Exotic Treats to Light up your Taste-Buds This Diwali

Diwali is just round the corner, and it is time to leave all worries behind and have a blast. With everything that’s happening in the world, it is even more important to welcome hope and brightness with open arms. Though Diwali may be slightly different this time, we can still dress up in new clothes, light up our houses as well as pray and bless. More importantly, it is time to make your dear ones smile with gifts of love and happiness.

This year, shopping is likely to be slightly different as well. According to Forrester, online sales are expected to be nearly $6.5 billion, a 34% increase as compared to the previous year. The report said the number of online shoppers will be around 60 million.

This spike in numbers is largely because people are still worried about shopping in physical stores and malls. With this in mind, it is understandable that gifting solutions can take up a good chunk of online shopping this festive season. From apparel to electronics gifting options are innumerable. Customized items, like always, are very popular this season as well.

Among all gifting options, however, one item that has always been in vogue during the festive season is sweets!

Catering to Indian culture and its inherent sweet-tooth, chocolates and mithai are still the go-to gift for many. Not surprisingly, the revenue of the Indian confectionery segment is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.7% for the period of 2019-2023.

Sweets are also a major part of Diwali festivities in India. Besides, even if gourmet chocolates, laddoos and kaju-katlis are your preference, there are some truly innovative choices in the market today.

Exotic Sweets

Everyone is craving fusion cuisine these days, and the same goes for sweets as well. The taste of a different culture but still appeasing the Indian palate, these sweets and desserts can make for some pretty thoughtful gifts.

Bakalwa

Exotic Turkish delights, baklavas, kiwi and avocado barfis, and chocolate gujiyas are just some of the shelf-stable sweets you can go for. Other sweets in trend are the likes of sweet ravioli with rabri, gulab-jamum cake, fruit-flavored mishti doi, apple jalebis, cupcakes and muffins, parfaits with local flavors and many more. These are sure to leave the receiver craving for more. However, some of them might not be shelf-stable and in such case you may need to find options that can be transported without fear of them spoiling.

Coffee & Cookies

It’s a buyer’s market if you are looking at cookies and shortbread packs. Always a favorite among kids and adults, cookies are an irresistible treat. Create a gift kit with several flavors of cookies, add in a jar of premium quality coffee beans and you have yourself a perfect gift kit.

Diwali Gifting Trends

You can opt for a wide range of flavors from cranberry to choco-filled biscuits to the all-time favorite butter shortbread. A pack of instant hot chocolate mix or flavored teas also go well here.

Dry-Fruits & Nuts

Perfect for shipping across long distances and one of the healthiest edible-gifting choices, dry-fruit and nut baskets can be a really convenient yet thoughtful gift. Naturally dried fruits are rich in micro-nutrients and antioxidants and can be energy-filled snacks.

Diwali Gifting Trends

These days candied fruits have become a preferred option as well. Kiwi, plums, apricots, bananas, all kinds of berries, mangoes, jackfruits and even dragon-fruit are available in their dehydrated form today. Nuts, roasted or otherwise, are delicious treats for adults and children alike. You can’t miss with a gift of dry-fruits and nuts.

Chocolates

Personalized chocolate boxes are the perfect gift for most occasions. It can be your family, friends, clients or employees, the combination of chocolate goodness merged with thoughtful personalization is definitely going to make an impression.

Diwali Gifting Trends

Among this, dark-chocolate truffles are a sensational choice. These days you have umpteen choices right from a high-end selection of international brands or a mixed array of homemade chocolates. You may also like to look at liquor-filled chocolates and scotch caramels, if you are so inclined, rich in flavor and feel, they make for wonderful gifts this season.

Juices & Drinks

A pack of fresh juice mixes, squashes, jams, and jellies always make for tasty gifts. You can also pick some unique blends of organic fruit juice powders and instant flavored drinks to create a delicious yet healthy hamper. You can also choose from a number of yummy protein shake powders and energy drinks available in the market.

Diwali Gifting Trends

If you want to go for a celebratory feel, you can also gift a good bottle of wine or champagne. Combine this with a set of glasses, expensive crystal or just quality wine-glasses and voila, you have a tasteful festive gift.

