Written by Maria Ermilinda Hayon | Read in Indonesian

Receiving gifts from spouses, families, colleagues, or friends makes people happy. So much so that we do not only convey thank-you messages, but also make a “special” post to social media, such as Instagram.

Interestingly, not only the sender, the account of the brand is also mentioned in such posts.  As a result, the post might then be reposted by the sender and the brand account that was tagged. Have you done it? 

Well, it’s true that not everybody shows off the gifts they received on social media. But it looks like there are many people who do so in this digital era. These types of post will usually depend on who the senders are. The more important or closer they are, the more likely they are to be posted.

From the brand side, usually the more well-known and the bigger the brand, the bigger the urge to post. Therefore, the bigger it is the chance to mention the brand in the post.

For brand owners, this trend is a blessing. In particular, for many brands that have entered the gifting industry. Let’s see their strategies.

Selling out thanks to the pandemic

Maybe there are plenty of brands that reap profits from the trend of showing off gifts on social media. One of them is DORE by LeTAO, a brand that offers birthday cakes and hampers. DORE said that they felt the benefit of this trend.

“It's good for my business, because the special characteristic of the gifting industry is that the marketing is done by our customers. They received the items, say thank you on social media, and the social media became a strong medium for communication. Looking at this phenomenon of giving hampers to each other, this is really good for me. And of course, it started even stronger after the pandemic,” said Riki Kono Basmeleh, owner of DORE by LeTAO and Pancake Co.

This is apparent during the period leading to important days, such as Idul Fitri, Christmas and New Year. This is because when the pandemic was at its peak, social restriction was still in place and restricted people from visiting each other in person.

In the end, the act of giving a hamper of a gift became the solution of a safe and fun way in showing care. Then, just post it on social media.

This pattern persists and became a chance for the gifting industry. Imagine this: one person bought the gifts then gave them to many people (family or friends)--it can be an automatic promotion to 5 or even 10 people at once. Effective, efficient and free!

“Yes, my sales have increased. As for the number of customers, honestly I don’t know exactly how much. But I would say it's double, maybe. However, the most significant is online. So now my online sales can be ten times more than before. But a lot of this comes from my team’s effort as well. Not just the trend. We actually prepared before. So when the pandemic hits, our team can move swiftly,” said Riki.

Thegifthings, a brand specialising in providing hampers ranging from food items to home & living products, gift sets and holiday hampers, also saw that the gift-giving phenomenon have become a culture in the past few years. 

This is said by Vindy Kusuma, founder and owner of Thegifthings. With this trend, every mention of the brand becomes a marketing benefit for her. Especially with the unwritten culture of exchanging gifts, especially during holidays.

“The rising trend of hampers outside holidays was felt more significantly, especially in 2021. When many corporate events, weddings, or other offline activities were impossible to be held because of the pandemic, they usually send hampers. Meanwhile, hampers for holidays are stable,” said Vindy.

Unique packaging to be chosen

Even if hampers-giving increases during the pandemic, the packaging remains an important point. The unique ones are more likely to be chosen.

“Hampers are basically a gifting box, so we need to think outside the box and inside, and each product has their own packaging. It's a lot of coordination, how is the design, the size. Size matters when we think about inventory,” said Riki.

Packaging will adapt with market trends. Yes, trying to adapt but on the other hand still trying to showcase the brand's characteristics.

Brands in the gifting industry are striving to balance between what is popular or what is viral in the market and at the same time trying not to lose their identity. Because, again, if the hampers are monotone and available everywhere, what is special about it? This is the biggest challenge for those in the gifting business.

DORE has two strategies: making products with meaning packaged in a premium packaging.

“Not only hampers but also birthday cakes. All of our products always have a story. We are a 7-year-old business, and we are trying to create a story about the product. What makes us special? DORE is part of our cheese cake. We are part of a Japanese partnership because we collaborate with LeTAO from Japan. I myself am half Japanese. The packaging is also done in a more exclusive, premium way. Those are the things that we are trying in order to be different from other people,” said Riki.

“How to pack it attractively; trying so hard, indeed. Looking both ways, learning from other people, we are trying to look for new ideas. And we do have a department focusing on new products. So that's something that they are trying to invent,” he explained.

Thegifthings also strives to always develop a product that is unique and different from others by trying to present products that are useful for the buyers as well as the recipients.

“We always browse ideas from platforms like Pinterest, and are sensitive towards foreign trends, especially South Korean design aesthetics which is viral among Indonesian netizens. We usually combine existing trends with local resources to support local production,” said Vindy.

“For signature packaging, we always prioritise reusable but beautiful and presentable packaging. Therefore, we often produce exclusive tote bags or leather storage boxes which can be reused. However, it is undeniable that there are still demands for hard boxes and we still keep them as an option,” she added.

How about the price?

The price of Thegifthings products ranges from Rp18,000 to Rp1,500,000, while prices at DORE start from hundreds of thousands of rupiahs because they have an exclusive and premium concept. Yes, it is made according to the target market of each brand.

“And again, pricing is just price. So we are to create value around the product,” said Riki.

If we are satisfied with the product, the price sometimes is no longer an issue. Also, this can be a positive thing because it can boost local businesses.

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