KUALA LUMPUR, May 13 — Who can resist a gift delivered straight to you? Throw in an element of mystery and you have Happy Hopscotch, a subscription box, curated to bring you lots of joy.
“The concept is happiness in a box. I believe that ultimately, everyone wants to be happy and it’s such a simple way of finding joy in your life. You can pre-order your happiness, so to speak and get it delivered to you. There are surprises on every level,” explained Vivian Chong, founder of the subscription box service.
Started early April this year, Chong is a major fan of subscription boxes, buying them to make herself happy. “I just like the idea you can buy a gift for yourself and be surprised every month or however frequent it is,” she explained.
When she started to shop for lifestyle-themed boxes, none of the locally available services tickled her fancy. That’s when she decided in September last year, “Why don’t I make one myself?”
The business is a perfect fit for Chong, a freelance writer who likes to tap into markets to discover local, artisan brands to feature in her articles.
“It’s a way to introduce these local designs to more people. They really create these amazing products,” said Chong.
Once the idea took off, she spoke to talented, independent brands like Salang Design, Muni and Big Nose Lab Designs, to work with her.
The art of gifting to yourself, starts by signing up for one of Happy Hopscotch’s plans. Currently, they offer two options: two boxes for six months, or four boxes for 12 months. You also can choose from two sizes: full-sized or petite, depending on your budget.
A new box is delivered on a quarterly basis or every three months. As this type of service is relatively unknown to many, they have also introduced a Single Box “Try Us Out” purchase plan.
The boxes contain a bundle of different products which give you better value rather than purchasing the items on an individual basis. For instance, the total retail value for a petite-sized box is RM200++ but by subscribing, you can get it for RM75.
To keep things interesting, each box is tailored to a theme. For their maiden box, the theme was “Joy Luck Club” to infuse you with happy vibes.
Chong spends the time to look out for items for these boxes. These could include handmade accessories, homemade skincare, organic teas, customised stationery. Even mantra cards are included to boost your positivity and happy thoughts.
For their next box, look forward to a “Tropical Awakening” theme.
By subscribing to the boxes, you can also score exclusive designs, unavailable elsewhere. For example, the creative trio behind local patch maker Salang Design worked with Chong to recreate a hopscotch iron-on patch. It’s a nod towards the name of the business.
Available in two colour combinations, the whimsical patch can be used to customise your T-shirts, bags or anything you fancy. Unlike their usual backing card, these patches are a little special, as they are accompanied with greeting cards.
Another exclusive item found in Happy Hopscotch’s boxes include button pouches from Muni, a homegrown brand that dyes their products with a colour palette extracted from tropical plants.
As gifts are the best when they are packaged beautifully, that experience is also replicated here. Chong explains that when it came to choosing a box for her business, she spent a little more to ensure the dusky pink box with their branding stood out from the ho-hum brown boxes. “The box is everything to my business. It’s the first impression so it starts from the box.”
Since the service is new, Chong is reaching out to others via markets to get the word out. It’s also a learning experience for her, as she gets to gauge her potential customers.
For the last Riuh at APW, what she discovered was many were new to this service and the concept of self love. “It is meant as a gift to yourself. You got to love yourself first before you love others.”
As it is Chong’s first entrepreneurial effort, she has discovered there’s a steep learning curve for certain things, like logistics and the setting up for a business. Nevertheless, it has been balanced out with many happy, unplanned incidents. Like how she ended up choosing hopscotch, a children’s game from the past.
She explained, “The hopscotch name represents happiness. It brings you back to those carefree, happy times from your childhood. If you try it now, you’ll end up giggling.
”When she got the iron-on hopscotch patch from Salang Design, it only dawned on her, how well it fitted her business with the various boxes in the game. For the future, Chong is optimistic about her first business venture, adding that, “Every day you’re looking for opportunities and that means you’re learning something new.”
Happy Hopscotch
Website: https://www.happyhopscotchmy.com
