Irish Hampers: Self Perception and Reality at Christmas Time

What sort of hamper or gift basket are you sending this Christmas?

A quick glance around the internet can be very revealing in terms of the marketing straplines of the Irish Hamper companies at Christmas time.
There are claims of being the most luxurious, there is a claim to be Ireland's Largest Hamper Company. Others suggest they are the cheapest and offer free delivery. However, generally the market revolves around high quality gourmet food assembled together offered at a number of price points.

Years ago there was a company called Gourmet Ireland, which capitalised on the Paul Rankin name. Their food was branded Gourmet Ireland and they used local Irish producers. Unfortunately they overestimated the size of the market and exited. I hasten to add that unlike the ridiculous situation with Farepak Hampers in England that Gourmet Ireland did not let any of their customers down.

Retail stores have a propensity towards offering a lot of alcohol without much food since it is easier to manage. Some of the major players such as Fortnum and Masons or Harrods obviously can capitalise on their brand identity. With them the message you are sending is quality and history.

However with a BasketsGalore Hamper the claim is that your hamper or Basket will be "The Best." Quite an audacious claim, but backed up by a welter of testimonials. Irish Gourmet is a subsidiary of the Basketsgalore Group and the emphasis on Irish food is totally unsurpassed anywhere on the island.

This Christmas Irish Gourmet hampers are almost exclusively Irish in origin. The quality of the producers is exceptional. So this Christmas we want all our customers to ask one simple question of the people that they send a Christmas Hamper or Gift Basket to this Christmas.
Was it the best Christmas Hamper they have ever received?
Let me know!

The Irish Gourmet