Will you offer private brand gift baskets during the winter holidays?

Now that Thanksgiving is behind us, it always amazes me how quickly some people put up their winter holiday decorations and start buying presents, taking advantage of Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals. I’m typically much less organized in my approach to Christmas shopping for my family and friends. This year, though, I’m starting early with one gift idea.

Every year, close friends invite my family over for a Christmas Eve lunch to which I usually bring a food gift of some sort. My goal for this year is to create a gift basket entirely of private brand products from a variety of retailers, including those in other states like H-E-B that will ship shelf-stable items across the country.

I haven’t decided on the details yet, but a bottle of red and a bottle of white wine, cheese, crackers, cookies, sausage, uniquely flavored snacks and condiments, and dog treats will likely be among the basket’s components. In the Chicago area, I’m fortunate to have easy access to the private brands offered by Albertsons Cos. (through Jewel-Osco), The Kroger Co. (through Mariano’s), Aldi, Walmart, Target, Sam’s Club, Costco, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods Market, 7-Eleven, Walgreens, CVS and more.

Because I’m not tied to one retailer, I can be especially eclectic in my gift assortment. Individual retailers, though, have the potential to wow their customers with creative, attractive gift baskets that feature high-quality, intriguingly packaged and festive seasonal store brand products sold by their particular banner or chain.

Retailers could also let shoppers customize their own gift baskets for loved ones and friends, helping with the arrangement of items and the wrapping of the baskets as needed. Leveraging a concept identified and championed by Daymon, this could be a fun co-creation activity for customers of all ages, one that would likely generate buzz on social media.

Holiday gift baskets containing store brand items would mean more value for the money for customers and more margin for retailers. And those who receive the baskets would come away with a stronger appreciation of the uniqueness and quality of a retailer’s brands.