Shopping , Fashion & Beauty , Food & Drink , Lifestyle , Students

15 Subscription boxes that are actually worth it: Unboxing the best subscription boxes

Published on Tue 31st May 2022

38% of the UK have used a subscription box… so when we wax lyrical about the benefits of boxes, a third of you will be rolling your eyes and saying ‘we know!’

However, for the rest of us who are yet to get involved on the craze - and even for those who have tried a subscription but want to expand their horizons - there’s plenty to explore.

Subscription boxes have become wildly popular since the pandemic, where shoppers were unable to go shopping in-store. And, even a decade on from the first delivery box hitting our doorsteps, we’re still intrigued by the idea of a box of surprises arriving regularly to our homes. It’s like a present we organise for ourselves, as if Christmas had come early - and monthly. According to Forbes, they’re only getting bigger. 25% of people, they say, have a subscription service on the go right now, and a further 32% intend to sign up to one in the next six months.

Food is the most popular subscription service, with Graze being the top choice of subscription box out there, and we’ve certainly got you covered on the best snack subscriptions and dinner deliveries. But we don’t stop there. There’s also beauty, good ol’ fashioned magazines and newspapers, coffee, cocktails, and much, much more.

For their convenience, for their cost effectiveness, for their efforts to reduce waste, subscription boxes have as many benefits as they do surprises packed within! Check out our comprehensive list of delivery services that you should subscribe to!

So, let’s unbox the subscription box model and why you should sign up to one!

1. Odd Box

Odd Box is for the wonky veg, the fruit that’s oversized, the produce that would otherwise go to waste. A third of food grown in the world is wasted, a disturbing figure that OddBox strive to undo. In the UK alone, over 3 million tonnes of fruit & veg are wasted before they even leave the farm. Our food system in the UK has grown to prize uniformity over taste and planet, meaning perfectly tasty food doesn’t even reach the supermarket.

All the food that is ‘too’ dinky, ‘too’ much, or ‘too’ wonky, is ‘too’ good to go to waste, according to OddBox. So far, they’ve saved nearly 30,000 tonnes of fruit and veg, nearly 3,000 million litres of water, and enough energy to power over 6,000 houses a year.

Ranging from just over a tenner a week for individuals or couples, to just over £20 for larger families, it would be odd to not consider!

2. Hello Fresh 

Ranging from meals that can be made in less than 20 minutes for busy weeknights to impressing guests with fancier feasts, Hello Fresh boasts time-saving and planet-saving benefits. Hello Fresh is perfect for those with busy lives who just don't have the time for meal-planning. With less time spent shopping, less time spent prepping, and far less food waste, it’s a no-brainer. With meals starting from £3.25/pp, you can customise the amount of food, the type of food, and the variety of food. And with categories for veggies, calorie-cutters, families, sides, lunches, desserts and more, you’ll be spoilt for choice without your food going spoiled.

Moreover, Hello Fresh collaborates with The Felix Project, a charity that saves surplus food from suppliers and redistributes it to charities. Not only do they cut waste by allocating exact portion measures, they’re also committed to sustainability and cutting out unnecessary stages in the supply chain.

And of course, you should always check out the epic deals you can get on Hello Fresh before purchasing, for example at the time of writing with VoucherCodes you can get 50% off your first box and 35% off your next three boxes!

3. AllPlants

With a rallying cry to forget everything you thought your knew about vegan food, All Plants is all about plant-based that has been prepared by chefs and can be ready in mere minutes.

You can choose from menus of breakfasts, sides, dinners and more or take part in a fun quiz to see what is selected for you. With meals ready from frozen in as little as six minutes, food becomes deliciously simple again. Oh, and not to mention All Plants gives you the option to return your packaging so it can be re-used.

From Mac and Greens to Protein Power Bowls to Teriyaki Udon, the select is mouthwatering.

Plus, with discounts for signing up to their newsletter, for students and key workers, and for seniors, you can’t really go wrong. Check out all of AllPlants' deals here

4. Gousto

With 60+ recipes a week, cooked from 10 minutes, Gousto comes with a stamp of quality and simplicity. With easy-to-follow recipe cards and an excellent rating on TrustPilot, it’s no wonder why so many people love Gousto. Plus, Gousto is a B Corp dedicated to building a better world. According to them, eating Gousto could reduce your carbon footprint by 23%. At £34.99 a week - or £50.25 for the larger box - it's not the cheapest option, but you get the ease of having all your meals delivered to your door and loads of tasty food inspiration. Plus, you can save on your box by checking for Gousto discount codes, for example, right now you can get 65% off your first box and 30% off the remaining boxes in your first month 

5. Graze

Okay, so we’ve definitely got dinner sorted. But what about the in between? What about the cheeky cravings and the midnight snacks? Graze has you sorted with some healthy snacks that are ready to go. With entirely customisable box options and a first box at a discount, there are many ways to graze. Whether you’ve got a sweet tooth or have savoury cravings, you’ll find something to love. 5 million others have, anyway! As the most popular subscription box, it offers over 60 snacks to choose from, all entirely veggie.

