About Us
Founded in 2021 by Mallory and Kham Yawnghwe, Indigenous Box is a 100% Indigenous-owned company creating market access for Indigenous entrepreneurs through thoughtfully curated gifts and corporate procurement.
Built on the belief that Indigenous businesses thrive when they grow together, Indigenous Box connects customers with Indigenous made products while strengthening Indigenous economies across Canada.
More than a gift company, Indigenous Box is a platform for collaboration, bringing together hundreds of Indigenous businesses, artists, and makers to share their stories and products with the world.
Every box represents an opportunity to support Indigenous entrepreneurship, advance economic reconciliation, and demonstrate that meaningful impact can be created through everyday purchasing decisions.
Today, Indigenous Box ships to homes and organizations around the globe, proving that one product, one partnership, and one box can help create lasting change.
Founded in 2021
5 Years making noise about Indigenous business.
We started with nothing but a 'too big' dream. 5 years later, we are still learning everyday.
In the basement
How it Started
We started Indigenous Box almost on a dare. It was the pandemic and I was working at home as a Procurement Specialist for the Government of Alberta. My partner is a musician, and there was no work, so he was at home too. We heard about a pitch contest for $5000 to start a business. We wanted to but it seemed really hard. We dared each other to enter the contest anyway. We didn't think we would win, so we decided to have fun dreaming up a really big idea (Indigenous Box). We wrote a business plan and made a funny video. Then we entered the contest and forgot about it.
A big surprise
Woah...We Won??
We couldn't believe it, they awarded us $5000. I guess we were starting a business! The good news was we had a plan. We got to work following it. By March 3rd we had incorporated our business and even filed a trademark (we wanted to be taken seriously and we thought it would help). We built a purposely mysterious web page with nothing but a count down timer, and started posting about something big coming on social media. We found a supplier to manufacture custom mailer boxes, and ordered products from some of our favourite Indigenous entrepreneurs. We spent every penny to buy enough stuff to make 50 boxes.
Our customers showed up!
We sold out!
We had no idea how we would sell 50 boxes. We figured if they didn't sell, we would call everyone we knew and ask them to buy one. Well, we didn't have to. 4 days after launching we had sold them all online! People were emailing us non-stop "when will you have more?". In a moment of inspiration, we decided to take all of the money we had made and restock, this time with 100 boxes. 24 hours later we sold out again! We figured that was a pretty cool story, so we wrote a press release about it. Within a few days we had news outlets interviewing us outside our house on the lawn. It was crazy.
It's a good mission
Our Supporters Found Us
In early April we got a phone call from someone who saw our news story. They wanted to introduce us to some folks from the airport (huh...the airport? It made no sense?). It turned out they were looking for Indigenous businesses to set up shop at the Airport City Sustainability Campus. We didn't even know what that was. But they were really nice, and they seemed like they really cared about what we were doing. We said yes, and by the time we were packing our second seasonal box, we were doing it at a warehouse in Airport City. So surreal.
A turning point
An Order That Changed Things
Almost 1 year into our journey, we got an email from someone at a big accounting firm, Ernst & Young. They wanted to know if we could make employee appreciation boxes for their Canadian employees. That sounded big, how many boxes? Maybe a few hundred? Nope...7400 boxes going to every corner of the country. We wondered if we should do it. Could we pull it off? Would it destroy us? We got on the phone with all of our suppliers to talk it out. We decided to try. 6 weeks, and many problems solved later, we shipped the boxes out! We had proven that we could scale the distribution of Indigenous goods...Skoden!
Still learning, still growing
We're Still Here!
Ok, we skipped a few things, but let's just say, 5 years later, we are still here, learning everyday. And we've accomplished more than we ever imagined. We have shipped over 100,000 boxes to 13 countries and put millions of dollars into Indigenous businesses. We've been invited to Brazil, Peru, Australia and the USA to talk about Indigenous Box. And most importantly, we've worked with over 400 Indigenous businesses, artists, authors, and makers - coordinating, collaborating, and sometimes coaching them to get more of their products in front of the right customers. And I think we've settled in to our home pretty nicely.
Indigenous Box started late one night, back in December of 2020. Just for a moment, my husband and I decided to ignore our usual self-limiting thoughts and dream HUGE.
Whispering by lamp light, ever so quietly, so we didn't wake the kids, we wrote the mission statement for a different kind of company.
We had this idea: what if we did business with an abundance mindset, where there was room for everyone? What if we worked with our suppliers to help them grow while we grow? Then we could all succeed together.
And, just think of all the kids who would be watching and learning.
We would bring Indigenous goods to market with love, good intentions, and great care, while helping Indigenous entrepreneurs grow.
We didn’t know anything about how to build a company but we told ourselves that everything is figureoutable and just started anyway.
And you know what? Our theory was right. Thanks to our amazing customers, we’ve served hundreds of organizations and thousands of individuals across North America and beyond. Our customers have made us Canada's go-to for social-impact gifting, and helped us move a lot of Indigenous goods!
-Mal & Kham
