Recently I visited with a gentleman who uses food gifts to promote his business on a regular basis. While a large percentage of the time, he uses the gifts to show his appreciation for new or continued business, saying “thank you” wasn’t his only reason for sending a gift of food.

Here are some other ideas for using food as a gift…

1. Introduce yourself. If you’re like me, business cards don’t always grab my attention. Letters of introduction that come across my desk don’t always get read thoroughly. But what if you were to package that same business card and introduction letter with a gift of food? Once they open up the gift and begin to sample the food you’ve shared, there’s not much else they can do but read your letter. They can’t make phone calls because it’s rude to talk with their mouth full. It’s difficult to do any computer work because they’ve got a handful of food. You’ve got yourself a “captive audience.”

2. Apologize with food. Let’s say your organization has made a mistake of some sort that has put a stress on the business relationship you’ve created with a client. In addition to your work to resolve the issue, you may want to consider sending a food gift. Recipients will appreciate the gesture…it shows them that you truly value them as a customer and that you’re sorry for whatever error has occurred. In addition, it makes a great gift because once they’re done enjoying the food, there is no constant reminder of your error. Think about it, you could send a large gift that is to be kept on a desk or a bookshelf, but then that client has a constant reminder of the time you screwed up. With food as a form of apology, people eat, they feel good…and it’s gone.

3. Generate a buzz. Where do most people find themselves at least once on any given day while at work? The breakroom. From my personal experience, whenever there is food available in the breakroom, you’ll hear people inquire “Where’s this from?” or “Ooh, who brought this in?” as they help themselves to a handful or a plateful of food. Food can get people talking. They’ll either eat their snack in the breakroom while visiting with someone else or they’ll tell others about the food that’s available. Either way, your business name is on the tip of their tongues.

When you’re looking for a gift to share with employees, clients, or vendors, there are a number of reasons you should consider giving a gift of food.

• No Size Issues: You don’t have to worry about someone’s size. Giving apparel requires quite a bit of legwork on your part. Trying to track down everyone’s shirt size can be an extreme challenge and for some, an uncomfortable situation. As a person who would be considered “big boned,” I can tell you from personal experience that it’s not enjoyable to receive a gift that doesn’t fit. With food, that concern is gone…One size fits all.
• No Gender Issues: Everybody loves food…whether you’re giving the gift to men or women, you don’t have to worry about your gift being too gender specific.
• You Can Share Food: Unless you’re doing some crazy team building exercise that may be frowned upon by your Human Resources department, it’s a whole lot easier to share a gift of food than it is to share a shirt.
• Pricepoints: There may be times when you wish to give gifts but there isn’t a great deal of money in the budget for gifting. Choosing food gifts allows you the opportunity to choose not only the product but also the size offering that fits within your budget.
• If There’s a Theme: Let’s suppose you’re having a company wide, themed event. For each event you can think of, I bet you could also figure out a way to incorporate a food gift into that theme. And it works out well because when the event is done, the food is usually gone. I think back to a project I was involved in at the turn of the century and I can’t remember every wearing my Y2K project shirt after January 1, 2000.
• Widely Accepted Practice: If you think about it, we’re programmed for food gifts. Think about the last time you moved to a new neighborhood. Did the kind, elderly woman next door bring over a pen with her name and address on it? No. Chances are…it was a pie or some homemade bread. A gift that could be and would be enjoyed by everyone.