A Guide to Buying Gifts for Foodies: Employee Edition
Consumable gifts are popular options for corporate employees and clients, but choosing the perfect food or beverage for a large number of people can get a bit tricky. In this gift guide, we’ll offer our best tips for buying gifts for foodies, and then round up nine of our favorite corporate food and beverage gifts to make it easy for you to find the perfect options for your company.
Tips for Buying Gifts for Foodie Employees
Buying consumable gifts for anyone, especially bulk gifts for employees, requires special consideration. Read on to discover our top suggestions for buying gifts for the foodies in your life or company:
Know their food allergies.
This is probably the most important tip for giving any kind of consumable gift to any recipients. Food allergies can range from unpleasant to deadly and ensure that the recipients can’t enjoy your gift at all. Source a list of recipients’ allergies ahead of time and use them to guide your selection. If you are sending a large amount of bulk gifts and simply can’t know everyone’s allergies, then go with a mix of treats and try to avoid very common triggers such as peanuts.
Understand dietary restrictions.
Not all food restrictions are linked to diet. Certain ethnic and religious groups avoid certain kinds of food (for instance, keeping kosher or halal), as do people practicing a vegetarian, vegan, or pescatarian diet. Some people also choose to avoid alcohol for personal reasons. Just like with food allergies, you should know any dietary restrictions that your recipients follow and give items accordingly. Don’t send a set of burger mixes to a vegan or commit another similar faux pas.
When in doubt, choose a non-consumable item.
Sometimes, you just can’t find one food or beverage gift, or even several, that can satisfy all the allergies and dietary restrictions on your list. In that case, it might be smart to choose a cooking gift that isn’t consumable, such as a set of wine glasses or a snack serving tray. These objects will last for many years to come and will stand out from the usual array of alcohol, chocolate, and snacks that often wind up in corporate gift boxes.
Be familiar with the office culture.
In some offices, sending alcohol or alcohol-related gifts is appreciated or even expected. But in more formal, conservative offices, alcohol might be looked down upon as another faux pas. When choosing consumable gifts for the office, keep the culture in mind and err on the side of caution if you are in doubt about gifts for cocktail lovers. There are plenty of excellent gifts for foodies that don’t involve alcohol!
Choose something unique.
Consumables such as fruits and beverages are extremely popular options for corporate gifts — which means that it’s possible to send very similar or even identical gifts to someone else if you don’t get creative. Go beyond the typical fruit-and-chocolate basket with something a little more unique. Tailor it to the recipients’ interests or choose a consumable that is linked to your company or location (like the Wisconsin snack set we list below). Consider choosing branded packaging if it’s in your budget to add that extra special touch.
Confirm shipping date and packaging.
Some kinds of foods are prone to getting crushed in transit, while any glass vessels such as custom wine glasses are vulnerable to breakage as well. Shipping food during very hot or very cold weather can also cause the items to melt, freeze, or crack. Some foods, especially fresh ones, can bruise or expire if transit takes too long. Before placing your order, confirm both the protective package as well as the arrive date to make sure that your foodie gifts will arrive intact.
Best Gifts for Foodies
Now that we’ve covered our best gifting tips for foodie employees, it’s time to dive into our top recommendations for specific ideas. Here are our top suggestions for corporate gifts and gift sets for foodie employees:
Batch & Bodega Slow + Low Gift Set
If you have a griller or a meat lover on your recipient list, they are sure to love this gift set, which features a spices and rubs, for the best bbq experience. The set also comes with a grill cleaner and bag with a generous logo area on the wood tag to prominently display your branding.
Picnic Time Acacia Serving Ladder
Sometimes, you want to give a foodie gift, but you aren’t sure what exact cuisines they prefer, and you’re not sure if they drink alcohol either. This acacia 3 tier serving ladder is perfect for snacks and desserts.
It’s three tiers is perfect for allowing guests to sample the snacks and treats while saving precious room with its vertical display. This serving ladder also makes an excellent addition to other food-related gift sets, such as the snack sampler we’ll talk about next.
A Taste of Wisconsin Snack Set
Wisconsin is renowned for its fantastic cheeses, which sets the theme for this gift set. A half-pound block of Private Stock Mild Cheddar goes perfectly with a five-ounce stick of tangy Beef Summer Sausage and a tasty box of Water Crackers — the ideal snacking trio.
