Visual WOW! presentation is the ultimate key to selling gift baskets. For local deliveries, each basket delivered can mean dozens of future basket sales. It is generally thought that delivered baskets should allow recipients and others to get a peek of what is inside, but keep a good deal of the contents ‘under wrap or ribbon’ so that the recipient finds surprises as they open and go through the contents. The presentation has more value as it becomes an “experience”.

Part of presentation is adding more height and style -- often achieved through using patterend cellophane wrap. These wonderful cellophane patterns can be overwhelming -- too busy -- when the entire basket is wrapped in the pattern. Instead, consider wrapping the basket itself in clear cellophane (ar a strip of clear cello for local deliveries), then adding a plume of patterned cellophane.

Using a narrow strip of cellophane to wrap a basket only works when the components inside the basket are fairly secure, and when the basket is delivered locally. Use Glue Dots® to keep components together.

Gift box, ribbon and cellophane courtesy of Nashville Wraps.

According to the eHoliday Study released by BizRate Research for Shop.org and Shopzilla prior to the 2007 holiday buying season, free shipping was credited to driving more online sales than any other promotion. Tied to conditions that required customers to purchase a certain item or a certain number of or dollar amount of merchandise, free shipping offers were the top promotions used by big-league retailers to push consumer hot buttons. Last year, 78% of online retailers offered this incentive.

Also in the bag of successful tricks to drive sales: free shipping upgrades (offered by 60% of retailers), discounted shipping (te% or retailers), and free shipping without conditions (41%). Of course, “free shipping” is not free for retailers, so careful anaylization of costs and margins are required before putting free or discounted offers into place.

In addition ot offering free shipping promotions, retailers reported plans to use a variety of other marketing techniques to increase sales. Online shoppers reported that the most important factor to them was good value for the money. Clear product descriptions, a merchant’s reputation, and guaranteed on-time delivery were also important features when deciding where to buy.

What you see is just the beginning of what you might receive in a gift like the one shown here. Peeking behind the eye-catching ornament plate is a box of tasty toffee. Why hide the toffee if it is a great product? Because the charming old-fashioned packaging clashes with the sharp contemporary styling of the gift box. That holds true for the tempting truffles inside the gold gift box (overwrapped in a leftover trim piece of cellophane).

The coffee mug (imported from Italy) and the ornament plate are the most expensive components in the gift design. It makes sense, because of their color and cost, to bring them forward to the focal point of the design. To keep cost down and build more value and fullness into the presentation, the designer pulled common stock items from inventory, then smartly wrapped the smaller piece to fill one half of the front of the gift box.

Another success scoop employed in this design is the ribbon weave applied to the back corner (see earlier post in Gift Tips). The decorative element keeps the presentation looking full by using an empty space!

File this strategic design plan and use it with customers who want more giftware/less gourmet food, and a basket that can meet the under-$50 price line. Or -- tuck this idea into the bag of tricks you use to earn a better profit margin.

Gourmet food may the most popular holiday gift basket category, but non-food gifts are moving up the chain as more consumers become aware of the health challenges many Americans face. When non-foods are requested, be ready with an impressive collection of affordable gift basket components.

One of my personal favorites is the Meyer’s Clean Day products. The company offers aromatic and environmentally friendly products, ranging from hand soap and lotion (shown here) to actual cleaning products for the home or office, fragranced for the season. Shown here, a small nail brush is boxed and bagged to separate the two Meyer products, stretching the value and filling the space inexpensively. To complete the ensemble, add candles and a tin of holiday potpourri, room fragrance, ornaments -- kitchen towels -- whatever pleases you and your customers.

Look what you can do to the back of a box bench! A decorative focal point on the back can pave the way for moving merchandise that may be too small or short for the space. Place a fluffy bow, a short square box -- use your imagination for resourceful ways to move merchandise.
(Box, box bench and ribbons courtesy of Nashville Wraps)

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Christmas is coming and you want your profits just as fat as the goose! One way to achieve this is by being smartly frugal with the number of gift components used to create each gift basket. Quality and quantity need to be considered equally, with an eye on what the consumer wants, and is willing to buy. And there is always a difference in what we all want as consumers -- and how much we are ultimately willing to fork over in an actual purchase. My advice regarding quality/quantity has always been:
(1) buy the best tasting food available for the price your target group of consumers will buy, even if it means fewer items per basket.
(2) balance the cost of higher quality by building in better perceived value, filling in empty space with tissue and other inexpensive fillers, using texture, and building height.
(3) keep labor costs down by using quick-to-pack items.

Another dilema is packaging. Consumers want Christmas packaging. But, you, as a designer and buyer, know you could be stuck with a warehouse of unsold perishable gourmet foods if sales fall short of your goals. The compromise may lie in clever packaging tricks that make year-round stock look like brightly wrapped holiday goodies. In the design shown above, two gourmet components were put into colorful cello bags with colors and trimmings of the season. To make the basket appear fuller, striped tissue paper was applied to the a cardboard back (bench box from Boxco, available through Nashville Wraps).

There is also wisdom in mixing perishable gourmet foods with hard goods, like the floral arrangement and snowman (above photo). Should holidays sales fail to move all Christmas merchandise, hard goods can be packed and used next year. Only three items were gourmet components. All three were larger sizes and could be used as stand-alone gifts, stocking stuffers, hostess gifts, etc.

More notes on the basket shown here:
- all the florals are in a container arrangement that can be placed on a desk or elsewhere. No loose floral stems that are useless to most recipients. The floral designs can be made well in advance of the season, sold separately, and quickly placed in a basket. Great time saver and money maker!
- the addition of scattered felt snowflakes makes the basket look very full and cost only pennies each.
- frosted greenery, a snowman, striped tissue to match the sides of the box . . . DETAILS MAKE THE DIFFERENCE!

(Box, box bench, cello bags, and ribbon courtesy of Nashville Wraps)

Harrison’s & Crosfield® Ltd. have introduced a seasonal rendition of their fine teas -- ready to ship for holiday orders. The Christmas Tea is a jolly blend of premium black teas with aromatic orange peel, almonds, spicy cinnamon and luscious marzipan. Just the thing to cozy up with on a chilly winters’ night.

What do I like about it? As a gift basket designer, I like the size and packaging. The larger tin is a good “bulk” component that will fill a good amount of space, and serve as a focal point that can establish the seasonal theme. The smaller cube is less expensive and can fit into smaller budget baskets. Again, this one seasonal product can set the Christmas theme, and that will allow you to use standard inventory to fill the remainder of the basket. Best of all, this is a tea that smells so good you can close your eyes and believe it is already Christmas morning.


The red and gold packaging, with its enchanting winter scene, is designed to evoke warm memories of holidays gone by. It is available in three different packages:
(1) Individually wrapped tagged tea bags in clear cube
(2) English style tea bags in an elegant gold and red caddy
(3) Loose leaf tea in a 4.41 ounce starry night gold and red caddy.

Each tea bag contains the necessary amount of tea to brew a “proper” cup of tea -- 25% more than the average tea bag.Harrisons & Crosfield’s London master tea buyers and blenders have over 30 years experience in the art of tea tasting, blending and buying. For more information and to see the company’s full line of teas, visit their website www.harrisonsandcrosfield.com.