JOMO: Running A Business From Our Home To Outsourcing All Logistics

Hey, Gemma here. Founder of JOMO Club, the UK’s alcohol free spirit subscription and gift box. Too often we receive products, see social ads, read blogs and don’t know too much about the heart of the business. So, I thought today it might be nice to let you know what JOMO is all about, what JOMO stand’s for and how we went from piles of boxes scattered all over our home, garden and front door step to outsourcing all our logistics and why we made that step.

3 Facts About JOMO Founder, Gemma

1. I launched JOMO Club in 2021 following a personal discovery of the mostly undiscovered, incredible alcohol-free spirits on the market during lockdown. I wanted the ritual and flavour of a cocktail just minus the booze. Discovering hundreds of alcohol-free spirits I had never heard of, I knew the JOMO journey was about to begin (although I didn’t know what it would become, what the business name was and how to even start!)

2. I had a background in sales and marketing across various industries primarily in the digital space. Before JOMO, I had never been involved in a physical product business with no knowledge on the subscription market. There have been so many learnings, so many challenges and so many wins.

3. On a personal level, I love doing things! I have heaps of energy and doing things or being around people gives me even more energy. It’s what I need to make me, me. Whether that is horse riding, skiing, travelling the world, going for nice dinners, making or discovering a new cocktail, going to Country music events, listening to live music, meeting new people, socialising with my loved ones, practising hot yoga, playing games, going to quiz nights (I am AWFUL, but that’s okay) or taking my dog for a long walk, I am here for it all and there is very little I would say no to. Most of these things (other than the solo activities) are with Richard and when we are not doing things, we like to spend time in our home either getting cosy or cooking BBQs in the garden playing cards.

   • I am an extrovert.

   • I was diagnosed with Epilepsy when I was 12. It’s a right old pain in the butt but I’m learning to accept it & definitely not let it get in the way of anything.

   • I was a cat person but am now a dog person after getting our dog Coco.

   • I won’t lie, being on holiday is when I feel most whole. Is that the same for everyone or is that a bad way to think? It gives my brain some space.

   • I have three brothers and one sister with the same dad but different mum.

3 Facts About JOMO

1. JOMO is the UK’s only alcohol-free spirit subscription box! As of last year, we were hand-packing as a family each and every box that went to your homes.

2. We have been voted the best alcohol-free spirit subscription by The Independent. We won Bronze for the Best New Business Award in our first year. Last year we won the Best Hertfordshire Business.

3. We’re a very small team including myself, my partner (business and life) Richard, Bethan our social guru and Connor our Photographer. Richard built our website and can often be found behind the bar at our physical events being incredibly charming while making your favourite non-alcoholic cocktails. I am the day to day and strategy. I create each and every box that arrives at your door, working closely with our wonderful brands to bring you the very best. I run our social media channels and write all our content including the monthly printed members magazine. Any communication you receive whether it be via email to your enquiry or some cocktail recipes via email, that’ll be me!

3 Steps That Allowed JOMO To Outsource Logistics

1. Customer growth. Probably the most overriding factor to us being able to outsource our packing. As JOMO sees a loyal customer base while continuing to welcome new members each and every day, growth has allowed us take that step to giving our baby over to packers, shippers and coordinators.

2. Understanding couriers and sticking points. It is no secret whether you have been directly involved in a product business or not that logistics can sometimes be tricky. Breakages, shoddy delivery locations, delays, weather, losing parcels, we’ve pretty much seen it all. The good thing about keeping packing in house for so long is that we worked out all of these things so we could then navigate losing a bit of that control by using someone else.

3. Business strategy. As we see JOMO grow, outsourcing is an important next step to ensure my time is focused on improving customer experience, keeping JOMO boxes top quality and continuing to innovate. Spending all my days packing was super time consuming and is something another person could do to allow me to put my love and attention into the things I’m good at (and work on the things I’m not good at).

Ways Outsourcing Packing Has Helped JOMO

• Become more time efficient

• Members get more attention

• We can accommodate growth better

If you are thinking of outsourcing packing for your small business, then you will know when the time is right. I didn’t always know what I was doing or had a concrete plan but I did know when things would feel right and that to date is exactly what has happened.

For those that have helped us get to this point, I cannot thank you enough.