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)