Food as a Promotional Gift: Advantages and Disadvantages

Sweet cookies, homemade salami, delicious organic spreads… Who wouldn’t want a delicious gift, especially during the holidays that are inevitably approaching! I know that I personally would be extremely excited about the package of yummy goodies and I am sure the same is true for the vast majority of consumers. Nevertheless, many people would rather receive a woolen hat or a thermos instead of promotional snacks as their holiday gift. So, let’s get down to explaining why recipients sometimes refuse food as a promotional gift or even throw it away!

Allergies

Allergies to nuts, dairy products, chocolate, and gluten can nullify a wide range of common food gifts, including sweets and cookies commonly used for holiday gifts. Those with the worst allergies can experience a serious, even deadly reaction due to unconsciously eating the wrong things. Since it is, so to speak, impossible to know which of the customers deals with sensitivity to certain food products, it is difficult to give such people an alternative gift. What’s worse is that a lot of people aren’t actually aware that they’re allergic to certain foods!

Diets

It is quite common for people to indulge in a huge amount of sweets and other goodies during the holidays and then make a New Year’s vow to get rid of the extra pounds. Therefore, your delicious gift may roam straight into the trash, especially if the customer receives it after the New Year. You can also avoid this by surprising your gift recipients with a healthy version of classic holiday goodies, thus making sure they don’t feel too guilty while enjoying their sweets.

Philosophy

This group would include those who lead a vegetarian, vegan, organic, environmentally friendly or socially responsible lifestyle. Those who advocate a healthy and socially responsible lifestyle will stick to their philosophy and may even look at you and your business differently if you surprise them with vegan and locally produced snacks. And why shouldn’t that be something you do regardless? This way you can kill two flies with one stone – satisfy all your customers and at the same time take care of the well-being of the planet.

Religion

Many communities renounce certain food products on the basis of religion. For example, members of Islam would not accept products containing pork or alcohol as a gift. They will also reject lamb, beef, goat and chicken in case the animal was not killed by a Muslim who had previously performed a prayer. Jewish people will also not accept certain foods, especially pork, shellfish, and combinations of meat and dairy. Of course, there are other religious restrictions, and it will be difficult to follow each one.

Shelf Life

Many promotional food gifts have a shelf life of about 3 to 6 months if stored properly and then need to be discarded. For some, however, the shelf life may expire in just a few days! Other food items may require special care without which they will spoil. Therefore, before actually buying promotional products from the distributor, always check the expiration date of the purchased food and discard it in case of expiration.

Food as a promotional gift: yes or no?

If you are firmly committed to giving out food during the holidays, you are left with only one option: you need to find out the allergies, diseases, religion, and the philosophy of your customers. One way of doing this completely unobtrusively is to send out surveys to profile the customer base. Only then will you be able to make sure when food is appropriate as a promotional gift and when it is not. Giving the wrong kind of food can ultimately also harm a company’s brand. Alternatively, you can go for one of the following two options:

Classic Promotional Gifts

Choosing non-food gifts is a much safer alternative for the aforementioned groups of customers who face serious allergies on a day-to-day basis or live a different lifestyle than others. The good side of classic gifts is that there are countless options to choose from, so you can be sure to find something for just about everyone.

Let the Clients Decide for Themselves

When it comes to promotional, business and any other gifts, gift cards and coupons are always a safe choice. You can therefore offer customers or employees a discount or a free item on their next purchase, which will convince them to continue doing business with you, and at the same time you will not be burdened with finding a suitable gift.

When Is a Food Promotional Gift Appropriate?

For groups of customers who are not sensitive to certain foods, holiday food gifts can actually be an economical choice. You can opt for one larger gift or gift basket, which you give to the whole company or an individual group of customers – they share the gift and you reduce the cost of buying and sending individual gifts.

So, there are both pros and cons to food as a promotional gift. By following all the guidelines written in today’s post, you can be much more confident in your gift! So jump into our category of organic goodies and choose your favorite snack before it’s too late to order holiday promotional gifts.