
Shipping $36000 worth of Japanese candy - bemmu
http://bemmu.posterous.com/first-year-of-candy-japan
======
koichi
To get more subscribers, I think you ought to be:

\- Writing about Japanese candy. \- Making videos about Japanese candy. \-
etc.

Doing this will attract people interested in Japanese candy, and will pull in
potential and real subscribers. Over the long term I think this could be good.
I also think the topic of "Japanese Candy" is big enough for you to
write/video about it once or twice a week.

As for the service itself - I think it lends well to word of mouth, or at
least it could. People get their candy and share it with others, and those
others ask where you got their candy. I was a subscriber for probably 4-5
months, and at least two of my friends signed up because of my word of mouth.

Thing is, all three of us have unsubscribed - and for all three of us, it
actually came down to the quality of the candy (or perhaps, it came down to
our tastes in candy). I know originally (and maybe still) your thing was about
sending people Japanese candy they can't get outside of Japan too easily.
That's good and all, but in the end, after a while we all realized the candy
itself in terms of quality / taste was hit or miss... and with subscription,
you can't have too many misses before someone unsubscribes. I'd say I
personally enjoyed the candy I got half the time, so I just unsubscribed
because it wasn't worth it.

I think finding candy that people will like rather than candy people find
different or original is much more important. I think that's the difference
between gaining more subscribers naturally through word of mouth and losing
subscribers.

At least, that's my opinion on it. I do hope you start revving sales up again,
though. I loved the candy when I loved the candy, and I think it's a good
idea, but between myself and friends we unsubscribed because we didn't always
love the candy :(

~~~
bemmu
This was interesting, thank you.

I'm not sure how to only send the good ones, and that would depend on the
recipient's tastes as well. Part of the idea is to try new things, so it seems
unavoidable that as I go through all the varieties out there, people will not
like some of them.

Some people don't like gummy candy, some really do. Some people are really
into "construction kit" type candy, some hate the effort involved and so on.

Perhaps there could be a way to make the subscribers feel like they didn't
lose out even if they got something they really hated, but not sure how that
would work exactly.

~~~
koichi
I agree, taste is super hard to figure out -

Maybe if you ran some kind of candy A/B Test.

Send two different kinds of envelopes to people, and keep track of who got
what. Then, send a survey to these people to have them rate the candy's they
received. After a few months, you should start to have a general idea on what
types of candies are liked more and what types are liked less. Even though
you'll never have a taste-consensus, you can get a general idea, and modify
what kinds of candy you send and the amounts of the kinds of candies you do
send.

Or, another way would be to send all the same candy to everyone and send out a
survey. Then the next two weeks send another set of candy and run another
survey.

Whatever you do / don't do, getting stats and info is really nice.

You can't, unfortunately, please everyone :( so might as well please a group
of people _a lot_ and get a group of really evangelical fans, I think.

~~~
bemmu
Right, the only trouble is that if I want to create a community, I have to
send the same thing to everyone, otherwise there can be no common discussion
about it.

If I totally abandon the community aspect though, then I could start designing
the ultimate sequence of candy that maximizes retention. Not sure which is
better.

------
dotBen
Candy, coffee, cigars, women's shoes/accessories...

There seems like a ton of subscription businesses around and I almost feel
there might be room to create a white/gray-label platform that can handle the
website, subscription management, payment and shipping labels to potential
operators of these kinds of services.

Wondering how big the addressable market is.

UPDATE: <http://member.ly> already does this according the child comments -
awesome!

~~~
fadys
I launched <http://teapeat.com> a little over a month ago. I like to call it
TAAS: Tea as a Service.

I've had a decent amount of signups since then, but it has leveled off. I hope
to share what I've learned so far very soon.

~~~
mdiep
As a tea neophyte, I strongly suggest that you add a link to recommended
equipment for brewing loose-leaf tea. I have considered trying to get into tea
several times, but could never figure out exactly what I should buy if I want
to brew loose leaf tea. (I'm sure I could find something, but I only like
buying things off of recommendations.)

This could do 2 things for you:

1) You could earn some money off of an affiliate program.

2) People like myself who are new to tea are unlikely to subscribe to your
service without some help. Tell me what I need to enjoy tea (include brewing
directions if they don't come with your tea), and I'm much more likely to
subscribe.

I would specifically recommend that you recommend a single product with a
direct link—not a type of product or brand.

~~~
fadys
Thanks. I will definitely do that. I actually thought about selling tea
"equipment" through the site but for it to be economical I would have to buy a
decent quantity. Using an affiliate program may indeed be the better option at
this point.

~~~
a-priori
Maybe have a deal where if they pre-pay some number of months, you'll include
that equipment with their first order?

------
dmerfield
Why don't you buy candy directly from one or two Japanese suppliers rather
than pay for the supermarket's margin?

Although that wouldn't address your decline in subscriptions it would improve
your bottom line.

