A letterbox gift company which launched in lockdown and turned over £1 million in its first five months, has moved into a larger premises and hired three new staff members.
Natalie and Adam Bamford launched Colleague Box when the coronavirus pandemic was at its peak.
The boxes are aimed at bosses and colleagues wanting to put a smile on the faces of team members returning to the office or on furlough.
Thanks to ongoing growth, the couple's personalised gift box company has relocated to a 4,000 sq ft warehouse – called The Smile Factory – at Northedge Business Park, in Alfreton Road, in north Leicester.
Prior to the move, the business was based at Sawley Park, in Chaddesden.
The company has also announced a trio of new appointments, with Chrissy Law joining as marketing manager, Katie Lowe as order fulfilment specialist and Gemma McHarg as commercial sales director.
The new appointments mean that the workforce has more than tripled over the last year and Natalie, who has taken on the role of managing director to help grow the business, has big plans for the festive period and beyond.
She said: “Christmas promises to be a busy time of year again for us, so we’re launching early bird offers in September as companies look for that perfect gift for their colleagues and partners.
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"Last year, we completely sold out of our Christmas range.
“We’re also growing other areas of our business, collaborating with others – we see collaborations as key to our success.”
Customers can choose from a variety of parcels, including craft beer boxes, “ultimate” chocolate boxes, summer picnic boxes and movie night sharing boxes.
Each comes complete with company branding and a personalised message and while they have been popular with businesses welcoming colleagues back, the gift boxes have also been a huge hit for special occasions – the gin box contains two miniature bottles of Gordon’s Gin, tonic water, plus Green & Black’s chocolate, and nibbles, which could be just right for a Friday night Zoom catch-up.
Colleague Box recently extended its range – including an escape room style puzzle box to enjoy at home, with two who-dun-it themes and a choice of either craft beers, miniature Prosecco or soft drinks, crisps, nuts, and treat bags of chocolate, sweets and popcorn.
Natalie founded the Derby Days Out events listings website for parents and carers in 2015 and sold it three years later.