︎︎︎episode 65

The Holiday Trend-tacular Part 2: Holiday Gift Baskets and Catalogs Galore

“Pasteurized cheese food, sundried tomatoes, and one packet of cocoa mix:”

• The idea of filling a basket with a bunch of luxurious food gifts like wine, cheese, cakes, puddings, and pies was imported from France into the UK around the 11th century.  In 1066, William the Conqueror introduced the concept to England. Even though he was also known as “William the Bastard,” his hampers were filled with food and clothing for needy families.  And these hampers were always made of wicker, making them lightweight and easy to transport. Furthermore, it was intended to be reused by the recipient for transporting laundry, produce, etc. The “basket-ness” of gift baskets is a key component of its history. Ironically we received a wicker canoe that was about 6 feet long at one of my jobs, full of three times as many cheese breadsticks and chocolate covered shortbread.
• At the same time, wealthy aristocrats would use hampers for picnics of delicacies and seasonal delights, which probably helped contribute to the more modern idea of a “gourmet” gift basket.
• By the 17th century, many Europeans began to use stagecoaches and other wagons to get around, often taking a basket of special foods and drinks to make the trip a little bit more bearable.
• When rail travel became more commonplace, these hampers became more elaborate, including fresh items like dairy, nice-to-haves like coffee, tea, jam, and sweets. And the increased speed of rail travel (versus say, horse or wagon) meant that more perishable items could be sent to others, which began the idea of giving “special” foods as gifts.
• By the Victorian era, the Christmas hamper became “the” gift to give your maids and other servants.  These hampers contained food and drinks that the servants couldn’t normally afford. It was imperative that these baskets feel luxurious.
• The United States followed suit with this trend, calling their version “gift baskets.” The intention was the same: gifting the recipient with special seasonal items and gourmet foods.
• In World War I, family members would send similar special gift boxes/parcels to soldiers, often containing homemade food items made by family members. The Red Cross also sent special food gift boxes to soldiers. World War II would see the same practice, with simple luxuries like clean socks and new razor blades added.
• Up until this point, the majority of the items in a gift basket/hamper would be made at home or purchased locally, whether it was baked goods, cheeses, wines, or liqueurs.
• But in the 1920s, gift baskets began to turn into an industry, as more and more people were living in cities and working outside the home.  It was easier to buy your gift baskets pre-made than take the time to track down special produce and make all of those candies and cakes!

• Well, it turns out that Swiss Colony began in 1926 in neither Geneva nor Zurich nor even a bucolic Alpen village…but instead, in  Monroe, Wisconsin in the USA.  Apparently Monroe had both a strong concentration of Swiss immigrants and a history of making a lot of cheese. Ray Kubly was a senior at the University of Wisconsin that year.  And one of his school projects was considering the pros and cons of creating a business selling Wisconsin cheese via mail order.  Now, it was no coincidence that Ray had cheese on his mind because (according to the Swiss Colony website), Ray’s hometown was “the unofficial cheese capital of the biggest cheese-producing state in the nation.” Cheese was pretty much in his blood (which is a gross mental picture, for sure). 

• Well, after he graduated, Ray just couldn’t stop thinking about this cheese mail order business. So he decided to go for it. And per Swiss Colony legend:
• “He mailed out handbills, which he himself designed and stamped, that advertised cuts of Wisconsin-made bulk cheeses for the upcoming holidays. As orders came in, he cut the huge wheels of cheese into pieces by hand, then wrapped and shipped them. In his first year of business, he sold all 50 packages of cheese that he had prepared.”

• By 1941 (15 years later), Swiss Colony had 100 seasonal employees (because the focus was on holiday food gifting).  And customers included Eleanor Roosevelt, Jimmy Stewart, Ginger Rogers, Ronald Reagan, and many other celebrities who loved giving cheese as a gift. Just a few years later, the business had grown so much,  that the railroad had to send an extra boxcar to Monroe every week in December just to transport all of those holiday cheese orders! Over time, Swiss Colony added sausage, bakery products, and candies to its product offering.  These included fruit cake, torte, and petit fours.  According to their website, “The Swiss Colony has the largest hand-decorating bakery in America.”
• But here’s the thing: from 1926 to 1961, as Swiss Colony grew and grew, Ray Kubly was just doing it as a side hustle! In fact, this entire time, he held on to his day job at Borden (a dairy company) where he worked his way up to Vice President!

• Over the years, Swiss Colony opened stores, closed stores, acquired more catalogs, and now manufactures clothing, home goods, and all kinds of other gifts through its family of catalogs. It also owns its own fleet of charter jets in the midwest!  Swiss Colony (and its other brands) offer just about everything on a payment plan (not unlike AfterPay), which makes it more accessible to households with lower/middle incomes.   It doesn’t seem to be a big part of corporate gifting.

• Samuel Rosenberg owned a luxury hotel in Seattle. But in 1910, he  purchased comice pear orchards in Southern Oregon. It might seem like a random choice, but Rosenberg had sampled the pears at the previous year's Alaska–Yukon–Pacific Exposition.  These orchards dated back to the 1800s and the pears were particularly delightful.
• In 1914, his sons Harry and David Rosenberg took over the operations of the orchard. They renamed the pears “Royal Riviera” and began selling them to European customers as a luxury item.  But the Great Depression forced them to pivot to selling to US customers, and by 1934, they were selling them via mail order, taking out ads in Fortune, National Geographic, and the New York Times.  Soon they began offering “box of the month” subscriptions. These were definitely a luxury offering for the well-heeled customer. Soon they introduced gift baskets and their signature “Tower of Treats” which included nuts, chocolates, and of course, pears. Over time, they acquired a baking company and a citrus company, rounding out their offering. 
• In the 80s, Harry and David was purchased by Nabisco and then were sold a few more times over the years, ultimately ending up in the hands of 1-800-Flowers in 2012.
• Harry & David remains a bit more luxurious (I mean, the pears are wrapped in gold foil)!
• Much like Swiss Colony (and all of these gift basket companies) the vast majority of sales happen during the holiday season.

• Hamilton House
• Ministry of Snacks
• Sonoma Jacks
• Queen’s Delight
• Lots of things that sound Italian or French