Cape Cod Provisions LLC has two new additions to its Cape Cod Cranberry Candy™ brand of cranberry confections. Now milk chocolate, dark chocolate and yogurt covered cranberries are blended so that consumers can enjoy the variety of all three in one perfect package. They are available in eye-catching 5-ounce boxes with a brilliant background of fresh cranberries and window for viewing product. The company has also added a new fruit to its line of Harvest Sweets® brand chocolate covered fruits. Luscious, ripe, whole strawberries are dried and then smothered with all natural rich dark or creamy milk chocolate. They are available in 3.5-ounce boxes packed 12 per case, and in 5-pound and 25-pound bulk. The gable-top boxes are adorned with eye-appealing photos of fresh strawberries and faint swirls of pink on a soft white background. For more information contact Cape Cod Provisions at 508-564-5840,www.capecodprovisions.com.

Cape Cod Provisions provides specialty chocolate and fruit confections under the Harvest Sweets® and Cape Cod Cranberry Candy™ brands. Eleven different fruits are combined with chocolate and other confectionery ingredients, and are available in eye-catching packaging and in bulk. Products are sold throughout the U.S., directly and through specialty food distributors, to gourmet, candy, gift, produce, tabletop, gift basket, wine and other specialty retailers.

Keep Inventory Trim AND Expand Themes?
Customize Holiday Gift Baskets with a Wide Variety of Calendars

Is it time for 2011 already? Time flies much too quickly, and that’s a good reason to stock gift calendars -- a wide variety of them to set the theme for every gift basket. No need to stock your shelves with cases and cases of theme merchandise from dozens of vendors. All you really need is a standard line of inventory and a large variety of themed calendars to set the mood for every type of imaginable gift basket recipient.

Andrews McMeel Publishing is ready to get you ahead of the holiday rush to stock with a huge variety of fun, intriguing, and inspiring calendars. Who doesn’t need a few to manage time and gift lists this holiday season? Andrews McMeel’s diverse calendars provide something for everyone -- and every gift basket theme -- and again in 2011 the company offers new subjects and fresh, new formats with innovations. Just a small sampling is posted to whet your appetite to visit their site. (www.andrewsmcmeel.com)

Shelly Reeves Smith Abundant Blessings 2011 Mini Wall Calendar.
Be inspired by bit of Scripture and one of Shelly Reeves Smith's lovingly detailed paintings on each monthly spread of this small Shelly Reeves Smith Abundant Blessings 2011 Mini Wall Calendar. Shelly Reeves Smith gracefully expresses the comforts of home and nature in her thoughtful watercolor paintings. Her art has a cozy quality that invites the viewer to enter and curl up on a plump chair or venture outdoors where cheerful snowmen or chirping birds await. Paired with Scripture verse or inspirational message, her paintings are a place where anyone would be happy to linger.





Just the Right Shoe™ 2011 Mini Day-to-Day Calendar.
Women and shoes go together like diamonds and furs, that's why every female needs the Just the Right Shoe™ 2011 Mini Day-to-Day Calendar. Photos of Lorraine Vail's award-winning line of miniature collectible shoes along with the shoe's savvy name and description are featured on each weekday page. The weekend pages feature original shoe illustrations by Vail and are accompanied by fun facts about shoes. The calendar comes packaged in a one-of-a-kind keepsake box that resembles a shoebox.




Mary Engelbreit's Mary Engelbreit Hurry Up and Relax 2011 Monthly Planner Calendar makes it easier to get through the hurry-up parts of life and on to the more relaxing parts by helping to keep it all organized. Packaged in its own slipcase to prevent torn pages and small enough to fit in a purse or tote, it's ideal for busy, on-the-go women. Along with monthly planning grids with Mary's upbeat artwork, there is also space for recording names and numbers, plus perforated notes to use for jotting down to-dos, reminders, and lists in the back.

Betallic Balloon and Boxco have put together a bottom to top gift presentation for Mother’s Day. Create eye catching gift items for Mother’s Day with Betallic and Boxco’s new line of Eco-friendly Sweet Treat Gift Boxes!

