FAQ

The center of our work is our entrepreneur partners! We are constantly on the lookout for inspiring immigrant, refugee, and first-generation entrepreneur-led small businesses with products that can be featured in our boxes. We also accept submissions from entrepreneurs (click here if you are an entrepreneur who would like to partner with us) and love to receive them! We work together with each prospective entrepreneur to identify a fitting product for our box; for now, our focus is on coffee and surrounding products, but we hope to expand eventually. To make sure we are supporting the businesses that would be most advanced by this new revenue source and marketing boost, we ensure that our partner entrepreneurs run small businesses (we define that as 5 or fewer employees). Beyond this requirement, we look for passion, top product quality and uniqueness, sustainability of farming practices, and the community impact of the small business.

Our aim is to support our partner entrepreneurs in three ways: First and most simply, we generate a bulk order of their products, providing a guaranteed one-time order that will hopefully be a major boost in revenue for the year. Second, by showcasing their products, we provide marketing to an already-well-targeted group of customers; those who purchase ImmigrantLove boxes (hopefully you!) are more likely to be excited about intercultural experiences, supportive of small businesses, and valuing of highly curated, handmade, authentically sourced items. Toward this goal, we include Story Notes from each of our entrepreneurs so that as many ImmigrantLove customers as possible also become recurring customers of the component businesses. And as part of our ongoing storytelling, we hope to remind customers of the amazing entrepreneurs behind the boxes that they just received or will receive in the future. Third, we partner with the microlending non-profit Kiva U.S. and social initiative DreamxAmerica to connect our entrepreneurs with zero-interest, zero-fee loans of up to $15,000, if that is a need for them. This is in addition to our impact initiative, which contributes to zero-interest lending to immigrant, refugee, and first-gen entrepreneurs across America, beyond those partnering with us on our boxes.

First, thank you for the work you are doing in your community. Second, we’d love to explore a potential partnership with you! Please fill out this brief form to tell us about you and your business, and we will reach out as soon as possible! And feel free to email us at hello@immigrantlove.co if you have any questions!

Each box will spotlight a new nation and an inspiring immigrant, refugee, or first-generation coffee entrepreneur serving her local community. It will include whole or ground coffee beans (generally sustainably farmed in the entrepreneur's home country, and roasted by the entrepreneur in America), a handwritten note from the entrepreneur, and complementary foods or other products to help you get to know the culture better. You can always see our upcoming box and its contents on the home page, and you can read more about our small business partners and selection process under “About Our Small Business Partners” in this FAQ. As part of the storytelling element of ImmigrantLove, all products also include Story Notes from our coffee entrepreneurs sharing more about their businesses, backgrounds, and passions, and you'll get more exclusive storytelling on that in digital form throughout your subscription period. There are also a few surprises in the box and beyond, so stay tuned : )

Yes, you can! You can buy individual products, either the same ones that you found in our box or something similar, from our entrepreneurs’ websites. Some entrepreneurs may provide a note with coupons or discount codes in the box!  

For now, we do not, but we may add this element in the future. Stay tuned! If you are desiring to "test out" ImmigrantLove and see if you like it, we encourage you to select the Monthly Membership subscription. Once you receive the first box, you can either cancel if it didn't meet your expectations or continue with the subscription if it did!

Unfortunately, for now we are not able to individually customize our boxes. The ingredients of each food item (e.g., spices and sauces) are listed within its packaging. If you are prevented from enjoying such an item because of an allergy, we hope you can give it as a gift to a loved one!

Of course! The two subscription types are fundamentally the same: you get one Immigrant Love box each season (once in Winter, Spring, Summer, and Autumn). The difference is in the price, billing, and cancellation:

+Pay-As-You-Go Membership: Our most flexible option is the Pay-As-You-Go Membership. With this subscription, you will be billed at checkout for your first box and then every quarter on the Recurring Billing Date of each box (see table below). You can cancel any time after your first box; just cancel before the next Recurring Billing Date, and you will not be billed for any future boxes.

+1-Year Pre-Paid Membership: Our most cost-effective (and favorite for gifting) option is the 1-Year Pre-Paid Membership. With this subscription, you will be billed at checkout for one year's worth of boxes (4 boxes) at a discounted rate. You can cancel any time after your 4th box; just cancel before your next Recurring Billing Date, and you will not be billed for any future boxes.

Please read the FAQs on billing and cancellation for more details.  

Note that we are currently doing pre-orders for the December 2021 box, our inaugural box, so all customers purchasing until November 30, 2021 will receive their first box in December.

Wonderful – we are so thankful for your subscription and have no doubt you’ll love the ImmigrantLove experience! Our boxes are curated, designed, and distributed seasonally (every three months) – so each year we deliver four boxes. These boxes will be shipped in December (Winter Box), March (Spring Box), June (Summer Box), and September (Autumn Box).

