We live in a time of abundant choice that a myriad brands offer in every conceivable area you enter. From healthcare products, to grocery and apparel, and from gadgets and vacation vouchers to gourmet gifts. As a buyer, a corporate company more often than not is overwhelmed with the choices available between suppliers willing to offer the services and an ever growing internal audience and clients that are waiting to consume these goods. A very interesting gourmet line of products have been riding high on the gifting trends this season. From protein bars and flavoured granola to artisan chocolates in unusual flavours.
Having been in the gifting industry for over two decades, what I realize is that, while there is no harm in doing only gourmet gifts, the corporate company must be aware of these things that may be more of a disadvantage to them sometimes. Here are 3 challenges as I see them and alongside I have suggested how we can overcome them.
- Zero recall – The only challenge with food items is, after they feel good while eating the chocolates, protein bars or any other edible item you gift them, the whole thing is forgotten within a few days. As a corporate company the aim is to always give gifts that increase brand recall. And this is possible only when you give them a product with your logo on it and one they can hold on to for a long time.
What you can do – To the gourmet gift, add a product that they can use. It could be a signature pen, a picture frame or any other accessory that can be used long after the food items have been used. You can spend a small amount on the product and more on the food items if you wish. This will ensure continued recall which will help the brand build itself well. - Low return on investment – When you do only gourmet gifts, return on investment is extremely low, since recall is low. When recall is low, your brand does not come to their mind easily, since there is no desktop item or any item they are using which has your branding on it. This leads to low ROI automatically.
What you can do – A healthy way to get the balance would be to allocate a 60-40 kind of percentage to the gift and the food item. This will ensure you can get a few products in the hamper along with the food items you are gifting. Keeping the gift items in desktop category will give you a huge advantage – because not only will the user see it daily, but also the people who visit his office or desk will get to see the brand, increasing your visibility greatly. - Preferences – While there are plenty of options in gourmet gifting today, people’s tastes are also very varied. Opting for green hibiscus tea, flaxseed and banana granola or chilli 80% dark chocolate sounds very exotic, but may not be flavours everyone will enjoy. This increases the chances of the gift being handed down to someone else or not being used very well.
What you can do – Opt for some classic food items that are tried, tested and preferred by a larger audience. Assam tea and almond chocolates could be a good example to add in the existing hamper of exotic items, this may give a good balance and willingness to try other flavours will also go up. - Client gifting – Gourmet gifts ideally are a great option for internal gifting to teams. Since they don’t need brand recall for employees all the time as most of them already have a lot of company branded bags and stationery that they use. For external gifting to clients and associates…gifting only gourmet items is a complete no-no. Think about it? What good is your gift if it does not create brand visibility and recall?
If what you read now makes sense, do share with more gourmet gifting companies you know. This will open their minds and doors to think differently and may be even collaborate with other gifting companies to create gifts that have delicious first impressions and classy lasting impressions.