The vibrant boxes are made from 50% recycled paper (made with a minimum of 10% post-consumer). With this lightweight container, you’ll save on freight. Plus, because it ships to you flat, you can keep inventory space tight and efficient. Each box holds up to one pound of candy. Pair the container with a matching 9” holographic balloon for instant top to bottom style. The box dimensions are: 4” x 3 ¾” x 4 ½”.

Don’t forget the Sweet Treats Bench. Insert it in the bottom of the box and save time by eliminating the need for costly (and messy!) Styrofoam peanuts, blocks or packing paper. The Bench creates an instant base fill for the container, elevating products and building more height and perceived value.

You may also like the Sweet Treat Cello Bag, made from high quality polypropylene, and custom designed to fit the Sweet Treat gift boxes. The bags are 1.6 mil thickness with flat side seams and measure 5” x 3” x 11 ½”.

Visit us at www.boxcoindustries.com for more information!

The tradition remains, but the story changes for Garry Trudeau and the Doonesbury troupe in Trudeau’s newest book, Tee Time in Berzerkistan (Andrews McMeel Publishing LLC). Like has has done in som many of his past Doonesbury classics, Trudeau humorously maps out the life of Mike Doonesbury, but this time Mike finds himself in a time of political and personal upheaval. Life seems to be constantly transforming -- and not only for Mike. Duke starts working for the maleficent dictator of Berzerkistan, whose “alleged ethnic cleansing” image needs some “lipstick.” Much like the worls of Mike and duke, the worlds of the rest of the Doonesbury cast are changing. BD searches for answers to provide to wounded soldiers, and Mark uses the airwaves to provide answers to a searching public. Alex tries to get a grip on her social networking, Rick is challenged to find his place in today’s Internet-dominated society, and a terrorist follows soldier Ray home. All of this takes place in Tee Time in Berzerkistan, which also includes comic strips featuring one of the most historic political races ever. Conversations from the White House, war zones, and terrorist hideouts are part of the mix, and Zonker characteristically provides his philosophical insight on it all.

Office minions rejoice! For twenty years you’ve followed Dilbert and his exploits in office futility. Now all of your hard cubicle-based work is about to be paid off with 14 Years of Loyal Service in a Fabric-Covered Box: A Dilbert Book (Andrews McMeel Publishing, LLC). The latest collection of Dilbert strips takes you through the darkening economy under its umbrella of dry comedy. As the business world implodes around Dilbert, Wally, Alice and their Pointy-Haired Boss, the laughs are as big as the bailouts. There’s simply never been a better time to be a Dilbert fan. And we’ve never needed his savvy sense and quiet indignation more than we do today.

Set your office snack basket themes by adding a copy or two of this laughable book!

Imagine this beautiful angel as the party favor for the next event you’re asked to decorate. Or, put her as the focal point of your inspirational blessing baskets. She would also make a lovely stand-alone gift for corporate clients, wrapped in glittering gold paper, or enhanced out in a clear acrylic tube. The wholesale price is affordable, and that makes the angel attractive in a budget-crimped year.

As enchanting to customers as she is to her furry and feathered friends, the “Cherish Angel with Animals” appeals to a growing group of collectors and people who simply love angels and innocence as a motif in life. The angel is part of the Nature’s Blessings ® collection by Robin Davis. The hand-painted resin angel stands almost 5 inches tall. www.BLOSSOMBUCKET.com

Fairytale Wishes Inc offers a line of naturally derived aromatherapy sprays designed to help ease common childhood anxieties like being afraid of the dark (Sweat Dreams spray), fear of monsters (Monster Repellent), or homesickness at camp (Happy Camper Spray). They also offer a Super Hero Spray for any occasion or to combat fear of the first day of school, performing in front of an audience, a trip to the doctors-
ANYTHING! Debbie Glickman worked for nearly 15 years in advertising at top agencies in Chicago repping major consumer products. She formulated a Sweet Dreams spray for her daughter who was terribly afraid of the dark and it worked so she thought "I am onto something! www.fairytalewishesinc.com

Less Is More (Conari Press) is a celebration in words and images of simple and profound answers. Is there any way to live the good life in an environment of scarity? Author, Mina Parker, answers with an unequivocal, “Yes.” She writes, “We can embrace simplicity as a desired outcome rather than a hardship we can’t control. We can throw ourselves into new creation and transform our circumstances into new opportunities by embracing a credo of recycling and renewal. Most of all, we can give back and move forward through a daily practice of gratitude and the intense joy it brings us.”

