With Ganesh Chaturthi marking the beginning of a trail of festivals in India, it is also the time of the year when companies look for appropriate gifts to thank their teams, clients and associates. It is also that time of the year that all Indian gifting companies wait for. Being a two decade old player in this market, there are quite a few trends we’ve seen. From the time of pressure cookers and other kitchen appliances being given as gifts to the current time of digital products, the Indian corporate gifting business has weathered many seasons.
In the middle of these trends a decade ago, Chinese products started to kill our local industries by bringing in cheaper products and with some good quality thrown in. Corporate buyers were now at a great place to choose from a huge variety of gifts available at throw away prices. This jolt made our Indian manufacturers wake up and push their quality higher to compete with the Chinese products. Today, our products have improved and we even have cases of our corporate gift houses in India exporting their products to China! (strange…but 100% true, ask us!)
This year on, with an aim to make India self reliant (#atmanirbharbharat) again, we urge you to buy Indian gifts for 5 reasons:
Keep the local industries alive – When you buy local, you help keep our industries alive and if you just look enough, you will be surprised with the number of corporate gift manufacturers who are doing avant-garde work in their respective areas. Be it artisan chocolates, handicrafts with great packaging, desktop accessories, office accessories and more.
Understand that ethical profits are fair – An average customer bargains on price and tries to get a bigger portion of the price battle. A good customer understands profit is not a bad word and works towards arriving at a win-win deal knowing that it is fair for the supplier to make ethical profits. Let’s face it, if you are not making a profit, you are not running a business!
Quick turnaround time – Depending on Chinese products to arrive here in time, can be a dicey situation because of the volumes, custom clearances and situation at the ports. Many large clients have burnt their fingers with delayed deliveries, sub standard quality and compromised warranties on these products. And there is little that can be done to stop that. When you buy an Indian product, geographical advantage helps ensure quick turnaround times and it allows a much required personal interaction with the suppliers.
Be proud to gift an Indian product
It is up to each one of us to encourage, support and create an environment where not only do local businesses thrive but also where you carry pride in gifting a product that is Made in India.
Made in India – the label – fills us with pride and joy!
Flaunt Indian art and culture
Gifting Indian products gives you an added advantage of using our rich folk art, craft and design sensibilities to enhance any product and make it look stunningly Indian and very innovative. Now this is an advantage that we have over any other country in the whole world, why wouldn’t you use it?
So this season, before you indulge in the plethora of gifting ideas out there, be conscious about choosing an Indian product for the above reasons and more. Share with us more reasons why you feel we should buy local! Our editors are waiting to hear from you.
Happy shopping!
Leena Munot
Co-founder
The Giving Tree
