Published December 2000

Regional goodies fill business-bound baskets

By Kimberly Hilden
Herald Business Journal Assistant Editor

Gift-giving in the workplace has spawned its own industry, and during the holiday season, that industry is big business.

“In the fourth quarter, we do about 70 percent of our business,” said Joanna Dittemore, owner of Everett-based Basketcases Gift Baskets & Corporate Gifts.

To handle the volume, the business adds about three part-time temporary employees to help create gift baskets for every corporate occasion, whether it’s to welcome a new hire, offer congratulations for a job well done or offer condolences.

During the holidays, a seasonal Web-based catalogue at www.basketcases-gifts.com adds to the selection with “some products that would go into people’s homes,” such as the Holiday Classic with a sugar-cookie mix for the kids, Dittemore said.

Year-round, Northwest selections with smoked salmon, chocolates, and local coffees and crackers are the most popular, Dittemore said.

“The Northwest supplies a huge amount of gourmet foods,” she said, noting sausages made in Washington, mustards made in Oregon and a variety of spiced teas, cookies and nut mixes that come from everywhere in between.

Whereas non-corporate gift baskets might include muffin or soup mixes, the key to making an enjoyable corporate gift basket is to make sure there are ready-to-eat goodies, Dittemore said.

“Most of them are being delivered to people’s offices, so we want them to have something they can eat right then,” she said.

Brian Faucher, owner of Everett Mall City Floral, agrees.

If someone comes into his shop asking for advice on a business gift basket, “we ... recommend a mixed-fruit and gourmet basket, filled with fresh fruits, chocolates, cookies, smoked salmon, cheese and crackers — something for everyone,” said Faucher, who ranks the Christmas season as the third-busiest time of the year for the floral shop, just behind Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day.

One of the most popular gift baskets at the store is the Chocolate Fantasy Gourmet Basket, said Faucher, who offers selections online at www.cityfloral.com.

“We have seen the popularity of this type of gift basket increase every year,” he said. “Chocolate seems to be a perennial favorite.”

Requesting wine in baskets also has grown in popularity, Dittemore said.

“I decided to get a liquor license last year because more and more people have requested local wines,” she said.

When sending gifts, corporate customization is another option businesses choose, Dittemore said, whether it’s to use a color scheme specific to a business, imprinting the corporate name on a ribbon or imprinting the company’s logo on cookies.

“One of my largest clients is Washington Mutual, and they will send me mugs or baseball caps or pins that have their name imprinted on that already, and I can include that in the gift,” Dittemore said.

At HeartFull of Gifts, such customization led owner Evelyn Grazini to start a line of promotional products with businesses in mind.

The year-old company sells “unique products from around the world,” including seasonal gifts and collectibles, Grazini said about the Edmonds-based business.

According to the HeartFull of Gifts Web site, www.heartfullofgifts.com, the line of promotional gifts “includes everything from pens and mugs, to elegant clocks and desk accessories with a high-tech look.”

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