Surprise Ride is a gift subscription service that sends themed activity gifts monthly via mail.
Do you struggle with finding gifts for your kids? Are your kids bored of traditional presents? Do your kids like to receive surprise gifts? If yes, the Surprise Ride gift subscription can be a delightful treat for your children.
Surprise Ride gift subscription offers kids customized groups of themed activities that help them learn about their surroundings. The company sends the gifts monthly via mail to accomplish the goal of “Learn while you play.”
The founders of Surprise Ride analyzed the struggle of buying new gifts for kids. The kids have a curious nature. They like to get unique gifts every time. It is difficult to find pre-made gift hampers that fulfill the criteria. Gift shops are full of the same old presents you might have gotten.
The idea of a gift subscription service aims to have a customized approach. The brand makers focused on three ideas to come up with the Surprise Ride venture. These ideas include kids’ brilliant sense, curiosity, and a never-ending desire for surprises. When they receive a surprise gift subscription mail every month, it keeps them engaged with theme-based activities.
The Surprise Ride gift packages cover engaging learning activities. You can find everything from scientific learning and a reading book to fantasy activities. Moreover, you can find photo instructions inside the mail to make the learning activities more interesting for your kids.
The gift package for each new month has a unique theme, new gadgets, snacks, and other items. Generally, the gift ideas focus on the preferences of the kids’ parents. Every game and learning activity in the package has a teaching objective.
The founders of Surprise Ride, Donna, and Rosy Khalife, wanted to introduce a unique idea in the market to resolve the gift-buying issues of parents. They had confidence in their business plan and sought suitable investments.
The company witnessed considerable growth over the past few years with a rising number of customers. While this may be correct, Surprise Ride is now a part of a toy company, Fat Brain Toys.
When Donna and Rosy appeared on Shark Tank, they sought a $110,000 investment for 10% equity in the company. Both the founders expressed their vision behind Surprise Ride and how the monthly subscription plan works.
They also provide unique packages to each shark to analyze their potential. The sharks liked the idea of customized gift boxes. Despite the positive impression, the sharks showed concerns regarding the business’s potential in the market.
Despite having a few concerns, Robert Herjavec offered the founders $110,000 for 25% equity. However, with objections raised by other sharks regarding how the business would do in the market, Robert withdrew the offer.
Although the idea pleased the sharks, the Surprise Ride founders left without closing a deal with any investors.
Our Review of Surprise Ride
The Surprise Ride gift packages are a unique way of teaching and entertaining kids. Most often, kids love to receive gifts with an excitement factor. They like to play with toys or engage in physically testing games. However, none of these activities effectively teach them about the world around them.
With the help of Surprise Ride gifts, kids can learn and play together. The founders have chosen a unique idea that keeps the kids’ curiosity alive. The gift packages arrive with a new theme and activities to engage the children.
Another factor to praise is the versatility of the packages. The kids can find unique items inside the box. From reading books and gadgets to snacks, each item in the monthly gift box sparks excitement among the kids.
While there are many positive aspects to consider, the plan also has a drawback. Since the gift packages have several unique items, it isn’t easy to assume that the kids would love the package every month. Some of the activities might be boring for them. Moreover, they may not like every month’s theme too.
Apart from the discussed factors, the monthly subscription price may not suit every family. Considering the Surprise Ride gift boxes can hook the children to want them every month, you may need to plan a budget specifically for the gift boxes.
For your ease, we have listed below the pros and cons of the Surprise Ride gift subscription for kids.
Pros of Surprise Ride
- Screen-free learning activities
- Activities designed by parents
- Door-step delivery
- Multiple gift items
Cons of Surprise Ride
- Poor quality of gift items
- Overpriced
Who Is the Surprise Ride for?
The Surprise Ride gift boxes are most suitable for early-age kids. They can add value to the elementary school kids’ learning with the help of creative activities. Families who opt for stay-home teaching also opt for the Surprise Ride monthly gift subscription.
Moreover, the gift boxes can also be effective for special kids with cognitive problems and disabilities.
Are There Any Alternatives?
Surprise Ride subscription boxes have several pros to consider. However, the poor quality of gift items and high prices may not be everyone’s cup of tea. Although Fat Brain Toys acquired the company in 2018, there are many unsatisfied customers to date.
If you wonder whether there is a reasonable alternative to Surprise Ride, you can opt for the Toy Box Monthly subscription boxes. They have a positive reputation in the market and cost less than the Surprise Ride monthly subscription.
Our Final Thoughts
The idea of the Surprise Ride founders brought an evolution to the gift market for kids. While this may be correct, the company needs to focus on the negative feedback of its customers to improve the quality of items. The gift designers also need to focus on introducing new themes to engage the kids better.
If you have tried other gift subscriptions and did not get the desired outcomes, you may try the Surprise Ride gift boxes for a couple of months to check the quality, variation of ideas, and learning activities.
