Following a year that had industry watchers doubting the longevity of certain players in the beauty-discovery box arena, Glossybox ended 2014 in the black.

The beauty box company, which is headquartered in Berlin, posted a profit every month during the fiscal year and posted “a strong seven-digit Euro” profit for 2014 on sales that were “somewhat similar” to 2013 but functioning with almost half the countries we were operating in before, according to the company. Glossybox sales for 2013 were 31 million Euro, or $34.7 million at current exchange rates.

The company’s customer base, according to Glossybox, simultaneously grew by more than 25 percent, while marketing costs were reduced by 33 percent.

Glossybox Founder and CEO, Charles von Abercron, said of the year, “The key was a focus on 10 core countries. Glossybox had grown very quickly on an international scale, which unfortunately entailed some dilution of the Glossybox focus. In 2014, we tackled this problem head-on with the “loving our customers/the customer is king” mantra. Improving customer satisfaction by perfecting the box’s quality was a core aspect of this strategy. We were so committed to this that we went so far as promising ourselves not to send out any box we doubted in the slightest, be it regarding its quality or our passion for it. The occasion never arose but if it had, we would have kept our promise. We built on this foundation by taking several measures based on our customers’ feedback. We use Smart Data tools to analyze customer feedback, combined with an algorithm in order to deliver the best possible box to each customer. Optimization also played an important role.”

Transformations within the company, which began in late 2013 and were completed in early 2014, included de-centralizing and improving efficiencies. For example, Charles said the firm reduced material costs by more than 25 percent and storage costs by more than 33 percent during the year.

On average, Glossybox sells more than 200,000 boxes worldwide every month and has sold more than 6 million boxes since 2011, which translates to one box sold every 12 seconds.

To keep momentum in 2015, Glossybox is testing out several concepts, including a content-based addition to its website in the UK. The project, called Beauty Unboxed, features beauty tips and tricks to better engage with consumers.