A Glimpse Behind the Scenes of a JOMO Club Packing Day
WRITTEN BY KATHRYN STONE.
As a writer for the JOMO Club, it isn’t every day that I get to be on the front lines of the action. But this summer, I was able to get down and help out with packing day. So here is a behind-the-scenes glimpse at what packing day looks like for the JOMO Club, a small, women-led business.
What is Packing Day?
Packing day is the affectionate name given to the day when all the JOMO Club subscription boxes are packed for the next month. The JOMO team pack and send out all the regular subscription orders. They then pack even more for the orders that will come in throughout the month.
Packing Day Behind the Scenes
When I pulled up to the farm for packing day, I was immediately greeted warmly by the JOMO team, and we headed into the barn where everything is stored.
The barn is truly stunning. It has beautiful old wooden rafters, high rustic barn doors and the sound of horses chewing in the background. Inside are shelving units filled with all different types of alcohol-free spirits, wines and beers, boxes of mixers and tonic water, and a large stack of JOMO’s flat-packed subscription boxes. It is a, slightly more organized, Aladdin's Den for alcohol-free lovers!
But it is the warmth and friendliness of the JOMO team that really shows what JOMO is all about. Three generations of women: JOMO founder Gemma Mills, her mum and her grandma are all there to help pack. And three feistier, warmer and more fun women you won’t find elsewhere.
Together we set up a packing conveyor belt. Granny Betty was set to construct the JOMO boxes whilst the rest of us filled them with delicious alcohol-free goodies and packing to keep them safe on their journey to you!
You might think that five hours of packing identical boxes would go by slowly. But we had a lot of fun, chatting, gossiping and sharing stories about everything from weddings and dogs to our favourite alcohol-free drinks. On top of that, all day different family members and friends from the farm popped in to chat and see how packing day was going. So there was no chance of getting bored at all!
Something immediately obvious when you spend any time with Gemma in the JOMO barn is quite how knowledgeable she is about every single one of her products. We got the guided tour of the barn, and as Gemma passed by each different product, she could pick it up, name exactly where the product was made, what it tastes like and the ethos of the brand behind it. If anyone knows their stuff, it’s Gemma.
As someone who has, since giving up alcohol and writing for JOMO, spent a lot of time researching the world of alcohol-free drinks, how they are made and what is available, it was great to be able to geek out about it all with a leading expert on the alcohol-free industry.
My Key Takeaways
There were several things that packing day really highlighted to me and reminded me about the JOMO Club.
This is a women-led, family business. Gemma may be the founder and driving force of JOMO, but all three generations of the family are incredibly invested, supportive and proud of the JOMO Club and everything it achieves. Small businesses are rarely so family oriented and warm, and this shines through in everything that JOMO does.
Gemma Mills knows her stuff. She is definitely a leading expert in the alcohol-free industry, has tasted a huge variety of alcohol-free drinks and can tell the good from the less good. She puts her heart and soul into searching out the tastiest alcohol-free drinks from around the country.
The JOMO Club is a lovely treat for some people. But for a surprising number of people discovering the JOMO Club has been life-changing. It has helped many people proudly embrace an alcohol-free lifestyle, continue their sobriety, and even start to enjoy the sometimes difficult life of sobriety. And that is something that makes all the effort that goes into the JOMO Club completely worth it.
Sign Up For A JOMO Club Subscription Box
Want to experience the JOMO Club yourself? Then sign up for a JOMO subscription box and receive a regular hamper filled to the brim with delicious alcohol-free goodies, directly to your front door.
Want a great gift or a specific alcohol-free hamper? Then check out the alcohol-free boxes you can order on the JOMO website, or choose a bottle from the alcohol-free bottle shop. You can be safe in the knowledge that you will only be sent the very best alcohol-free drinks on the market.
Alternatively, if you are interested in learning more about alcohol-free cocktail making, why not book an alcohol-free cocktail-making workshop with JOMO.