Gift Basket Business: How to Start a Gift Basket Business

Special holidays around the world are celebrated with lots of fun fare and gifts. Operating a gift company is profitable despite being seasonal.

People love gifts and the tradition of giving has been around for hundreds of years. All you need in this business is creativity and business skills.

Gift baskets are customized to client’s tastes and suitable for most occasions. Thinking of starting an enterprise that combines your love for shopping, creativity and business then making gift baskets is your best bet.

Gift baskets are fun, functional and serve a purpose. You select the items that goes into your basket and present them in a charming way. The products include household items, materials, cards, canned food, cereal, soap and cutlery.

You need to keep your price reasonable after calculating the items in your basket. Profit is made through margins and service charge. Stores and supermarkets create their own gift baskets to cash in on this venture.

The startup capital is low and the business model accommodate home based format. There is a measure of planning, preparation and execution. Here are some ideas on stating a gift basket business service.

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Registration and Funding

The size of your enterprise dictates the amount of money you need. Startup costs include price of supplies and equipment.

Equipment needed is a computer, rent, utility bills, tax and insurance. Others are business registration, operational licenses and marketing.

List of equipment's you might need are storage shelves, work table, wrappers and nylon sealers. Other equipment's are sales tags, shopping bags, baskets and decorative material.

Fund your business from your personal savings or advance payment on contracts.

Determine your Target

Who are you going to sell your customized gift baskets?  To fully understand your customer base you need to determine who they are.

You customers are health professionals, individuals, companies, schools and small business s owners. You can go beyond holidays and celebrations to special events like birthdays, christening and anniversaries.

Your biggest markets are corporate organizations and companies.  Snagging a contract with a large company will make lots of money because they have many anniversaries and promotions.

Gift Basket Themes

The different celebrations and anniversaries dictate the theme of your basket. Some items are only appropriate for certain occasions.

 There are traditional themes like baby shower, birthdays, milestones, weddings and engagements. You can offer your customers personalized themes, gourmet packages and other assortment.

Purchase Items

Gift basket making is lucrative if you have lots of customers or supply contracts. The good aspect of the enterprise is both home based and office based.

Buy your items from wholesalers and retailers to get value. Look out for discounts, promotions to buy in bulk.

Don’t tie down your capital and source your items when you get a contract. Get your baskets from basket weavers at dozen prices. Many mega stores sell their items at wholesaler prices use them. 

Pricing

Pricing your baskets involves labor costs, price of items and transportation. Make sure your price is competitive and not too expensive.

Once you reach a moderate margin then you have priced it right. Another method is to calculate the total cost of the items in the basket and add 20%.

Marketing

Create a beautiful brochure with high quality photographs of your standard gift baskets. Your gift baskets should be cataloged into themes and occasions.

Use classified advertisement, handbills, posters and business cards to sell your service. Make mini baskets as gifts for regular customers. Start a referral program that offers commission on sales. Give free samples to corporate organizations.

Sell your gift baskets through a dedicated website or blog. On your website show the different themes of gift basket you offer.

Target corporate organizations in your area and have full/half page advertisements to attract them.

List of regular items in a standard gift basket 
Detergents   
Different kinds of soap
Shampoos
Canned food
Dairy products  
Biscuits
Chocolate
Vegetable oil
Perfumes
Body spray 
Cereal 
Wines
Plates and cups

Conclusion

Take a good inventory of your items and stock. Note that gift baskets have different prices based on the quality of items. The difficulties encountered in this business are cancelled orders, and transportation costs.

Tailor your business to your financial needs and customers.
See How to Start an Online Fruit and Vegetable Business