Posts filed under 'Basket Enhancements'
The Winter Fancy Food Show in San Francisco just ended a few weeks ago. And I’m already getting notices about the upcoming Summer Fancy Food Show to be held this year in Washington, DC. Show dates are July 10-12, 2011.
One highlight of this show will be the Sofi Awards Showcase. Here you’ll see the 150+ products that are recognized for excellence in specialty food and beverages in 33 categories. There will also be a display featuring a targeted area where you can find new products as well a products in Gift & Holiday and Natural & Organic Foods categories.
You can register now or keep checking back at specialtyfood.com, the web site of the National Association for Specialty Food Trade. If Washington, DC is a convenient destination for you and if you can take time from work, I’d strongly suggest that you check out this show. Each time I attend a NASFT show, I gather a tremendous amount of information that is pertinent for all gift basket businesses. By browsing the aisles, I can see the newest color trends for the upcoming season. I get a first hand view of the most popular products that will be advertised in the magazines that my customers will read. I get to talk with gift basket business owners and find out what products they like, what services they offer to customers…i.e. how they run their businesses.
Give your self an opportunity to learn….and grow your business.
February 8th, 2011
The newest issue of Gift, Gourmet and Decor magazine is now available online. One of the best features in the magazine is the “Idea Calendar”. In the January issue, you’ll find an idea for promoting your gift baskets for each day of February and March.
In this same issue, I found several articles that prompted marketing ideas that could be applied to any gift basket business. For example, the article entitled “Lasting Ties” talks about how you can promote your business in the collegiate market. Another article, “Plush Perfection” lists the latest products and news from the plush toy industry. (Stuffed animals have long been a popular addition to many gift basket designs.) After reading “Not Your Mother’s Diaper Bag”, I realized that a diaper bag might in fact, be a terrific container for a New Baby gift basket!
Don’t miss future issues of Gift, Gourmet and Decor magazine. There’s a lot to learn! Go to Gift, Gourmet and Decor Plus to receive your own free, digital copy.
January 30th, 2011
In the September issue of Gourmet Retailer Magazine, check out “Gift Items” for a review of products that consumers are likely to purchase this holiday season. Author Anna Wolfe, cites statistics from Unity Marketing’s Gifting Report 2010 ranking the top gift selections for 2009 holidays. “Ranking #11 was gift baskets with 16% of gift givers saying they gave a Gift Basket, including cookies, snacks, fruit, candy, wine and other consumables.” Based on these survey results from 1,680 gift buyers, we can be optimistic about the holiday season sales for gift basket businesses.
Other interesting notes and ideas from Pam Danzinger, president of Unity Marketing…
“consumers want more bang for their gift buck and want to give, and receive, gifts that are perceived to be high quality and more expensive than they really are”…With this perspective in mind, Gift Basket professionals should carefully consider the “extras” (keepsake containers, bows, wrappings, ornaments, etc) that can be used to enhance the perceived value of their gift basket designs.
“as much as 44% percent of consumers’ gift -giving budgets are spent on personal gifts such as birthdays, friendship, anniversaries, baby showers, etc. that occur throughout the year”….This should remind us that gift baskets are a perfect solution for other special occasion gift giving. Consider giving a gift certificate for a future purchase to the buyer AND the recipient of your baskets that they can use on a future purchase.
November 15th, 2010
Mark your calendars: August 4 – 6, 2011. The National Gift Basket Professional Convention will be held in Columbus, Ohio. Convention hosts Pam & Tom Newell have put together 3 days of education, networking, seminars, workshops, discussion groups and a trade show including a splendid collection of gourmet and gift vendors who will display the newest products and trends.
For more information about this “must – do” convention for gift basket professionals, go to the 2011 National Gift Basket Professional Convention web site. Read testimonials from attendees from prior years. Also, be sure to get out details about early bird registration: just $99 if you register before Dec. 31st.
October 31st, 2010
There’s a new industry trade magazine that includes monthly calendars that list a multitude of ideas for your gift basket business. Each issue of Gift, Gourmet & Decor Plus magazine has an “Idea Calendar” with suggestions about seasonal promotions as well as notes about national and legal holidays. In the August issue, flip to page 6 in the online magazine and you’ll see ideas for promotional activities that you might try in September and October.
