Why peak season is the perfect time to scale globally: Insights from Boxbollen’s Jacob Eriksson

You’re scaling your brand globally and want to launch your new market with a bang – when’s better than peak season?

Jacob Eriksson, Co-Founder of Boxbollen shares how he grew his global playtech brand from zero to thirty million dollars in five years, and why peak season is the perfect time to launch.

Launching at the right time

Choosing the right time to launch will give you the best possible chance for success. In Boxbollen’s case, it was Christmas.

“A big milestone was when we launched Boxbollen Christmas 2018. We produced 1000 units and we sold over 3000 in only the first two weeks,” says Jacob.

After such a successful launch, Boxbollen had found a winning strategy: launching during peak season. With such a big bet comes a considerable amount of prep work, especially as Boxbollen expanded across the globe.

Localise before peak season

Boxbollen launches its brand in new markets during peak season to set them up for year-round success. Following the success of their launch in Sweden, Boxbollen has scaled to become a global business in the US, Canada and EU.

“Our strategy for entering a new market is pretty much doing the same things we've been doing before but in that new market. We select a good time to launch and for us it's Christmas,” says Jacob.

A key element of entering any new market is localisation, from inventory to ads. That means a lot of prep work with a hard deadline. 

“Long before Christmas everything needs to be done. That means localising the ecom, having stock in the country, having all the talent shooting all the content. When everything is done, we press play and scale the paid media.”

Boxbollen has also found an effective marketing strategy that they replicate in their new markets: working with influencers and celebrities to demonstrate their product with engaging content.

Test channels and keep doing what works

It took experimentation to find Boxbollen’s formula for marketing success, testing different channels and types of influencers.

“We've tried micro-influencers a couple of times and never succeeded. Some content might not be suitable for certain platforms, bad engagement, or even some of our paid marketing,” says Jacob.

Now Boxbollen knows what works for them, they replicate this in their new markets. For the US launch, they collaborated with household names making timely and relevant content to build their brand awareness.

“Our launch in the US was a success. We got to work with A-list celebrities like Khloe Kardashian. We were featured on Dr. Phil. Even Bill Gates got Boxbollen for Christmas from his daughter. I love moments like these,” says Jacob.

If you’re planning to launch a new market during peak season and want to make an impact, you’ll need a strong marketing plan. Peak season is a competitive landscape and brands need to stand out. Measurement becomes key, and you can work from past data to create a formula that works for your brand.

When peak season hits things can move quickly. It’s important to be reactive to any changes in your campaigns and be prepared to make adjustments if needed.

Use a credit solution that boosts your liquidity

“Balancing consistent year-round operations and escalating to meet significant Q4 demand imposed a tangible strain on our liquidity,” says Jacob.

“We needed a solution that understands ecommerce seasonality and what it takes to scale a global ecommerce brand across two continents,”

A credit solution designed for ecommerce businesses gave Boxbollen the funds they need to continue acquiring customers throughout the year and ramp up their spend in the lead up to peak season, especially when they’re launching in a new market.

“Juni Capital gives us the ability to grow at scale, whilst having visibility and control over the cost of scaling,” says Jacob.

If you need to scale your spend for peak season, you can bridge the gap with a solution like Juni Capital. You can finance invoices in just a few clicks, giving you more time to settle with suppliers, freeing up cash flow and helping you negotiate better rates – all for fixed monthly fees as low as 3%.

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