To round out the gift set, we also add a heavy-duty bamboo chopping block that will be fire-branded with your logo for a truly unforgettable impression. We also include a cheese paring knife for a truly comprehensive set. This is a great gift on its own and can also be paired with other items in our store, such as the Symphony Serving Tray, for a more robust gift.
Let’s Get Saucy Italian Gourmet Kit
This kit includes everything that your recipients need to make a delicious Italian meal, all packed together in a gift box for a nice presentation. The gift set includes one 15.5 oz. bottle Rao’s Marinara Sauce, two 16 oz. packages of Garofalo Penne Mezzani Rigate, and one 4.4 oz. package of Granforno Grissini Plain Breadsticks.
The full-color label inside will prominently display your company branding so the recipient knows who sent it to them. Please note that the kit products may change, subject to product availability; always feel free to contact us to confirm if you’d like to order this gift for your recipients!
4-Piece Studio Cuisine™ Starter Utensils Gift Set
Similar to the serving tray, this set of four utensils is the perfect gift for a foodie when you don’t want to give them food or beverages. The set comes with a silicone slotted turner, silicone turner, silicone basting spoon, and silicone spatula. The silicone heads are safe for use with all cookware; they won’t scratch stainless steel, cast iron, enamel, and other coatings.
The handles feature a classy faux wood pattern that is laser engraved with your logo, so the recipients will see it every time they reach for these helpful utensils. The entire utensil is heat resistant up to 450 degrees Fahrenheit, and they are dishwasher safe for easy cleaning. The set comes in a black gift box that is also engraved with your logo for a tasteful presentation.
Stemless Red Wine Glass Set
Wine drinkers can always use another set of wine glasses — especially stemless ones, which are less prone to breakage. This set features four clear stemless red wine glasses with a generous 15 ounce capacity — more than enough to give a full pour room to breathe.
Your logo will be clearly printed on the side of the glass, and this custom wine glass can support up to four different colors for truly eye-catching branding. With a large quantity and low pricing, this is a perfect bulk gift if you have dozens or hundreds of recipients that you need to procure gifts for at an affordable cost. Not to mention that your recipient will be sure to treasure these glasses for a long time!
Wine Down Igloo® Daytripper Cooler
If you are searching for a wine-themed gift set, look no further than the Wine Down Igloo® Daytripper Cooler set. The Igloo® Cooler is made of 600D heather polyester fabric that will hold up well to years of use. The interior is leak resistant and antimicrobial and can hold up to eight cans or two wine bottles.
The dual carry handles also feature a padded handle wrap for added comfort and security. The set comes with a Lush Sangria Wine Mix that makes a tasty simple syrup that will elevate a basic Sangria into a homemade craft cocktail. The gift also comes with Lark Tuscan Pizzetta Savory Biscuits and Long Grove Berry Nut Mix so your recipients can snack on them while they drink their Sangria cocktails.
Custom Beer Bottle and Snack Gift Set
A must for beer lovers, the hallmark of this set is an extra-large 22 oz. beer bottle engraved with your company logo on the front. (For reference, standard U.S. beer bottles are usually 12 oz., so about twice that.) The set comes with two tasty snacks that go perfectly with beer — peanuts and pretzels — and it all comes in a slide-top wooden box that also features your logo engraved on the lid.
To complete the presentation (and keep the beer safe in transit), the box is stuffed with excelsior wood shavings. The included beer is generic, but name brands are absolutely available; contact us today if you have a specific beer brand in mind.
W&P Cocktail Canteen
If your recipients prefer cocktails to wine or beer, then consider the W&P Cocktail Canteen set for a truly unique gift. As the name implies, this insulated cocktail shaker set can be used at home or on the go. It comes with a collapsible jigger/shot glass, a telescoping bar spoon, a mini funnel, a TSA-compliant glass dropper bottle and a combo peeler/zester.
All these bar tools pack down into the canteen itself for a very portable cocktail kit that can be taken on the road or in the air. Your company logo will be printed on the front of the canteen for a truly memorable gift for cocktail lovers that your recipient is sure to love.
Ready to place your order, or just looking to get an initial quote? Either way, the iPromo customer service staff is ready to help! Contact us today to find the perfect promotional gifts for your company and clients, whether it’s food and beverage or something else entirely — you’re sure to find something they’ll love in iPromo’s wide selection.
Image Credits
True Touch Lifestyle/Shutterstock.com
Soloviova Liudmyla/Shutterstock.com
Zainagatdinov Marat/Shutterstock.com
A.Aruno/Shutterstock.com