage with our local community and meet their last minute gifting needs.”

Ayesha knows the struggles and challenges of operating a small business and that’s why she supports many like hers, as she said: “I have a lot of respect for small businesses and this is why we try to source as many products as we can from small businesses which we include in our Happy Boxxes.”

Recently, ‘The Eid Collection’ has been launched on Etsy and the website, it includes a wall hanging, and two gift boxes – The Ultimate Eid Boxx and The Mini Diva Boxx, for customers to choose from.