Cratejoy
Cratejoy is a two-sided subscription box marketplace founded in 2013 that connects 2,500+ independent sellers with consumers and gift-givers, monetizing through marketplace commissions, recurring subscription sales, and digital gift cards across 16 countries.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersAustin, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What Cratejoy does
Cratejoy is a privately held, two-sided online marketplace for subscription boxes, founded in 2013 in Austin, Texas, with a headcount of 51–100. The platform connects more than 2,500 independent creators and small businesses with consumers and gift-givers, allowing sellers to launch and operate subscription box businesses without building their own commerce stack, and allowing buyers to discover curated, recurring experiences across categories spanning self-care, food and drink, books, crafts, kids, men, women, couples, and families.
The technology backbone is a Shopify-based e-commerce platform that provides product discovery, search and filtering, buyer protection, gift card functionality, and seller-side tooling for inventory and subscription management at sell.cratejoy.com. Cratejoy monetizes through marketplace commissions or transaction fees on each subscription box sold, the underlying subscription revenue generated when buyers enroll in monthly, quarterly, or multi-month prepaid plans, and digital gift cards sold in $25, $50, $100, $200, and $300 denominations that do not expire. Subscription box pricing spans roughly $9.49 to over $135, with most offerings concentrated in a $25–$55 band and frequent first-box discounts of 10–50%.
Marketing is driven by content (the "Box Insider" blog and seasonal gift guides), an active organic social presence across Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and TikTok, an affiliate program, and earned media coverage from publications including InStyle, Forbes, BuzzFeed, Marie Claire, Real Simple, Esquire, and HuffPost. The company has raised approximately $10.8 million in disclosed funding across 2013–2015 rounds from Y Combinator, SV Angel, Capital Factory, and CRV (which led a $6.2M round in October 2014), and currently ships to 16 countries across North America, Europe, and Oceania.
Cratejoy firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Cratejoy
- Legal name
- Cratejoy
- Website
- http://www.cratejoy.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Cratejoy is a two-sided subscription box marketplace founded in 2013 that connects 2,500+ independent sellers with consumers and gift-givers, monetizing through marketplace commissions, recurring subscription sales, and digital gift cards across 16 countries.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Cratejoy industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Subscription Box Marketplace
- SIC
- Retail-Catalog & Mail-Order Houses (5961)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Subscription Boxes & Curated Product Subscriptions (CRAFAIAF)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Closed-Loop Gift Cards (Single-Merchant) (FSAMANAB), Gift Basket & Curated Hamper Assembly (HSACANAD)
Keywords
Where Cratejoy is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Austin
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Cratejoy business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Marketplace Commission / Transaction Fees: Cratejoy takes a commission or transaction fee from sellers when subscription boxes are sold through the marketplace. The platform connects independent sellers with consumers, taking a percentage of each sale.
- Subscription Box Sales: The primary revenue stream comes from consumers purchasing subscription boxes through the marketplace. Boxes are sold on a one-time, monthly, quarterly, or multi-month subscription basis.
- Gift Cards: Cratejoy sells digital gift cards in denominations of $25, $50, $100, $200, and $300. Recipients can apply gift card balance toward any purchase on the platform. Gift cards do not expire.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Wide range of subscription boxes from budget to premium |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Gift cards for gifting occasions |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels5 records
Cratejoy product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Cratejoy operates an online marketplace connecting independent subscription box sellers with consumers seeking curated subscription experiences and gift options. The platform enables consumers to discover, purchase, and gift subscription boxes across categories including self-care, food, books, crafts, kids, men, couples, and wellness, while providing sellers with built-in traffic and discovery infrastructure.
