Community Highlights: Meet Marina Huneycutt of Huneybox

Today we’d like to introduce you to Marina Huneycutt.

Hi Marina, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I graduated from UNC Greensboro with a degree in Business and Gene, my husband and co-founder, graduated from NC State with an Engineering degree. We both have full-time day jobs, but both of us have always loved entrepreneurship and come from parents who own their own businesses. Naturally, three months into our marriage, the original idea for Huneybox began. It was a very simple beginning; I saw a little cube box in a craft store, and thought, ‘I want to turn that into a care package!” We got excited thinking of all the friends we would want to send a package to.

We realized quickly that making a care package could be a bit time-consuming and costly to shop around for, assemble nicely, and ship out for a single package. Looking online at more convenient options either lacked quality or didn’t seem very personal anymore. Around the same time, we lost a friend to suicide and social distancing became the new norm. This pushed us into starting Huneybox.

We set out to make showing you care through a gift convenient and fun while maintaining the personal touch that makes a gift special. We love the idea of someone coming to our shopfront and getting inspired to express their love for someone in their life in a really meaningful way and creating a moment of joy through that.

Having begun during the height of COVID, it’s just been special to see how Huneybox has enabled people to connect with those they care about through a thoughtful gesture like a care package.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Being just over a year in now, it still feels like we are very much in development with plenty of challenges that have come along the way. Between still juggling two full-time jobs, moving cross-country from California to our home state, North Carolina, to now raising and caring for our own six-week-old baby girl.

She is sleeping in my lap as I write this, a miracle it feels like that I could sit down to finish this interview! Being new parents feels like the most real challenge right now that we are still learning how to workaround. She has changed our entire daily routine in the most beautiful, chaotic, and sleep-deprived of ways!

There are so many aspects to making the business run that we’re still learning as well – marketing, website development, taxes, and accounting, creating an effective model, researching vendors, customer communication, social media, etc. Having two people makes a huge difference, as we can each specialize a little more in certain areas. Gene may do much of the website development, whereas I may focus on things like social media and photography.

It’s been so rewarding to have the creative outlet of our business. It’s been an incredibly windy road learning to find our brand, our customer’s tastes, and even learning how to work together as co-creators. By nature, my own personality is to plan until things are ‘perfect’ but the reality is business is never that way and is always changing. I think it’s helped us to just begin and evolve as we go.

As you know, we’re big fans of Huneybox LLC. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
We are a fully online business and built our website from the ground up to create a space where one can ‘build’ their own personal care package for someone they care about. A huge part of our business is including gift product options from other businesses that prioritize high-quality items, sustainability, and giving back to their community.

We LOVE our vendors, and it’s been so fun to connect with and support other small businesses. We want someone to be able to make a difference not only in the gift they give but also in the products they put their dollars towards.

I think what makes us stand out from other care packages is the customized photo message that each Huneybox comes with. We wanted our care packages to be a way to send a truly unique and heartfelt gift, and what better way to do that than with a photograph of the giver’s choice with their personal message on the back. This ‘Huneypic’ is where it really feels like the care package comes alive.

It’s the first thing the receiver sees when they open their box, and we love that this can be something they keep and hang on their fridge or wall as a reminder of the person they care about. It becomes about not just receiving a gift, but the experience of a beautiful connection with a loved one.

Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
Fun question! Professionally or Personal? I will say, professionally with Huneybox, it really does make our day to see the sweet photo and message that comes across from those looking to send a Huneybox to a loved one. They are always so unique and heartfelt.

It really makes me believe in the beauty and generosity of people. It’s genuinely such a fun business for us to get to do. Other personal things right now that are bringing me joy is getting extra snuggles with our baby girl and getting outside (especially as it’s fall time!) to walk with our troublemaker puppy on the nearby trails.

Pricing:

• Building any Huneybox starts at $12, which includes the Gift Box, Crinkle Paper, and Huneypic. From there, you may add any number of gift items within, starting at $4 each

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: https://huneybox.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/huneybox/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/huneybox/