Immunity Wellness

Immunity-boosting food hampers are becoming quite popular and can be a great way to show that you care. Besides, nuts and seeds, sugar-free sweets, spice-infused dark chocolates, herbal teas, energy bars and trail mixes could all be a part of this kit.

If you want to go for a sweet and savory mix, roasted snacks, protein-rich munchies are the way to go. Fermented foods and pickles like kimchi, sauerkraut, vinegar-based pickles and cucumbers too are becoming quite popular for their health benefits.

Packaging

Whatever the gift might be, packaging plays an important role in making it interesting. Instead of plastic, go for a more eco-friendly packaging. Cute satin bags are chic way to pack nuts and crackers or large cookies. You even have the option of going for the much-in-vogue mason glass jars that are durable and come in many shapes and sizes. They are perfect for cookies, chocolates or pickles and can also be personalized using specially made stickers. You can go for beautiful hand-crafted recyclable boxes for sweets and chocolates.

The most important part of gifting is customization of the pack, this just goes to increase the overall recall value of a good gift. Psychological effect of a gift cannot be dismissed as it creates the first impression on the receivers mind. Personalized

hampers make the receiver feel special and can add the oomph factor to your gifts this festive season.

Still confused about what you can gift your employees, clients or family this festive season? Write to us for an unparalleled range of gifting and kitting options.

Although, you may not be able to have big get together or even meet up with your family and friends this year, it is still a time to celebrate and embrace the simplest joys of life. Virtual meet-ups are the way to go, and they can be just as fun. Decorate your houses, light up the diyas, share sweets and blessings, and make this the best Diwali ever. Send a gifts all around and spread the cheer.

Check out merchandise at Hue for wide range of gifting options. We also offer customization services as well.

8 Innovative Gifting Trends for Diwali 2020

This year, sentiment around the festival of Diwali might seem bleak, but general surveys say otherwise. This could be attributed to the fact that despite the economic difficulties that people have had to face, most are optimistic that the festival of lights will bring with it a positive streak of changes.

According to TRA Research, 65% consumers pointed towards a positive buying sentiment for Diwali 2020. It noted that besides apparel, furniture, jewellery, and television are some of the high-priority items that shoppers are looking for. Interestingly, similar trends are seen in India’s gifting market, too, as a ReportLinker survey suggests. The country’s gifting market is projected to improve from an estimated $119 million in 2019 to $159 million by 2025. Along with the personal gifting market corporate gifting too, is expected to see a significant uptick during the coming months.

With social distancing in place and a strong work-from-home environment having been built, giving gifts to your loved ones, clients and employees has become the most effective way to express appreciation and thank them for the support.

With this in mind, it becomes very important to understand the gifting trends that are top-of-mind today. With the situation globally, the way that it is, hampers and gift-packs have become one of the most trending items today. Instead of sending just a single item as a gift, people prefer to share a range of choices for the individual.

Here are some gifting kits and options you could be looking at for this festive season.

Fun & Festivities Gift Hamper

It’s a time to celebrate with family and friends, and while people cannot indulge in big parties, connecting virtually is a must. Unwrapping gifts as you video call the gift giver is definitely fun. Popular gift hampers to incite family bonding time indoor games like jenga, jigsaw puzzles. Monopoly and ludo also make for great multiple player games that will please kids and adults alike.

Festive Gifts

If you wish to go the traditional way, a box of different scented candles, decorative lamps and lights that can include personalized glow-lights also makes for a warm gift. Today one can find aromatic candles in all flavours and wax melts in different shapes and colours. These can be an elegant and chic addition to any home decor.

And who can forget the all-time favourite of any gift hamper – chocolates and sweets. One thing that the children look forward to during any festival are the sweets that come with it. Premium quality chocolates, cookies, coffee and chocolate drink mixes, personalized and wrapped in a chic package can definitely be a thoughtful and delicious gift.

Eco Products

A rapidly rising trend among businesses, green gifting is definitely going to be big during the 2020 gifting season. As emphasis on sustainable resources grows, companies are shifting to eco-products in an attempt to show their commitment to this cause.