We only have to remember that in all sorts of situations, less really can be more. We can embrace simplicity as a desired outcome rather than a hardship we can’t control. We can understand that our outlook, our attitude, and our ability to see the glass as being half full, again and agian, day after day, is the key to our happiness. - Mina Parker

Those who are having a tough time financially can appreciate the positive suggestions in the book. With beautiful photographs and prose, plus essays, it makes a good read for anyone feeling a bit down. It is not remotely attached to religious thought, but still offers good meditations for feeling better in a society that has the economic flu.

Available wherever books are sold or through the publiers at www.redwheelweiser.com.

PEEK-A-BELLY: THE ONLY BABY ONESIE WITH BELLY ACCESS


Kiss and tickle baby's tummy any time

(CHICAGO, IL) Baby bellies, be free! Peek-a-Bellies are here, and moms no
longer have to wait until baby is stripped down on the changing table to lay
a big wet one on that delicious belly.

Peek-a-Belly is the first baby onesie to provide 24/7 belly access. The
patent pending design has two overlapping panels on the front side that can
be pulled wide open for full-on, scrumptious belly access. To provide a
super-secure closure and to make the Peek-a-Belly visually irresistible, the
opening is secured by Velcro with a colorful, designer fabric patch. Now,
baby bellies can be beautifully covered, yet always accessible for kissing
and tickling any time.

"Peek-a-Belly combines the great functionality of a baby onesie with the
perk of all-day belly access," says Peek-a-Belly founder Sue Zeiler. "It's
not just a baby garment - it's belly access!"

Prior to launching Peek-a-Belly, Zeiler was already known to many Chicago
area moms as the founder of a popular local online resource,
ChicagoKids.com. The site launched in 2001 and is a well-recognized, leading
resource for Chicago area parents.

Peek-a-Bellies are made in the USA and are created with love and superior
quality construction. They are currently available for purchase online at
www.Peek-a-Belly.com, and are delivered gift-ready in a beautiful organza
bag. Peek-a-Bellies will be available soon in retail locations around the
country.

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Beach Nuts™ Unsalted Gourmet Virginia Peanuts

From Bay Beyond Inc. comes another great addition to their Blue Crab Bay Co. coastal snack line: Beach Nuts™, unsalted gourmet Virginia Peanuts. Each 12 oz. tin features a colorful label decorated with beach umbrellas.

Beach Nuts are roasted, extra large Virginia peanuts, only grown in Virginia and North Carolina. Although salt free, this all-natural treat is crunchy and full of unexpected flavor!

Case pack 12, 12-oz. tins. For more information contact Bay Beyond,
29368 Atlantic Dr., Melfa VA 23410, email HYPERLINK "mailto:sales@baybeyond.net" sales@baybeyond.net, or call
(800) 221-2722 or your sales representative to order.

Get a Head . . . a chocolate head that is. Swift & Holland Chocolates can create a 12 pound chocolate sculpture from a photo of any person. Each head is molded in clay by a professional sculptor, then a mold is made from which any number of duplicate chocolate heads can be made. The chocolate is a delicious gourmet blend of Belgian chocolate. www.swiftholland.com

