Find out about Box42 the date night subscription box service that puts the fun back in dating…

If there is one thing 2020 has taught us, it is how important it is to spend quality time with your other half. And with the usual date night haunts closed for the best part of the year, this has been a challenge. While the initial novelty of dinner and a movie was great, it was quick to wear off and saw couples slip back into sitting on phones in silence, not spending any quality time together. The magic of a date where you give your other half undivided attention was soon out of the window and the talk went back to the everyday mundane such as the bills, the washing up, and work. My own partner and I were quickly slipping into this pattern and as lockdown’s toll really began to show, we were becoming less and less inspired. That is until I made a fantastic discovery and our lockdown dates were saved by nothing other than a brown cardboard box packed with everything you could need for a fun date night. Introducing Box42. Box42 is a date night box subscription box that includes a few great couples’ activities, snacks and drinks from independent brands, accessories, a playlist to set the mood, a guide to take you through the evening, and much much more!

Box42 puts the fun back into dating. It reminds you just how much fun you can have a couple when you have the inspiration to do so. We caught up with founder Caroline who set up Box42 with her partner Jai to find out how they come up with the idea and why it should be the next date night you do yourselves.

What inspired you to begin Box42?

When lockdown hit the UK, my boyfriend and I (Jai & Caroline) started looking for date night ideas which we could do from home. We used to have a regular weekly date night pre-COVID and it was never a problem finding new things to do around London. However, trying to keep up the same excitement for date nights at home was a real challenge. All the suggestions we found felt more like chores than a date, e.g. workout together, cook together, fix up your home together, etc.

This was our first hint that there may be a gap in the market here. About a month into lockdown we realised lockdown would probably continue longer than imagined, so we decided to use our additional free time to try and address this gap. We brainstormed a date night subscription box which could make date nights regular and easy! It was something we would definitely buy ourselves, so it seemed like a viable idea. Eventually we settled on the name Box42, a play on “box for two” and launched the company!

Tell us a bit about Box42

Box42 is a date night subscription box that aims to make date nights at home really easy, affordable and meaningful. We come up with a new theme every month and design a fun couples’ date night around it. Our boxes contain everything you need to have a really fun date night at home – a few great couples’ activities, snacks and drinks from independent brands, accessories and a playlist to set the mood, a guide to take you through the evening, and much much more! We also sell some of these themes as one-off boxes; our current range includes Casino Night, Tuscan Pottery, and Cozy Campfire. You can probably guess what the main activities are in each of them!

Did you find it a challenge to open a business during a pandemic? How do you think (if at all) it will change as lockdown restricts begin to ease?

Box42 is unique in that it aims to address a market that is highlighted due to the pandemic and lockdown. More people stuck at home due to lockdown means more couples looking for creative date nights at home! Lockdown was essential to us starting Box42 because it provided the inspiration for the idea, as well as the extra time we needed to commit to and execute this idea.

Although we originally assumed it was mainly people in lockdown who would be keen for date nights at home, we were quickly proven wrong! We’ve received some great feedback from customers who found date nights out challenging even before COVID for a number of reasons, from young kids, to financial constraints, to a simple preference of staying in. Many people love the idea of a chilled night indoors with their partner where they can do something fun together without any hassle. This is really the demand that we’re addressing. In August, even with everything opened up and the government’s Eat Out To Help Out scheme, we sold more boxes than any previous month! It’s clear that this demand isn’t solely due to the pandemic… it’s always been around and will continue to be around in a post-COVID world. So we don’t foresee any major change regardless of where this pandemic goes.

How do you come up with your date box ideas?

A lot of brainstorming!! We usually think back to our best and most memorable dates, combine them with great activities that we’ve done together and any other inspiration we can get for fun things to do at home. Then we try doing our own date night, figure out what works well and what doesn’t work well, and then continuously improve on the idea until we’re happy with the experience. For now we have enough future ideas planned out, but I’m sure it’ll get harder at some point in the future. It’s been great for us because we’ve had loads of great date nights at home, all under the guise of product development!

How do you decide which brands to feature in your box?

We decided early on in our journey that we wanted to support other small businesses with our boxes. It gives these brands a platform to reach new customers who may not have heard of or tried their products, and it gives us really cool, innovative products that excite our customers!

For some boxes we’re looking for a really specific product and we reach out to the coolest looking brands we can find in that space, e.g. we wanted marshmallows for the Cozy Campfire Box, so Mallow & Marsh was an obvious choice. But for other boxes we have a bit more freedom, so we look for brands which go with the theme, but also resonate personally with us and our mission at Box42.

Do you have a favourite date destination in London?

Our best dates together are usually when we do something different and create new memories together, so we hardly ever visit the same place twice! That being said, one of our favourite dates was walking around Covent Garden on a late evening in December with hot chocolates to keep us warm. So we repeat this tradition every year, just wandering around that area while talking and enjoying the Christmas decor.

What is the most romantic thing you have done for eachother?

In all honesty, we’re a couple which enjoys making lots of small romantic gestures so I can’t quite tell you the one most romantic thing! We often surprise plan trips for each other like weekends away or mini-road trips. We’ve written love letters, watched sunrises over the London eye and slept under the stars in the Sahara. One romantic gesture that we are a little famous for as a couple is hiding notes for eachother in the most random places, I’m still finding messages from 2014! It’s one of the things we have incorporated into the Tuscan Pottery Box.

Tell us a bit about how the subscription works, why should our readers choose this?

We recommend the subscription to all our customers for three main reasons:

1) It keeps everything a surprise. You never know what theme you’re gonna get, and there’s just something exciting about opening your box to a unique theme that you haven’t heard or seen anywhere else! Who doesn’t love a good surprise?! We also hold some themes exclusively for subscribers, so you may never get to experience some themes without subscribing!

2) You’ll never miss another date night. Part of our mission behind the date night subscription box Box42 was to make date nights a regular occurrence to keep you connected and keep your relationship strong. Our one-off boxes are a great option, but they requires you to consciously remember and plan your next date night. The subscription takes away all the effort on your part – all you need to do is find one evening a month free to spend quality time with your partner.

3) It’s cheaper! You save over 10% on every box by subscribing. The subscription is fully flexible so you’re not tied in for a minimum period, and pausing or cancelling it is super easy – it can all be done online.

Where is the first place you will travel to once restrictions ease and why?

We managed to sneak in a holiday to Thailand just the week before lockdown hit the UK, so we aren’t desperately missing travel quite yet. But the other country we were planning to visit this year was Turkey. We’ve seen some amazing pictures from the spice markets of Istanbul to the beaches of Antalya to the hot air balloon rides of Kappadoccia. It’s a really diverse and vibrant country with great food, and relatively nearby and affordable considering it’s still a different continent!

Have you always wanted to start your own business or was this a lockdown surprise?

I think both of us have always been open to starting a business, but neither of our normal schedules would have allowed for it. The lack of travel and social life during lockdown was likely the main catalyst for us deciding to launch Box42 this year.

Anything else you want to tell us?

If you’re a couple, don’t underestimate the power of date nights! Taking time out of your hectic day-to-day lives to connect, communicate, and have fun together is so so powerful and will make any relationship stronger. No matter how or where you decide to do it, make time for date night!

Find out more and get your own Box42 date night subscription box here