Preston woman’s gift box business shortlisted for national award

Ayesha Master launched the Happy Boxx business in 2020 Pic: Happy Boxx

A Preston gift box business that started during the pandemic has been shortlisted for a national award – and it need your votes.

Happy Boxx was founded by Ayesha Master in 2020 and is now shortlisted for the England Business Awards 2024.

The business began as a way for Ayesha to send small gifts to friends and family and, in her words, ‘promote self care, positivity and wellbeing’.

Ayesha said: “Happy Boxx is a letterbox gift company that specialises in self care, positivity and wellbeing gifts.

“Happy Boxx was created to make gifting easier for people by offering thoughtful gift options such as pick me up gifts, get well soon gifts and birthday gifts.

“The business began in May 2020 around the time of the first lockdown when I struggled to see my friends and family and wanted to send a gift through the post. Not being able to find what I was looking for, I created my own Happy Boxx. The rest is history.”

Ayesha says the business began operating from a box room and grew out of that, so she set up in the garage.

She added: “Then we had to move out into an office as we needed more space.

“We started selling on Etsy and then soon created our own website to grow further.

“Over the years we’ve also attended many local markets such as Makers Market, UCLan Crafts Fair and many more local events.

“We then partnered with Not On The High Street to add to our platforms for sales along with Etsy and our own website.”

And the England Business Awards 2024 nomination is the icing on the cake for Ayesha.

She said: “This nomination means the world to me. It signifies that my business’s efforts, achievements, and contributions have been recognised and valued by others such as people in the community and our customers.

“It’s a testament to the hard work and dedication of my team and it validates the quality and impact of what we offer. This recognition is incredibly meaningful to us.”

You can support Ayesha by voting for her business on the awards website.

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