As for when you will receive your first seasonal box after subscribing and when you will receive ongoing boxes if applicable, see the tables below for a helpful guide based on your date of subscription. Note that these are aspirational target dates for shipping and will vary depending on Immigrant Love's operations of the given month. We’ll send you an email to let you know when we’ve shipped each box, and that email will contain your tracking information. At checkout, you will also have the option to get text message updates about your delivery.

Note that we are currently doing pre-orders for the December 2021 box, our inaugural box, so all customers purchasing until November 30, 2021 will receive their first box in December.

Your First Box:

Your Ongoing Boxes:

Your first billing will be conducted immediately upon checking out. Recurring billings will occur on the Recurring Billing Dates shown below. You can always check your next billing date by logging into your subscription account (you can access your account by clicking here and having an invite sent to you).

Remember that you can cancel your subscription at any time with no cancellation fee, but that all billings, including the first one, are nonrefundable -- so be sure to cancel before your next recurring billing date if you decide you no longer want to receive ImmigrantLove boxes. You can read more details in the cancellations section of the FAQs.

Note that we are currently doing pre-orders for the December 2021 box, our inaugural box, so all customers purchasing until November 30, 2021 will receive their first box in December.

About one month before the release of each box, we will send an email announcing the theme of the upcoming box (e.g., The Haitian Warmth Box by Frentz). You will have the time between the announcement and the 1st day of the month of delivery (i.e., the Recurring Billing Date) to decide whether you want to "skip" this box. Skipping a box simply means that your subscription will continue, but that you will not be charged for or receive that season's box. The subscription will continue as usual for the next box. 

To skip a box, simply log into your subscription account (you can access your account by clicking here and having an invite sent to you). Once you are logged in, click "Subscriptions" on the upper menu, click on your subscription (where you will see your next billing date), scroll down, and select "Skip this order." You will then see a prompt to confirm, noting the new upcoming billing date (3 months later than the old one).

We will be sorry to see you go, but we want to make it as easy as possible to cancel your subscription if that is your wish! Simply log into your subscription account to unsubscribe (you can access your account by clicking here and having an invite sent to you). Once you are logged in, click "Subscriptions" on the upper menu, click on your subscription, scroll down, and select "Cancel subscription." If you are having any trouble at all, feel free to email hello@immigrantlove.co and we will assist you quickly. 

There is no cancellation fee, but all billings, including the first one, are nonrefundable -- so it is important to ensure you cancel your subscriptions before your Renewal Billing Date (see the table below). Note that if you cancel your subscription when there are still pre-paid boxes remaining on your account, we will still deliver those boxes unless you email us to let us know you do not want any more deliveries.

As always, if you have any issues, don’t hesitate to send us an email at hello@immigrantlove.co and we will respond promptly!

Yes, once a cycle of your subscription has completed (i.e., after one season for the Seasonal Membership or one year for the Annual Membership). Some customers, for example, select the Seasonal Membership at first, love the box, and then switch to the Annual Membership to take advantage of that subscription type's discounts. If you'd like to upgrade your subscription, simply go through checkout again with the new subscription type or email us at hello@immigrantlove.co.

Unfortunately, like most other subscription boxes, we do not allow for returns because of the many layers of operations it takes to curate and join together products from around the country. Please send us an email at hello@immigrantlove.co, however, if you have received a box that is damaged and we will make it right!

Certainly. Email us at hello@immigrantlove.co and we will respond ASAP!

Once your order has been shipped, you’ll receive an email that will contain your tracking number. At checkout, you can also opt in to receive text message updates about your delivery.

Not okay! We will make this right ASAP! Email us at hello@immigrantlove.co and we will respond ASAP!

No problem! You can update this by logging into your subscription account (you can access your account by clicking here and having an invite sent to you), selecting "Shipping Addresses" on the upper menu, selecting your address, and editing the address... or simply emailing hello@immigrantlove.co. Note that all address changes must be made before the Renewal Billing Date of the given season's month to be effective for that season.

Beyond the impact we strive to make on our partner small businesses, Immigrantlove contributes 5 percent of our profits to zero-interest loans for immigrant, refugee, and first-generation entrepreneurs across the U.S. in partnership with Kiva U.S. Kiva is an acclaimed crowdlending non-profit that has provided more than $1 billion in small-business loans around the world. We love working with Kiva U.S. in particular because its loans are as pure as they get: they are $1,000 to $15,000 zero-interest, zero-fee loans with incredibly inclusive policies (e.g., no minimum credit score). Immigrant Love contributes to immigrant, refugee, and first-gen entrepreneurs who are fundraising loans on Kiva, helping them reach their funding targets and reach them more quickly. To read more about Kiva’s work in the U.S., click here.

We are here to help! : )