Bücherbüchse: The New Adult Boom Is Far From Over

Lisa, how did the idea for the book box come about?

Lisa Strauß: I've loved reading all my life and had wanted to work in the book industry for a long time. But because there are only a few jobs, I studied business informatics. During my master's thesis in America, I saw the book box concept for the first time and thought to myself: “Wow, how cool!” I quickly realized that there weren't that many providers in Germany, especially not in the genres I like to read: Fantasy and Romance. And so I came up with the idea of setting up something of my own.

How was the start for the young company?

Lisa: The online store was set up quickly, an Instagram channel was launched and the first box was planned. I started planning in November 2018 and the first box was sent out just two months later. Among others, to some influencers and bloggers who promoted the box on Instagram. It worked so well that the circulation of the second box immediately grew enormously.

Eva Singer: It turned out that the start of the coronavirus pandemic was a good time to launch the book box. Because then people had time to read  .

Lisa: Back then, the logistics were at home. I packed the books myself, planned and packed the boxes, answered all customer inquiries and wrote the social media posts. The first employees arrived in August.

What challenges did you have to deal with?

Lisa: Our customers receive a surprise box, which means they never know which books they will receive. The pressure was therefore high for us to choose stories that would be well received by our community. The idea of offering books with color sections in our boxes came to us in 2021. We saw that there was a demand for it – but the publishers didn't at first. It was a long and challenging journey for us to convince them to produce the more expensive color-cut books. Fortunately, no one has regretted it: these books are increasingly in demand on the market.

The New Adult and Young Adult genres are booming - how do you explain their great success?

Eva: Books offer young people guidance. Readers find themselves in the stories, experience adventures in fantasy worlds with dragons and other creatures and characters. And they can identify with the books and know that they are not alone when it comes to certain problems. A few years ago, the book industry started to become more digital with e-books – now there is a trend back to haptic books. Beautiful books are now valued again. With our color sections, we as Bücherbüchse contribute to the fact that a book now looks more valuable, is a collector's item and is not just stacked somewhere as a mass product.

What role does social media play in your work?

Eva: Social media is the basis for us. Our community and direct contact with our end customers are a core part of the business. Our colleagues in marketing do a great job here. Our large support team is also closely involved in all business decisions and doesn't leave anyone out in the cold - it is very important to us that our customers feel they are in good hands.

You have now founded your own publishing house, LEAF. Where would you like to take it in the future?

Lisa: This is an exciting chapter for us, because the publishing business is very different from the retail industry. The book box competes with the book trade, but with LEAF Verlag we are working together with it. At LEAF, we have set ourselves the goal of having a small program, but only publishing books that are close to our hearts.

Eva: LEAF Verlag has to grow first, that's the biggest challenge for us now. In the future, we would like to address the traditional book trade in particular and further expand the merchandising program.