HELENA — We followed up on two Helena entrepreneurs who, at the start of the pandemic, created a business that aimed to help local people discover some of the best local products.
“It was a big hit and now it's just growing and taking on a life of its own so now we're just trying to keep up," says AshLy Tubbs, Founder of Community Crate.
It is a success story hard to believe in the pandemic. Two Helena women developed Community Crate eight months ago (April 2020), a business concept of gathering items from different, local shops to sell together. Now, they’ve grown into their own shared space and continue to soar.
"We've gained more subscribers every month and that feels really great, that people will just commit their monthly luxuries towards a bunch of items that they know will support local businesses and that's part of the value for them," says Karli Mosey, Director of Community Crate.
Not only have they increased subscribers, but their revenue tripled. They went from selling about ten crates to 100 crates a month.
Karli and AshLy say they’ve collaborated with over 50 small businesses funneling thousands of dollars into the local economy and even inspired community members to stay local.
"The businesses have told us, when we walk in the shop, that Community Crate subscribers have come in and returned looking for that specific item that they had in their crate and that they loved and want more of,” says Tubbs. “So, we've gotten some really great feedback."
"It's been honestly like a privilege to get to work on this project together and to see it through to this point,” says Mosey. “I didn't realize it was a goal I had. So, it's been wonderful pursuing this, making it into something. We're really hoping that the future can continue with Community Crate and thanks to the community support, we don't see any end in sight."
Community Crate says they look forward to collaborating with more Helena businesses in 2021.
Community Crate have revamped their website to now include customizable crates along with their monthly subscription services.
