Branching out with bespoke hampers?

Not long after trading at the Deli in September 2006, I received requests to make hampers and by Christmas time we were inundated with orders. I also created a hamper by request from a customer who helped me gain a contract for their firm to supply their clients who purchased new apartments as a ‘new home start kit’, and so began a years contract of around 30 bespoke hampers a month bringing in extra revenue to the business.

Here are a few of the themed hampers we made to order. With Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Easter, Birthday, Organic/Fairtrade, Italian, Spanish, Scottish, French, Charity or just a bespoke gift baskets became a popular new addition to the business. These were made to measure with customers choosing all colours, materials, products and finishing touches. We also donated many beautifully tailor-made hampers for local charity events, like a red products themed basket for ‘red nose day’ or to welcome a new business to the area, like when the new HQ for Scottish Ballet opened nearby. So here below is the gallery of some of these:

Christmas baskets

Valentine basket

Valentine basket

cheese & biscuit set

Weekend Gift set

Italian Basket

Hampers

Santa’s little helpers

Just a few of the many hampers we made. Well what do you think, let us know in the comments below.

Although stumbled upon, the hamper business grew out as a natural add-on and was made easier by having a fantastic range of products already on the shelves at the Deli. It seemed a great idea and was customer generated. The demand was there for a better offering than was on the high street, it also seemed I was one of the first Deli’s in Glasgow to really make an effort and offer a wide range with seemingly unending variety of options/add-ons to make their gifts truly thoughtful for those receiving. I had hoped to possibly grow further and eventually sell it as a separate business, but unfortunately the market changed for the worse in 2008 and my ‘New home starter pack’ contract was terminated as luxuries faded and the house builder stopped building. Soon after consumer confidence was hit and the demand lessened for this type of gift. Thankfully having the Deli mean’t I didn’t have to rely heavily on that income and so I made some adjustments in stock orders. So these are images from the good times!