Product overview
Cratejoy operates as a subscription box marketplace platform that connects consumers with curated subscription boxes across diverse categories. The core offering consists of the Cratejoy Marketplace where buyers browse and purchase subscription boxes, paired with the Cratejoy Seller Platform enabling 2,500+ independent creators to launch their own subscription businesses. The platform features multiple curated collections including the Gift Cards (available in $25-$300 denominations), Best Sellers collection, Just Landed new arrivals, and The Gift Shop organized by recipient type and interest. Key product verticals include Subscription Boxes for Women (788+ products), Subscription Boxes for Men, Kids/Babies/Teens (1,005+ products), Self-Care boxes (538+ products), and Mystery & Adventure boxes. The company also offers a buyer protection policy and flexible gifting options including one-time, 3, 6, and 12-month subscription terms.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Cratejoy Marketplace
- Gift Cards
- Cratejoy Seller Platform
Companies that use Cratejoy
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments8 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Cratejoy technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Cratejoy partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- 2,500+ Independent Subscription Box SellerscoreCratejoy's marketplace is built on partnerships with over 2,500 independent creators and sellers who offer subscription boxes across diverse categories including self-care, food, books, crafts, kids, men, couples, and more. These sellers use Cratejoy's platform to reach consumers, manage subscriptions, and process payments.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Cratejoy competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- FabFitFun: FabFitFun is a quarterly subscription box focused on lifestyle, beauty, and wellness products. Like Cratejoy, it competes for self-care/wellness subscription spend, though it operates a vertically-integrated first-party box rather than a multi-seller marketplace.
- Birchbox: Birchbox is a beauty subscription service that pioneered the curated subscription box category. It overlaps with Cratejoy's Self-Care and Beauty collections and competes for similar gifting occasions among women.
- BarkBox: BarkBox is a subscription box service for dog owners, owned by Bark Inc. (formerly BarkCo). It is comparable to Cratejoy's marketplace model because it is a category-leading single-theme subscription box that competes for similar gifting occasion dollars.
- Ipsy: Ipsy operates a beauty subscription box and sample marketplace. Its sample-plus-shop discovery mechanic is comparable to Cratejoy's curation of beauty/skincare sellers.
- Stitch Fix: Stitch Fix is a subscription-based personal styling service. It is comparable to Cratejoy as a recurring-revenue, curated discovery platform for consumer goods, with similar e-commerce infrastructure and personalization positioning.
- Loot Crate: Loot Crate was a subscription box for geeks and gamers; it later rebranded to Loot Anime and spun off Warner Archive. It is historically comparable to Cratejoy because it pioneered themed subscription boxes in the broader category where Cratejoy's Marketplace competes.
Broad incumbents
- HelloFresh: HelloFresh is a large meal-kit subscription company with a recurring-shipment e-commerce model. It is comparable as a broad subscription commerce incumbent overlapping with Cratejoy's Food/Drink and prep categories at scale.
- Blue Apron: Blue Apron is a meal-kit subscription box operator. It is comparable to Cratejoy as a category-defining subscription commerce operator, serving overlapping weekly/recurring buyer behavior even though product category differs.
- Amazon Subscribe & Save: Amazon Subscribe & Save is Amazon's recurring-delivery program, the broadest incumbent in subscription commerce. Comparable to Cratejoy because it competes for recurring buyer wallet share across many of the same consumption occasions (snacks, household, personal care).
Others
- Subbly: Subbly is a SaaS subscription commerce platform that enables merchants to launch subscription boxes. Comparable as a B2B enabler that sits alongside Cratejoy's seller-side infrastructure, often competing for the same would-be sellers Cratejoy recruits onto its marketplace.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Cratejoy social profiles
Digital presenceCratejoy financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Cratejoy leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
Cratejoy funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds4 records
Investors5 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Cratejoy M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Cratejoy
What does Cratejoy do?
Cratejoy operates an online marketplace connecting independent subscription box sellers with consumers seeking curated subscription experiences and gift options. The platform enables consumers to discover, purchase, and gift subscription boxes across categories including self-care, food, books, crafts, kids, men, couples, and wellness, while providing sellers with built-in traffic and discovery infrastructure.
Is Cratejoy a public or private company?
Cratejoy is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Cratejoy founded?
Cratejoy was founded in 2013. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Cratejoy based?
Cratejoy is headquartered in Austin, United States, in the North America region.
How does Cratejoy make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Marketplace Commission / Transaction Fees are the primary driver. The others are subscription Box Sales and gift Cards.
Who are Cratejoy's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are FabFitFun, Birchbox, BarkBox, Ipsy, Stitch Fix and Loot Crate. Broad incumbents are HelloFresh, Blue Apron and Amazon Subscribe & Save. Subbly is listed as an others.
Does Cratejoy have an API?
No public API is recorded for Cratejoy.
What industry is Cratejoy in?
Cratejoy's product category is Subscription Box Marketplace. Its primary akta.pro industry code is CRAFAIAF, Subscription Boxes & Curated Product Subscriptions, with a secondary code of FSAMANAB, Closed-Loop Gift Cards (Single-Merchant). Its SIC code is 5961.