~~~
bemmu
I do get a bit of discount from them (5%). Mostly it's just really convenient
since they save me a lot of time by doing the packaging on site. Maybe if I
reached really big volume then it would start making sense. The price of
product is only 23% of the cost even now. Shipping is the biggest one at 33%.

~~~
BadCookie
Would it reduce your shipping costs if you shipped all candy to your US
subscribers to one person in the US, who would then mail out the individual
packages? Just a thought.

~~~
bemmu
Then I would become the importer and would need to pay for customs clearance
of my bulk package too. I would need to start cooperating with the
manufacturers to get them to help me with the necessary paperwork.

At the scale I am in, I doubt anyone wants to talk with me since I'm only
buying $1000 worth of their product (I cycle through different candy so don't
buy that much from single manufacturers) as it is. Also not all of my
subscribers are in the US, I have many in Canada, Germany and all over the
place.

~~~
BadCookie
Ah, I didn't realize that about needing customs clearance. I know that not all
of your subscribers are in the US. I was just using the US as an example.

In that case, how about partnering with people in each country who live in
large enough cities that they can acquire Japanese candy themselves (at the
Japanese mall or whatever), and then ship to the subscribers in that country?
As I think a few people have pointed out, the real benefit to a subscriber is
if they live in a rural place with no access to Japanese candy.

Again, I have no idea if this would reduce your shipping costs in the end, but
I'm curious if it would. I think that there are not a lot of people who both
(a) don't have access to Japanese candy themselves, and (b) are willing to pay
$24 a month for it (since high earners tend to live in larger cities).

------
karl11
You should be targeting tech startup's kitchen staff with this. Imagine if the
people who stock Google or Facebook's food pantries bought a bunch of
subscriptions. You could also target campus stores at universities with a
large Asian population.

~~~
geuis
@bemmu maybe you should get in touch with the guys at Zerocater. Try emailing
Andrew Badr, andrew@zerocater.com.

~~~
bemmu
Alright, trying that.

------
iqster
I had heard of your service before and thought it was a really neat idea! I
wished there was a service like yours for getting paprika chips in the US. For
some reason, it is nearly impossible to get them here. At one point I even
thought I'd start a service that regularly ships just these chips to people in
the US/Canada. When I looked into the import laws though, I was very confused
how to navigate through them. I've heard the people who did the Zico coconut
water had to get rid of their entire first shipment because they weren't
allowed to bring their goods into the US. Any suggestions on how to navigate
these complex regulations?

~~~
bemmu
Afaik if you send directly to someone abroad, you are not the one importing
it, rather the recipient is.

I did look into importing a bulk of product to US and then shipping from a hub
there. I got as far as the FDA page where I was supposed to register my
product. The FDA site requires you input the code of the factory the product
is produced in. I tried asking the manufacturer for the factory code, but they
weren't interested in helping me.

At my scale it probably doesn't make sense yet, anyway. But since you asked,
you at least need to get that factory code and fill some forms on the FDA
site.

------
shotinthedark
I love your idea and love candy more than you can imagine; however I found the
service quite expensive and since I live in a big city I can find most
Japanese candy in Chinatown (yes, there are some Japanese shops in London's
Chinatown). I did assume the shipping pushed up the cost and it turns out to
be correct. If I didn't live in a big city though, the cost probably wouldn't
be an issue. Best of luck.

~~~
bemmu
Yes, if you have a local shop that is importing bulk amounts, you are probably
better off buying from there if you're not after the surprise element.

------
doorty
I love these stories on HN about travelers supporting themselves through
entrepreneurial means. It gives me inspiration to do it myself.

~~~
brador
Any links to other stories of travelers supporting themselves through
entrepreneurial means?

------
justjimmy
I grew up in SEA (South East Asia) and ever since I moved to Canada, one of
first things I notice was the lack of high quality stationery and junk food -
essential for any students. Naturally, Japan/Korea/Taiwan are the places to go
for excellent craftsmanship.

Perhaps you could try targeting a different audience. While through sites like
HN is great, try going for a younger audience. I grew up in the 90s, it was
always fun to share and showoff something new in school (but then again there
was no iPhone, or iPad etc) But I'm not so sure about today's teen
generation's mentality, and their willingness to subscribe something monthly.

Very intrigued by this concept though.