6. Beer52

Supermarkets sell a good range of beer, but sometimes in the hurry of the food shop you miss out on the funkier options. This is where beer subscription services come in. Beer52 is one of the biggest names in the business at the minute, and deservedly so. With monthly theme changes to ensure you get to sample all of the best and weirdest new ales and beers on the market, Beer 52 will take you on a tour of Ireland and California and India alike. Boxes - which can be selected to offer from 8-12 beers - come with a magazine and quirky snack to go alongside your sipping selection. You can choose between lights and darks in your beer box, or just lights. The beauty of the discovery is that you can find a new love of a beer you may never have tried. You can be sampling pints from Peru from £27 a month. For brew bods who love a good tipple, it could add a bit of eccentricity into your home pub and is much cheaper than the weekly Friday night trip to the pub. Take a look at Beer52 discounts here.

7. Naked Wine

For those who’s cellar is more filled with reds, whites, rosés and fizzes rather than ales, Naked Wines could be for you. In a 5 question quiz you can find out if you’re buying wine the smart way get a £30 wine voucher on your first order.

The average £5 bottle of wine sold in the UK only contains about 31p worth of wine, according to Naked Wines: “The rest goes on marketing, duty, shipping and packaging... leaving diddly-squat for actual wine.” When looking for value for money, for quality, for passion, you need look no further.

8. Stir-Up

At £25 a month, Stir-Up is great for those who love entertaining with friends on a budget. Each box contains the ingredients for four full sized cocktails, a fact sheet with instructions and a cocktail themed party playlist. Oh and there’s free delivery on top of all that!

Alcohol is expensive, and though buying full sized bottles is good for long term liquor lovers, if you’re an experimentalist who wants to try a bit of this and that without committing to full sized bottles of funky flavoured alcohol and syrups, then a cocktail box may be for you.

Become your own bartender and wow your friends for a reasonable price. After all, you’d be lucky to find a bar that offered 4 cocktails for under £25!

9. GLOSSYBOX

Moving away from the edible subscriptions, GLOSSYBOX is one of the original subscription service. Starting at £13.25 per month - or £11.75 per month if you commit to a year’s worth - the box is a steal. With over £50 worth of iconic products, and with a £5 credit for answering product surveys and app discounts, you can even make some money too. For discounts on your  

10. Birchbox

For a 3 monthly subscription at just under £40, 6 monthly for just under £75, or yearly for just under £150, you can get your hands on 5 luxury items. Expect a mix of skincare, body, and haircare to take your beauty routine to the next level. 

11. Freddie’s Flowers

Time for something to truly brighten up your month. Freddie’s Flowers delivers beautiful freshly picked flowers to your door with a full arranging guide so you can become your own florist. Having begun in Freddie’s mum’s garden, they’ve now delivered 3 million boxes across the country. With fully flexible deliveries so you can skip a month or cancel at any time, the flowers come in at £25 per delivery - which isn't as cheap as your local supermarket but the quality makes it worthwhile. 

12. The Runner Box

With 6 box or 1 year’s worth of subscriptions that allow you to make one time purchases for all your running needs over the following months, Runner Box obsessively curate boxes for athletes. They stay on top of the latest trends, flavours, and seasonal must-haves, so you don’t have to. Packed full of fuel for the modern athlete, with everything from hydration tablets to protein bars to deodorant, they say “Starting at just $28/box, we dare you to find a better deal.”

13. Craftiosity

Unbox your creativity with Craftiosity. Craftiosity is a flexible subscription box of craft kits and stationery for adults. You’ll be sent a box jam-packed with materials, tools and instructions to make something beautiful every month. Bursting with ideas, limited edition craft kits, an information sheet, all materials and tools, and a special extra for your pinboard, the boxes have been featured on This Morning as gifts for your friends and self alike. Plus, at £24.95, AllSubscriptionBoxes.co.uk rates it a 9.5 out of 10 for value for money.

14. Tails.com

With an exclusive 75% off first orders for the rest of the year at VoucherCodes, Tails.com gives you a personalised blend of dog food based on your dog’s age, breed, lifestyle. With an adaptive recipe, a portion scoop for weight control, high quality ingredients, and no added sugars, you can choose whether to have kibble or wet food - or both - delivered.  Tails.com is the only tree you’ll need to be barking up, with prices as tailored as the ingredients. Starting from just over a tenner for tiny dogs up to £39.03 per month for giant dogs, you’d be barking mad to not consider it.

15. Who Gives A Crap

A B-Corp, a toilet paper delivery service, and a damn right laugh, Who Gives A Crap is good for the world, for people, and ‘for your bum’. Having donated £5.3 million to ensure everyone has access to clean water and 50% of profits donated, you can trust that your money is going to a good place. Talking of money, the toilet paper starts at £28 for 24 rolls per month. 100% recycled and with soft, 3-ply sheets, this subscription service is truly worth it.

Photos by Paul Bradbury, PeopleImages, monkeybusinessimages, gorodenkoff, Paperkites, Popovo Bros, Inside Creative House, Ridofranz, Lco - Julia Amaral, Rimma_Bondarenko
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