A Feast for the Senses
Food and confectionery managed to maintain demand during the pandemic. Now times are normalising, what’s on the menu?
Food and drink gifting has grown during the last two year as the recognition, reward and thank you gifting opportunities were presented in a unique way due the circumstances the UK found itself in. Gift boxes including sweets, chocolate and biscuits have become a staple of the branded gift market, with corporates ordering vast quantities to recognise their staff, say thank you or simply welcome a new colleague in style. The demand for British made has also grown in this time too. Since our exit from the EU, the number of suppliers and distributors who proclaim their British made ranges has increased ten-fold. While we have experienced challenges with exporting food and drink items since the end of the transition, the internal UK market is booming and shows no signs of slowing. Of course, not all promotional food and drink needs to be exported. There is a massive market opportunity on our doorstep that many suppliers and distributors may not be fully aware of, said Eat My Logo business development manager Daniel Clarke.
INTERNAL MARKETING
“Customer buying reasons are varied, including brand special occasions, charity days, product or system launches, collaborations, outstanding achievements, motivation and just because’s. But looking at our order books, there was one thing that stood out – the amount that were for internal use.” Geiger first worked with Eat My Logo several years ago but following some guidance on buying reasons and some proactive promotion have seen regular large-scale orders from key customers. Account manager Simon Kaye said: “Late last year, Eat My Logo helped us pull off one of the largest time sensitive orders we have ever been involved in. They needed to turn around 72,000 Halloween decorated cupcakes and get them delivered to 36 sites within a two-day period.” Eat My Logo supplied a neat spreadsheet with all the delivery details and the goods were delivered on time and in good condition and thoroughly enjoyed by my client’s teams up and down the country.
Project Merch also landed several large projects for products to be used internally. The distributor was able to offer their established clients products for celebratory events, giving them a whole new sales angle. Sales director Chris Dawson said: “Edible gifts have always been a great option when companies are looking to celebrate anniversaries or milestones. With the addition of a vegan range, offering individual delivery and as always fantastic service, Eat My Logo has helped increase our sales and deliver some rather tasty treats.”. During the pandemic, Eat My Logo successfully pivoted its product range towards bites that could be sent to the huge numbers of people working from home. It landed the coveted Platinum Award for its Cupcake Gift Boxes in the Merchandise World Award & Gifting Product of the Year.
The Postal Cupcake Giftboxes were designed to allow customers to send branded cupcakes via Royal Mail in a zero plastic packaging solution. With each box holding either 4 or 6 cupcakes, its delivery option as a Royal Mail small parcel made it a very attractive and versatile gifting option. It was also created to have as little environmental impact as possible. The box was designed to protect the cupcakes, keep them fresh and also avoid the use of plastic. Everything from the outer cardboard box to the internal product inserts are cardboard based.
COMPLEX MARKET
Debbie Willsmer, managing director of Willsmer Wagg has noticed a massive growth in supplying food, drink and gift boxes to the corporate sector. While the demand has always been there at Christmas, since Covid the market has evolved. Willsmer Wagg is now sourcing and supplying custom seminar, wellness, onboarding, virtual festival and celebratory gift boxes as a standard part of its offering.
“For over 25 years we have supplied corporate hampers and have long standing relationships with the artisan food manufacturers, which goes hand in hand with our alcohol licence. I believe there will always be a mix of virtual and face to face along with hybrid working not location specific so it is really important to make all staff feel part of a team and receiving a welcome or seminar celebratory box does just that,” she said.
“Working and communication patterns have changed and simply because you cannot physically attend an award ceremony does not mean that you cannot sit virtually, have your bottle of fizz, popcorn, chocolates and celebrate with your colleagues and company,” she added. This brings with it a new level of complexity. While an attendee at a physical event can choose what they want or are able to eat of drink, if a company is sending out items, they have to find out beforehand and ensure they only send what is suitable for the individual. “We have just had an order for 1,500 boxes where each person is grouped by food allergy, non-alcoholic, alcoholic cocktail or beer, so there is a lot of picking and individually named items,” said Willsmer.
Laltex marketing executive, Lucy Kinney said the company has seen a surge in orders for staff appreciation gifts over the last two years for delivery both at home and in the workplace. “With many staff members working remotely during and post-pandemic, thoughtful gift packs are a great way to keep staff engaged and boost morale within your team,” she said. Laltex’s treat-filled ‘Take a Break’ Pack has been a popular option this year, she said. “This is a lovely gesture that will go a long way in showing your staff members how much you care and, as it’s one of the lowest cost options it won’t blow your budget.” The company also offers a Deluxe Weekend Wind-Down Pack – a treat filled pack containing a small bottle of Prosecco, Boston bottle opener and a sleek stainless steel travel mug, plus a selection of premium snacks including luxury chocolate, crisps and biscuits.
Laltex offers a complete fulfilment service, and while there isn’t a menu of options as such, it will endeavour to accommodate special requests such as specific confectionery brands or to meet dietary requirements. For branding, customers can choose to have a full colour A6 label applied to the box, inside or out. Alternatively, or in addition, there is also the option of a full colour sleeve that wraps around the box – perfect for larger messages.