HONEY RIDGE FARMS offers gourmet Honey Crèmes and award-winning Balsamic Honey Vinegar in sizes to accommodate a variety of gourmet/natural and supermarket retail, restaurant and foodservice uses. The six honey crèmes—Blackberry, Cranberry Raspberry, Apricot, Spiced and Clover—are blended with the finest fruits and spices. They need no refrigeration and come in three sizes (12-ounce, 5.5-ounce and 2.25-ounce). Made with Grade A Clover honey, fruit/citric acid or spices, the honey cremes are ideal spreads for toast, scones, biscuits, pancakes and waffles. They can also be added to tea and other beverages, used as dessert toppings or in glazes and barbecue sauces. Balsamic Honey Vinegar, the only one of its kind, is produced from 100% natural honey, using a classic fermentation process and aged on oak. This unique vinegar has a deep mellow, amber tone, with a delicate sweetness and a bit of bite. It’s also sulfite-free and can be easily substituted in any recipe calling for conventional vinegar. Use in salad dressings and marinades, for deglazing and reduction sauces. Available in 8.45-ounce and 64-ounce sizes. Honey Ridge Farms is also known for its pure, artisan single-floral source varietals in16-ounce easy-squeeze bottles: Wild Blackberry, Star Thistle, Orange Blossom and two limited editions, Black Button Sage and Pumpkin Blossom. All are minimally processed and unfiltered to retain the unique flavor properties of each floral source.

Company contact:
Leeanne Goetz, Honey Ridge Farms…360.256.0086
www.honeyridgefarms.com – info@honeyridgefarms.com

Don Francisco’s Holiday Bags Increase sales this season with this festive collection of favorite flavors and holiday blends from Don Francisco’s Coffee! Customers will share the joy with nostalgic Cranberry Créme, cool winter Dark Chocolate Mint, sumptuous Pumpkin Spice, and a special edition Holiday Blend – all ground, in 12 oz. bags. Available October through January. Suggested retail: $7.99.
F. Gaviña & Sons, Inc., 2700 Fruitland Avenue, Vernon, CA  90058 (800) 428-4627 tel, (888) 428-4621 fax sales.support@gavina.com www.gavina.com

Bay Beyond Inc. Introduces New Line of Inner Ocean® Seaweed Soaps

In 2006, Blair Snyder gazed out across the seaside marshes of Virginia’s Eastern Shore and wondered what would happen if she dried some seaweed and added it to her handmade soap.  What happened was a miraculous transformation, a striking color of emerald green that led to the creation of an array of nautical soaps. 

Blair began peddling her homemade goods to local gift shops, one of which was at the facility of Bay Beyond Inc., headquarters for the Blue Crab Bay Co.® line of specialty foods.  Pamela Barefoot, founder of the Blue Crab Bay® brand, immediately recognized a struggling entrepreneur and offered some business guidance.  A year later, Bay Beyond Inc. acquired “Sea Soaps” and rebranded it as Inner Ocean®. 

Today the Inner Ocean® line includes a variety of handmade glycerin-seaweed soaps in nautical shapes and forms. Crabs, seahorses, seashells, sand dollars, starfish, sailboats, lobsters and other seashore shapes are either imbedded in the seaweed-green soaps or adorn the tops. The handcrafted, lightly scented soaps range from 2 oz. to 6 oz. in weight. A selection of soaps is also available on wooden or porcelain soap dishes.

Rounding out the line are a guest soap gift box, which contains six shell-shaped soaps nestled in seaweed-like paper shred; a fishnet wrapped “Skinny Dipper” gift pack; bath sea salt; sea wool sponges and jars of beachcomber’s potpourri. New customers might want to try the Soothing Sampler, an introductory assortment, or the Soap Mini-Sampler, which includes one of each soap. Personalized seaweed soaps are also available as coastal wedding favors.

For more information on Inner Ocean®, visit "http://www.baybeyond.net" www.baybeyond.net or call (800) 221-2722 for sales literature.

Too Sexy for a Basket?

Not a chance! Naughty gift baskets have been the second most popular category of themes for the past 25 years -- second only to wine and roses. This year, trend forecasters say that the desire to have fun is a key element destined to pry tight dollars out of a buyer’s wallet.

