Sophie Kovic; the truth behind the Back to School Curse

The curse of Back to School (BTS)

Back to School is a huge moment for us. It always has been. Seed & Sprout began with one little lunchbox, the Stacker, back in our Kickstarter days. January still feels like coming home to where it all started. It is also a time of year when most people are easing into the new year, spending time with family, enjoying slower days, and mentally preparing for the school year ahead.

Behind the scenes, our Back to School launches are planned well in advance. Some products take twelve to twenty four months to design, test, certify, and manufacture. Our product and marketing teams spend weeks curating the perfect lunch-packing bundles to make life easier for parents who are already well and truly experiencing decision fatigue by this point in the holidays.

This year, we genuinely thought we had cracked it.

By the end of November, everything was tracking beautifully. Products were arriving on time, pre orders were mapped out, and the launch plan was fully loaded and signed off. There were high fives all around. We were feeling calm, prepared, and quietly proud. “Our best year by far” I think I recall saying.

And then the curse arrived.

The 2026 Curse

Early one Monday morning in late December, just as the team was wrapping up tasks and preparing to head into a well earned break, we found out there would be delays to CrunchBox 2.0. Our newest and most customisable lunchbox. Not just one delay, but multiple products affected across key bundles.

I think the technical term for what happened to our precious launch is a clusterf**k.

That sinking feeling is hard to describe. A mixture between feeling the blood instantly evaporating in your veins to swallowing a bowl of cement.

But what mattered in that moment was not the delay itself anymore, but how we responded.

Beck and I connected immediately, and within hours, our product and supply chain leads were mapping out every possible scenario. Not just one plan, but many. Each option considered carefully, with our customers and our team front of mind.

What followed was one of the most impressive examples of teamwork I have witnessed.

Across product, logistics, marketing, customer care, wholesale, and warehouse, the focus was the same. Clear communication. Thoughtful decisions. No panic. Just people doing their jobs with care and professionalism.

This is the part of running an ecommerce business you rarely see. The constant problem solving. The flexibility. The understanding that even with the best planning in the world, curveballs still happen.

By early January, we were in motion. Teams coming back together, sharing updates, refining plans, and supporting one another as we worked through the next phase. There were daily check-ins, honest conversations, and a shared commitment to delivering the best possible outcome.

What struck me most was the attitude. The steadiness. The humour. The willingness to adapt.

If I had to describe the team in one word, it would be unflappable.

I actually looked it up. Calm in a crisis. That is exactly what I saw.

I am incredibly proud of this group of people. Not because everything went perfectly, but because of how they handled it when it did not. The resilience, the trust, and the shared belief in what we are building is something I do not take lightly.

As we move into launching our most extensive lunchware range yet, I wanted to share this story with you. Because Seed & Sprout is not just products. It is people. Real humans, making thoughtful decisions, with care and integrity.

Thank you for your patience, your support, and for being part of this journey with us. Every order you place allows us to keep doing this work, thoughtfully and responsibly, with the long term in mind.

The curse might still exist, but if this year has shown me anything, it is that we have built something strong enough to meet it.

We cannot wait to share what we have been working on.

Love Sophie x