------
kpi
Reminds me of Joel's post on streamlining a shipping process
[http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/HowToShipAnything.htm...](http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/HowToShipAnything.html)

~~~
bemmu
Joel's post was useful. I managed to avoid buying that $1000+ label printer
they use. Instead I have a script that makes a PDF of labels and then I go to
the convenience store, discreetly replace the paper in the common expensive
looking copy machine with labels and print with that. Prints 300 labels in
under 5 minutes this way.

------
pixelcort
Hi bemmu.

We met at a meetup just before Startup School last year. I remember you
telling me about your Japanese candy selling business. Glad to see you post an
update about it. Best of luck!

~~~
bemmu
Yeah, I recall you also have a Japanese wife. Startup School was a lot of fun,
hoping to get a chance to visit SF again too.

------
md1515
You might try once a month. Do a poll and see how people would react. you have
been so honest thus far, I think continuing to say that it will be very
difficult to continue with the existing profit margin will allow subscribers
to take a hit. Example: they pay $15 for one shipment per month. You will most
likely keep most subscribers and potentially gain the cheaper ones who don't
want to pay $24 for Japanese candy

------
MrJagil
That video on your site is so surreal. In that way it really fits with the
Japan-theme.

~~~
bemmu
Thanks. Having a video on the site has also improved conversions a lot. I
suppose it gives people confidence in subscribing to see that there are
actually people in Japan running this service.

------
redslazer
Have you considering putting a phamplet in each envelope that people can give
to friends who can try it at half price for the first month or so? That way
you could get access to new potential customers.

You could also make it more enticing for people to give the phamplet to
someone by rewarding people who have friends sign up.

~~~
bemmu
Good idea, I should probably include something anyway to explain what the
package contains. I could make a combined candy explanation + referral
pamphlet and include that.

------
whichdan
Have you considered offering a second "chocolate"-focused subscription? Things
like green tea pocky, sweet potato kit kats, or even those little pocky-style
mushrooms. After reading your post I signed up for the $13 sample, but $24/mo
is a little high for me when I'm not a huge fan of the sort of candy you're
mailing out. It would also hit on koichi's issue where some people are more
concerned about quality than novelty.

For what it's worth, I'd pay $15/mo for one package or $30/mo for two packages
- personally, the difference between $24 and $30 is negligible, given how much
I'd already be paying. I currently pay ~$50/mo to have Steaz and/or other iced
teas delivered (cheaper than going to Dunkin' Donuts once a day), so the issue
isn't really price, rather it's the relative value compared to, say, $24/mo of
drinks.

~~~
bemmu
I tried sending chocolate before. It was an embarrassing disaster, the goods
got delivered damaged. If I try that again I have to up my packaging first.

------
giberson
Have you considered the possibility of starting distribution branches? For
example, might you save on shipping if you shipped via a single shipment to a
central location (country) where your primary subscription base is. From
there, mailing them from the central hub to the clients. For example, if you
set up a US branch and then sent them via UPS or FEDEX to the customers.
Obviously the shelf life of the candy is figures into this process, but if its
mostly hard candy I imagine it probably has a couple months of shelf life.
Maybe you could offer a 4 or 6 month subscription plan at a lower rate.

~~~
bemmu
I'd like to try this, but not sure how to proceed with FDA. If you know anyone
who has done this with food, I'd love to learn.

------
v01
If you are solely relying on the site to drive your subscriptions - it could
use some work..

1\. High-res pics of candy and call to action above the fold.

2\. Registration/Membership on-site not just paypal sub link.

3\. Video is great, but it would help to have, sorry to be frank, less amateur
shaky cam in favor of something a little more pro that gives me confidence in
handing over money every month to a person out there.

You should also consider reaching out to daily deals sites with a "discounted
membership" deal that could really move the needle for you.

I think this is pretty awesome, I'd love to see how this develops...

------
raerae7133
I'm a subscriber to Candy Japan and I love it. Nice work Bemmu!

------
svalley
This guy is going to eventually run afoul of the US Customs and the FDA.
<http://bit.ly/w2XSMA>

"Food that is sent to an individual in the U.S. for personal use (i.e. not for
resale) by a business is subject to special requirements of the Food and Drug
Administration. Businesses that send goods to the U.S. must file prior notice.
Prior notice may be filed on-line if the goods are being sent through the
postal service."

~~~
bemmu
I'd love to work with FDA to make sure I follow all the rules, but so far they
have ignored my emails. Perhaps I will try to reach them by phone some night.

------
sachingulaya
This is a bit late but there seems to be a market for:
[http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=auto&...](http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rihga.co.jp%2Fosaka%2Fleclat%2Fplanet.html)

kind of candy in the US. Consider importing it if only to raise your brand
identity by getting it featured on novelty blogs.

------
sankalpk
Here's an idea to generate some revenue: Some people might love some specific
candy you sent. Let people buy packs of that candy through you.