For example, September 8th is International Literary Day. How about a gift basket design that includes a best selling novel. You might even work with a local book store in your neighborhood for this promotion.
The calendar also notes two Jewish holidays in September: Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur and National Grandparents Day is celebrated on September 12th. Bosses Day and Sweetest Day will both be observed on October 16th. With this calendar, you can plan ahead and create new baskets designs for some unique holiday promotions.
Get your complimentary subscription of Gift, Gourmet & Decor Plus and stay ahead one step ahead of your competitors.
September 6th, 2010
There’s a new trade industry magazine for gift basket business buyers who want to expand their product line. Gift, Gourmet, & Decor Plus is for the buyer who wants to stay ahead in the competitive marketplace. Presented by Giftware News, a long time resource for gift basket businesses, Gift, Gourmet, & Decor Plus will allow buyers to view products in a variety of market segments, identify trends, find out about industry trade shows, and discover new opportunities for cross merchandising.
Check out the August issue of this new online magazine and find the perfect products for your gourmet and gift sales. Go to the Gift, Gourmet & Decor Plus website, and sign up for your complimentary, online subscription.
September 1st, 2010
Mark your calendars and make your travel plans: The Ultimate Gift Show National Gift Basket Professional Convention will be held in Canton, Ohio, July 23 – 25. Don’t miss this opportunity for 13 hours of seminars, 10 hours of trade show, unlimited networking and hands-on workshops.
Check out the fantastic selection of educational seminars and workshops. Top leaders in the gift basket industry will be sharing their best ideas! You’ll learn how to organize your design room for maximum efficiency and your displays for maximum impact. Debbie Quintana, from the Gift Basket Association, will tell you how to promote yourself and your business. Learn how to expand bridal events with Mary Anne Jacobs. Get tips on managing your inventory, handling your customer service phones and much much more.
You still have time to take advantage of special registration and hotel rates. Don’t miss this premier industry event!
June 26th, 2010
Packaged Facts, a marketing research company, estimates that total coffee market sales, including food service and retail, rose to $48 billion in 2009, with annual growth of 4% in 2008 and 2009.” And according to Consumer’s Reports, “The average coffee drinker consumes more than 1,000 cups of coffee a year, and for most people, it’s coffee blends.” With these numbers in mind, it certainly makes sense for gift basket retailers to continue to include a coffee in their basket designs.
Check out the variety of appealing coffees at Apex Gift Foods. You’ll find coffees in attractive colorful packaging that will complement many of your basket designs. Choose from coffees with liquor flavoring, sweet flavors including double chocolate or chocolate raspberry coffee, unusual flavors such as including blueberry muffin and sticky toffee buns, or more traditional blends such italian roast. Mention that you read this blog posting and receive 5% off your coffee purchase!
March 14th, 2010
As we move into the Fall and Holiday season with assurances that the economy may be making a comeback, we still need to think about ways to attract customers. Many people are still being very careful about what they spend. So it’s up to us to think about ways to assure our customers that we are still trying to give them the best quality products and service that we can offer.
With this goal in mind, Apex Gift Foods is introducing several new programs this year.
- With the “Apex Xtras Value Priced Items” program, Apex has designated many popular products that have been priced so that customers receive the best values in the marketplace. These are all “name brand” items from major manufacturers who cater to gift basket businesses such as Ghirardelli, Mille Lacs, First Colony, Vision Pak, Lindt, Walker and Nikkis Cookies. As a buyer for your gift basket business, you can be assured that your customers will receive high quality gourmet items while you save on your purchases.
- A new line of “Recession Buster Gourmet Assortments” is also available this year at Apex. The same fine quality nuts, snacks, candies and chocolates that Apex has sold for years, have been repackaged in smaller bags. Once again, you can feel confident that your customers will receive the excellent products they have grown to expect in your gift basket designs.
In your gift basket business, you can offer the same type of “value” in the baskets that you design. By pricing your most popular baskets at prices that are a lower than in the past, you may make up in volume what you will lose in your mark-up. For customers who are willing to spend a bit more, offer similar designs that include more products, a fancier container, or more enhancements.