So -- go ahead and build that sexy gift basket for Valentine’s Day! Tuck in a yummy jar of chocolate body fondue, a bottle of champagne, coffee and biscotti for in-the-morning treats, and . . . well, use your imagination to round out the romantic theme.
Product Source: ABasketSupply.com

2009 Spring Trend Report Coming Soon

Looking for tips on what’s hot and what might be cooling off? Just in time for January trade show buying, Gift Basket Review Online releases its NEW 2009 Trend Report. Look for it next week. One of the trends you’ll see are up and coming flavors for 2009. Among them: Lavender mixed into chocolate. Guess lavender isn’t just for scented sachets anymore!
Product Source: ABasketSupply.com

North Star Music is ready for holiday gift buyers with a new line of CD’s. The new We Three Strings, by Johannes Linstead, will be hard to resist -- especially if you play it in your store. As editor of Gift Basket Review Online, I listen to many new releases and this is one of the best holiday CD’s I’ve heard this year. We Three Strings is twelve of your all-time favorite Christmas songs performed by three of today’s finest guitarists with World, Latin, and Smooth Jazz rhythms. It features Billboard-charting recording artist Johannes Linstead, Bryan Lubeck, and Tomas Michaud. Put it in your best holiday gift baskets! Beautiful packaging -- great music.
Contact: www.northstarmusic.com

New candle fragrances are on the market -- ready for fall and holiday gift baskets. Cedar and saffron are popular again this year, and Orla Soy Candles has a good one with packaging matched perfectly to fall colors. Named Weeked in Tuscany, the candle has a distinctively fresh scent with a sensation of texture and warmth. It contains bottom notes of sandalwood, cedarwood, amber and musk with alluring top notes of bergamot, lavender and coriander. Website: www.orlasoycandle.com

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.

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.

Six New Christmas Designs Added to the
“Sassy Bite” Family of Organic Chocolate Bars


Gig Harbor, WA – August 13, 2008: Olive Sandwiches is pleased to announce the addition of six
new Christmas-themed organic chocolate bar designs to our Sassy Bite product line.

The Sassy Bite family was first introduced in July 2008 at the Atlanta, Los Angeles and Chicago
gift shows, with a very positive response to the initial ten designs. By combining the well-known
Olive Sandwiches brand of retro-images and women-oriented humor with specially prepared
organic chocolate flavors, the Sassy Bite series has “taken edgy taste to a whole new level.”

Each Sassy Bite bar contains 1.25 ounces of fine organic chocolate with a variety of flavors that
match the humor on the wrapper, ranging from timeless favorites such as milk chocolate to
exciting new mixes such as “Hot Habanero Mandarin Espresso”. The new Christmas chocolates
offer flavors such as Peppermint Dark Chocolate, Dark Coconut Almond, Mint Milk Chocolate,
and Gingerbread Pecan Dark Chocolate.

According to Jim Hunt, Managing Partner for Olive Sandwiches, “We’ve been extremely pleased
with the market response to the Sassy Bite organic chocolate bar line, from both retailers and our
end customers. With a growing number of women (and men) already enjoying Olive Sandwiches’
brand of humor, there is a built-in appetite for new products – and the chocolates have been a big
hit by satisfying that hunger. In addition, these newest Sassy Bite Christmas designs will make
great stocking-stuffers and party favors for the holidays.”

All Olive Sandwiches products are the artistic creations of Nancy Rider Hunt and are available in
more than 2000 stores throughout North America, as well as online at www.olivesandwiches.com.

Holiday color trends are all over the board this year. Instead of mega categories, trends in 2008 are micro-centered -- as electic and diverse as the fragmented U.S. consumer demographics. Some of the influencing themes and motifs are:

1. Concern for the environment
2. Retro-to-the-’60’s (peace and love)
3. Fair Trade merchandise
4. Old world opulence (Russia)

Earth-driven color tones dominate the environmental color trend. Sky blue, fern green, sand beige, bark brown, and vibrant wild flower brights; with copper and nickel as strong metallics. In the peace and love category, wild, vivid, visionary colors splash holiday theme merchandise. With the Russian and old world, think deep jewel tones and dazzling metallics. Fair trade color trends tend to reflect the dark tones of mahagony and ebony, with splashes of blackened primary tones (red, orange, green and blue), livened up with tropical blends.

It’s great to read about color trends, but with gift baskets, designers don’t have to think too much about it, since industry manufacturers and distributors have already stocked the latest for the holidays. Just open the catalogs, think about your own customer base, and order the trendiest packaging and supply colors in every style and motif!