Our resident beauty worshipper Rachel McAlley recently interviewed beauty box subscription queen Tia Roqaa for House of Coco. Rachel delved deep into the world of the beauty box and into the future plans of Tia Roqaa’s business Roccabox.

Q1. What made you go into the subscription beauty box industry?
I liked the idea of giving women a little treat delivered to their door every month, a little surprise present for themselves – who doesn’t love presents or surprises? I had seen a few subscription based models pop up here and there and the whole concept really interested me, and with my background being in beauty PR I had some good beauty contacts so it just all made sense.

Q2. How long have you been running Roccabox?
We launched March 1st 2017, although I started working on it behind the scenes from November 2016. I did everything myself in the beginning alongside my full time job, I even taught myself how to build websites and all the social media!

Q3. Do you have a team of beauty experts that source all the products for each Roccabox?
Each month myself and my team scour instagram for new beauty launches and exciting brands that our audience would love. Sometimes we work with bloggers to curate their box of fave beauty finds, but if i’m honest, I prefer doing it myself!

Q4. Do you have a favourite Roccabox that has been produced and if so what were the products inside that the subscribers received?
I really loved working on our first limited edition box, it was such an exciting time thinking of how far we had come from our first box. When I look back now that first flyer was absolutely awful, although the products have always been great. Our limited edition boxes are more premium and run alongside our monthly boxes, they’ll usually contain more lifestyle products like a gorgeous Katie Loxton pouch, a full size candle and notebook as well as the usual skincare and make-up. I love working with big brands such as St Tropez, L’oreal, Pixi and Nails Inc.

Q5. Are you happy with Roccabox as it stands or will you look at other beauty avenues in the future?
Funnily enough I have just done a really successful pop up in my hometown of Leeds, I am thinking of doing a tour of events so I can meet our subscribers as well as get the brand out there more. But I am also looking to do collaborations with big brands, we have just started doing corporate gift boxes in collaboration with a big travel brand. I am open to pretty much anything as long as it’s products beautifully put together in one of our boxes that will make someone feel great, I am all over it!

Q6. Do you like any other beauty subscription boxes that you think are good quality and value for money?
My main competitors, Glossybox and Birchbox are huge international companies, so they just don’t have that love and care that we put in. There have been lots of other boxes pop up over the last couple of years but unfortunately they haven’t lasted long. It’s a really competitive market and you’ve always got to stay ahead of the curve.

Q7. You work with some excellent beauty brands for each Roccabox, are there any beauty brands you are looking to work with in the future?
I’d love to work with more of the bigger brands such as Nars, Charlotte Tilbury, YSL etc, so watch this space for a possible premium quarterly version of what we do.

Q8. Can we delve into the December 2018 box, and are you able to tell us what subscribers can expect in their Christmas edition?
Ooh now that will be a surprise! But we are looking to add in a couple of little extra bits outside of your usual skincare and make-up, but you’ll have to sign up and see.

Huge thanks to Tia Roqaa for taking the time to be part of a #TeamCoco #GBOGB Q&A session.

Search online for Roccabox to find out more about this wonderful subscription service.

Author

A veteran in global travel, Rachel also loves to explore hidden gems on home turf. She’s a writing connoisseur of Britain’s best hotels, luxury beauty products, and UK food and drink launches.

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