You may also want to consider a line of “Recession Buster Baskets”. Design a line of gifts that are a little simpler than some of your current baskets. Use a fewer products or choose a less expensive container. Take advantage of sales offered by your vendors to purchase the products that you like. Continue to offer “good value” by creatively presenting the basket design accented with an inexpensive, colorful wired ribbon bow. Show these “Recession Buster Baskets” alongside more expensive versions of the basket for those customers who are willing to spend a bit more.
Now is the time to think creatively. Let your customers know that you have their needs and concerns in mind. You’ll be satisfying your existing customers while attracting a new group of buyers who will come back again.
August 16th, 2009
Visit from Beth Groundwater, Author of the Claire Hanover Gift Basket Designer Mystery Series
Many thanks to Lorie for inviting me to submit a guest article to her blog as part of my virtual book tour to promote the second book in my series, To Hell in a Handbasket. This book, along with the first, A Real Basket Case, stars a Colorado Springs gift basket designer as an amateur sleuth who solves murders that fall in her lap (literally, in the first book!). Claire has a part-time gift basket business in the basement of her home and puts together different types of baskets in the books.
I’d love to answer any questions you have about what it’s like to write a mystery series based on someone in your profession, and anything else you want to talk about. Every person who comments is automatically entered into a contest for a free set of both books autographed by me. If you have any funny or embarrassing stories to tell me about baskets or deliveries gone wrong, I’d love to read those, too, and may even use them in a future book!
Here’s a favorite gift basket recipe that I hope you’ll enjoy and use for someone who adores all things mysterious.
Recipe for a Mystery Lover’s Gift Basket
Color scheme: black, red, and either white or gray
Container: black-painted basket, bucket or box, with a lid or handle sticking up, from which you hang fake spider webbing
Stuffing: dried Spanish moss or red-dyed tissue paper, shreds, or wood shavings
Contents:
- A Real Basket Case and/or To Hell in a Handbasket mystery books (email me at beth07@bethgroundwater.com to find out how to obtain discounted copies)
- CD of eerie music such as Mystery Movie Scores or Mystery Sound Effects
- Pocket-sized mystery party game or travel Clue game
- Movie DVD: Clue, Mousetrap, an Alfred Hitchcock or Sherlock Holmes movie, or a movie collection (Mystery Classics: 50 Movie Pack)
- Chocolate or bubble gum coins or other mystery-related chocolate shapes such as blood drops, knives, or guns (see http://www.chocolatepen.com/pieces.html for a sample vendor)
- And a selection from the following list:
– Magnifying glass
– Pair of play handcuffs and/or sheriff’s badge
– Rubber knife
– Glasses, nose, mustache disguise
– Skull-shaped/logo item(s): tea-light candle holder, squeeze ball, notepad, drinking cup (see the Halloween collection at www.orientaltrading.com)
– Bottle of stage blood from a costume or makeup supply store, or make your own (see chemistry.about.com/cs/howtos/ht/fakeblood.htm)
I hope many of you gift basket designers will use this idea for a Mystery Lover’s Gift Basket, and don’t worry, you won’t have any competition from me! Unlike my amateur sleuth, Claire Hanover, I do not have a gift basket business of my own. My business is writing mystery novels. My debut, A Real Basket Case, was released in March, 2007 and was nominated for a 2007 Best First Novel Agatha Award (named for Agatha Christie). To Hell in a Handbasket, the second in the Claire Hanover gift basket designer mystery series, was released May 15th.
I live in Colorado Springs, where I defend my garden from marauding mule deer and wild rabbits and try to avoid getting black-and-blue on Colorado’s black and blue ski slopes. I have loved to read since I was a child and savor those monthly meetings with my Book Club, and not just for the gossip and wine. For more information about me and my books, and to sign up for my email newsletter and enter a contest for free books, go to: http://bethgroundwater.com/. You’ll also find the schedule for my blog book tour there.
So, readers of Lorie’s blog, do you have any more ideas for creative ingredients to add to a Mystery Lover’s Gift Basket? Do you have any interesting stories that I can use in future Claire Hanover novels?
May 29th, 2009
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