 Eco-products can range from stationery, bags and lap-top sleeves to apparel. Now with large-scale innovation, chic items like bamboo speakers and cutlery are also available. Creating an eco-friendly gifting hamper can be a great way to say how much you care about the individual, as well as the environment.

Wellness Hamper

A box of healthy goodies like immunity boosting foods, roasted and high-protein snacks and drink mixes, some dried fruits and nutrition-rich nuts are an interesting way to go. One can also opt for local sweet shops that are offering high-end, low-sugar, spiced and immunity building foods. Korean style fermented foods like kimchi and sauerkraut are also options you can consider.

Wellness Kit

Another option can be to have a whole safety kit that will include hand-wash, sanitizer, a set of masks and gloves, an anti-Covid key, and a face shield. This can give a strong message that you as an individual or an organization care immensely about the safety and well-being of the recipient.

One thing that this pandemic has brought into focus is the importance of health. A gift that focuses on the well-being of the recipient will give a message that you are supporting them and that you care.

Digital Gifts

With limited travel and an increasingly work-from-home culture, digital gifts are in vogue. Digital gift cards are very much welcome. As a Qwikcilver Solutions survey in 2019 noted that 93% of Indians prefer sending/receiving e-gift cards as compared to physical cards. Subscriptions to streaming apps like Netflix and gaming apps is definitely a trend.

Digital Gifts

Also popular are subscriptions to online learn-a-skill classes, whether it is a musical instrument, photography or cooking. Gifting pre-paid vouchers to fitness sessions like yoga, zumba and pilates or online stores is also a popular gifting trend. Having a few of these in your gift pack can definitely send a message that you are keeping up with the times.

Goodluck Kit

Who doesn’t appreciate a little extra good luck in their lives? Especially this Diwali, where it is important to raise everyone’s spirits, gifts to bestow luck upon the recipients are an amazing option. It is believed that good luck charms should be gifted and not purchased.

Goodluck Kit

It could be a gift related to Feng Shui or Vastu Shastra, sharing these charms benefits both, the giver and the recipient. Things like auspicious chimes, lucky bamboo stalks, laughing Buddha, elephant figurines with their trunks raised and tribute horses are popular choices. You can also add a box of fortune cookies to sweeten the deal.

Fitness Pack

With an increased focus on health, fitness related gifts are amazing choices. It has been seen that the lockdown has pushed people to make many positive lifestyle changes. More meals are being prepared at home and there is an increased awareness about hygiene.

Fitness Kit

 Many have taken up exercising at home, be it in the form of yoga or traditional weights. For such individuals, track suits, cap, smart fitness watches, activity trackers are all great choices of gifts.

WFH Care Kit

Where Covid-19 forced companies to adjust to working remotely, the positive reflection to this style of working is undeniable. A new SAP Concur study shows, 88% percent of the workforce in India want the flexibility of working from home. Furthermore, 69% believe this way of working has improved their productivity. Working remotely has a good scope of becoming the new normal in India.

Work from home Kit

With this in mind, companies can show their support for employees’ hard-work by offering things that can streamline their WFH set up. Electronics like the headphones, earbuds, power banks, Bluetooth speakers are necessary and high-value products. Phone accessories like silicone wallets and butterfly stands and customized pop-sockets are great way to go.

Another way to go is a gift box of desk essential stationery, which can include premium range of pens, diaries and others. One can also opt for eco-products here.

Travel Pack

Although travel is limited in these times, commuting for work and leisure will always be necessary. A gift package of essential travel products will be a functional choice. Be it a kit of personalized toiletries or a neck pillow, travel essentials continue to be a great gifting option.

Traveller Kit

A survey by Global Market Insights Inc. estimates 29% annual growth rate by 2025 in the that drinkware market size, standing at around US $35 billion. As the stress on maintaining a high standard of hygiene increases, people’s preference for portable drinkware to has increased. Over and above this, the gift pack can include backpacks, laptop sleeves and bags among other things.

Whether you decide to gift a single item or make it into a hamper with several things, a personalized touch will definitely warm the hearts of the recipient. At Hue, we provide you multiple branding options on the products of your choosing over and above doorstep delivery all across India. Check out some of our offerings here. To get quotes, get in touch!