Pinterest Partners With FabFitFun For a New 'Pinterest Box'

Interested in commerce? Hear from Zappos CMO Tyler Williams and other executives at Adweek Ignite: Ecommerce July 10-12 in Seattle—apply here to attend. Pinning products is taking a backseat on Pinterest on June 19 as the discovery platform is partnering with lifestyle subscription box company FabFitFun to release the “Pinterest Box.” The Pinterest Box, which was announced at the Cannes Lions festival, will include nine different products that match up to trends listed in the Pinterest 100 report—for example, a charades game that aligns with a trivia night trend. The box will be sold on FabFitFun for $49.99; consumers can either sign up for FabFitFun and receive it for that price or join the company’s annual membership for $179.99. “This is very much on brand for both of our companies,” said Vikram Bhaskaran, head of market development at Pinterest. “It allows us to take the best parts of their merchandising and product and bring it to life in a box.” Katie Rosen Kitchens, co-founder and editor in chief of FabFitFun, expects the Pinterest Box to sell out, as every seasonal box has sold out in the past; she’s just unsure of how quickly it’ll happen. Existing FabFitFun members will have the option to choose between this box or the “post-summer editor’s” box, a delivery that members get in-between the company's seasonal boxes. Neither company would say whether or not they'll work on another box in the future, but Kitchens hopes “that [the Pinterest Box] becomes an annual box in conjunction with the release of the Pinterest 100.” Before proceeding with any future plans to share data between the two companies—like insights into personalization and trend-driven merchandizing—Pinterest wants to make sure the box works, Bhaskaran said. For example, Pinterest will look at box sales data, including repeat FabFitFun buyers and percentage of new users. “Boxes have been around awhile, but there have been few that get smarter based on user data,” Bhaskaran said. “The macro trend here is about personalization as it is. The box is just a manifestation of that.” Bhaskaran added that the collaboration with FabFitFun makes sense for Pinterest because they represent more than just a lifestyle brand subscription box—they're crafting a user's shopping profile. “FabFitFun is not about subscription boxes but using the box as an A/B test of what a consumer likes and doesn’t like,” Bhaskaran said. It’s a benefit across many platforms for for FabFitFun, which reached out to its favorite brands that fit some of the trends highlighted in the box. Some brands known to be in the box are Pier1 Imports, Tarte and R+CO. “The discovery element that exists with Pinterest is so in line with FabFitFun,” Kitchens said. “I think for these social and media brands, we can create a physical product for them that they wouldn’t have otherwise.” [kickout id="1"]