Beta Box #1: A Look Inside

Our first Beta Box has shipped! We offered this prototype box to ten of our friends with good taste. They seemed to like it. Even with all of the compromises we had to make - from sourcing online in small quantities, to printing all of the labels and inserts on a desktop printer - we're pretty proud to take Eucopia's first step.

In keeping with the box's theme of Morning, it included a porcelain latte mug made in Italy by d'Ancap:

The legendary Portuguese toothpaste (seriously!) Couto:

Soap on a rope made from lingonberries from the forests of Finland, by Vasa Tvål Ab:

This retro-mod alarm clock by the Rotterdam/NYC design outfit Kikkerland (made in China - the only item in the box not manufactured in Europe, a subject I'll have more to talk about in a future post):

And a box of that uniquely Dutch breakfast staple, chocolate sprinkles, by De Ruijter:

The package also included a full-color mini-magazine with the story behind each product, plus features on European morning life, from unusual breakfasts across the continent to which countries have the best and worst teeth:

You'll be seeing some of those stories here on the blog. We're not inclined to let good content go to waste.

Finally, everyone received an official Eucopia passport, including stickers for each country represented in the box:

Each item was the favorite of at least one beta tester (yes, even the toothpaste!), and people said nice things about the mini-magazine despite our (let's say) semi-professional design. Thanks to our Beta Box buyers for playing along. We learned a lot about what to do differently next time, but the most exciting lesson we learned is that we just might be onto something here.  

If Eucopia has convinced you that Europeans do it better, subscribe today!