~~~
bemmu
Yes, I should seriously consider this. Again I probably couldn't send very big
bulk amounts without getting the recipient in trouble with customs.

Another reason I haven't done this yet is that I would need inventory control
again. I was running an ecommerce store once and it does add a bit of extra
work to make sure you have every item you claim to have and to be able to pick
and pack them efficiently. Basically need barcodes and labeled shelves.

~~~
Natsu
I was wondering about this, too. We haven't been able to get Puccho Grape
around here for months now.

------
AznHisoka
Have you done any marketing towards otakus? Also, have you done about
expanding it to other Japanese goods? like tea? dried fruit? cookies?

~~~
scottyallen
This was my thought exactly - Find out where the candy otakus and/or
japanophiles hang out, and test buying advertisement there, in whatever form
is available/can be negotiated. This might look like banner ads, blog
sponsorship, etc. Test and measure what converts to subscriptions, and renew
with the ones that work.

------
dzhiurgis
This gave me an idea of shipping dark rye - eastern european kind of bread.
They do have rye bread in UK, but it is completely different from the real
thing. I wasn't able to find any "lithuanian bread" online, maybe the nature
of the product is difficult to ship. I think most breads shelf life is like 3
days, with some extremes of 10 days..

~~~
bemmu
Issue with rye bread is that unless it is really fresh, it loses a lot of
flavor.

------
ryanwaggoner
On the traffic and subscribers front, I'd recommend reading everything that
patio11 has written about Bingo Card Creator: <http://www.kalzumeus.com/>

~~~
bemmu
I'm a big fan of patio11, read his posts and even went to see his talk in
Osaka. The idea of scalable content creation was interesting and I have been
thinking about how to apply it here. I'm starting by having individual pages
for each candy, for example <http://www.candyjapan.com/chelsea-butter-scotch>

Not sure if that will really be applicable to this, though. I should go back
and re-read his posts.

~~~
swanson
I'd say a good goal would be to rank #1 for long tail searches like "where can
I buy FOO_CANDY in the US?" for the top 50 best selling Japanese candies.

------
harryf
What about advertising on manga forums? They still seem to be popular

------
geon
Would you deliver candy toy cooking sets?

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gr-qewC-4gY>

~~~
bemmu
This one would not fit in a normal envelope. What happens in the US when you
get something that doesn't fit into your mail slot?

I just know that in Finland, in such cases you have to go to the post office
to get the package, so I've tried to avoid sending such things as part of the
regular shipments. I might still add an option to order those separately.

------
rubyrescue
maybe if you made it not just japanese candy but candy from all over the
world, it just seems like a service that could work.

~~~
bemmu
Thanks! Perhaps other countries could be added and there could also be an
overall subscription to get from any country, it's a good idea. I do feel I
should get this working well for Japan before expanding.

~~~
draggnar
Also, the price is a bit high for candy... have you tried a one envelope a
month subscription?

~~~
bemmu
I could try that, but am hesitating a bit to introduce more complexity to
this, since then I would have multiple tiers of subscribers.

~~~
scottyallen
Do you have to precommmit to the grocery store with how much candy you'll buy?
If not, then really the only added complexity would be the label printing step
- you just print some labels on different frequencies from others. If I were
you, I'd be listening carefully to the feedback you're hearing in these
comments - seems like there's a lot of demand for a less frequent/less
expensive option.

If you want more data on whether you should do this, try asking customers that
have canceled their subscription if they'd stay on if it was once a month.
Also, think about running an a/b test with once a month vs twice a month...

~~~
bemmu
No, I don't need to precommit. There is nothing really preventing me from
doing this.

I want to say yes to this experiment, but immediately come up with more stuff
that this would require that holds me back from adding it right now.

With tiers you will eventually have people who want to upgrade / downgrade
between the tiers (of course I can just say you can't do that). I need to
change my scripts that scan PayPal to support these tiers and still correctly
figure out who to send to.

Need a tier selection page and this will also complicate wording on the main
page. Not missing out on those customers who only wanted one envelope a month
seems it might make this worth doing, agreeing with you there and hoping to
find the time to add this.

~~~
tstegart
I agree, I don't think your churn rate is so bad that you need to offer any
more levels. I would put all your work into acquiring new subscribers first.
Every business is going to have churn, but the only way to grow is with new
customers.

------
bennesvig
Did you get the email I sent back with ideas? I love what you're doing, but
there has to be some community formed around it.

------
stevewilhelm
Try <http://www.asianfoodgrocer.com/>

------
jayunit
Do you have to pay customs/duty?

~~~
bemmu
Nope, since I am not the one importing them. Recipients do not need to pay
either, since the envelopes are small and fall under the customs limits.

