Tired of the Same Old Gift Options and Want Something Truly Special? Customised Curated Gift Boxes are the Way to Go in 2021!

Tired of the Same Old Gift Options and Want Something Truly Special? Customised Curated Gift Boxes are the Way to Go in 2021!

The act of gifting is all about giving joy to the recipient. A curated gift box provides a gifting experience that is uniquely personal. Much more personalised than an off-the-shelf gift, gift boxes are a reflection of the giftee's personality and their preferences, making it that much more special. If you're looking for aesthetically pleasing gift boxes that are filled with carefully curated products, we have just the place for you!

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Curated Boxes: Personalised Gifting at Its Best

Have you ever been stumped by the prospect of buying a gift for a family member or a good friend? We all have been there. Everything that we think of seems to be mundane or something we have already gifted them.

Curated gift boxes or subscription boxes are a fantastic solution to this dilemma. These boxes are a specially created collection of assorted products, usually themed, perfectly matched to the recipient/giftee's interests. These are a particularly great idea when you want a gift that's out of the ordinary. They also work well when you are short of time or when you feel you have no clue what to buy for someone. Curated gift boxes can be one-time buys or you can choose to get them on a recurring basis(monthly, yearly or quarterly).

Curated boxes not only make for great gifts for occasions like birthdays or anniversaries but also as just because gifts. They are also a great way to indulge yourself - get the joy of opening a box of a handpicked collection of items that you love, it could be books, skincare or even speciality food. A truly exciting concept isn't this?

Curated Box Services: Putting Together Boxes of Joy

A good curated box contains a selection of carefully and thoughtfully chosen products themed around an idea, personalised to the giftee. These pre-selected products are typically sourced from many places/brands and are then packed in a beautiful gift box. A gifting idea that not only makes the gift-giving process easier but makes the gift more thoughtful and unique!

However, the process of putting together a curated gift box is a time-consuming process and requires substantial planning and dedication. With curated gift boxes getting popular, India has several sites that now offer this service. Some are specialised on one category (eg. books) while others offer a full range from food to cosmetics. You can typically pick from available themes with the site's experts selecting the products, or you can create your own box.

Tastefully Loaded: Aesthetically Pleasing Gift Boxes You Will Love

Tastefully Loaded is a curated box service that was set up by Diksha Jhamtani who felt that there was a lack of services in India that would offer beautifully created gift boxes with a thoughtful selection of products.

At her site, customers can choose from a variety of themed boxes that feature a wonderful array of lifestyle products such as home decor, gourmet food, cosmetics, bespoke stationery. Each box contains high-quality sourced usually from local brands that fit the theme and are packed into a pretty gift box that you'll want to keep.

The site additionally offers the choice of creating gift boxes from scratch - just pick from one of the seven themes available such as travel, stationary, fashionista, cooking and Harry Potter, leave a note on the giftee's personality or interests and the experts at the site will put together an exciting box of surprises.

We explore this fascinating concept and learn about Diskha Jhamtani's journey and her inspiration to set up Tastefully Loaded, so read on.

When you open a box you get an unboxing experience. This is not a common gift box that you receive, this is something when you open, you feel happy and good about it.

Diksha Jhamtani, Founder, Tastefully Loaded

Q & A with Diksha Jhamatani: Know the Story Behind the Service

  • Q: When and how did you start this company?
  • The concept was in my mind two years ago, but the action plan was put together a year ago. I had actually made my website, but still was not ready to market it because I was also juggling my job. The pandemic had slowed down a lot of things. Events have been cancelled, and a lot of things have changed. Slowly this (the site) is picking up because we are mainly into corporate gifting and the wedding gifting although even the size of weddings has shrunk.

  • Q:Are you doing this full time then, or do you still have another job?
  • Yes, I am doing this full time.

  • Q: Why did you pick gift boxes?
  • I have a design background and love all kinds of artisanal products. I was exploring a lot of homegrown brands for handmade soaps, perfumes, planners, and designer stationery and was in love with them. Whenever I wanted to give something to my friends, I had to go through a lot of websites and a lot of markets before I found the right gifts. With these combined personal experiences, I thought that this could be a really nice business idea, one that give people things they will actually want to buy.

  • Q: Can you think of the first memorable gift box that you really enjoyed creating?
  • The most popular one for which I get many compliments is the self-care box. We design the self-care box in such a way that the products are different every month. For example, if you receive a box in a particular month, you will have particular products for that month, next month you will have different products in the same self-care box. We have a questionnaire that a customer can fill up on our website that covers their requirements, they can give their preferences, share their interests, and according to that we curate a particular self-care box for them. Every month has a colour combination, themes and personal handwritten note cards, we give them a personalised experience through self-care boxes.

  • Q: How does TL different from other gift boxes?
  • Basically, the concept and design are different. As you can see, the pictures are very different from whatever you generally see in the market. They are aesthetically designed, they are very carefully picked products. The products are also not very common, you won't get them in the market easily. We carefully source them from all over India. These artisanal products are set up very aesthetically, packed with scented fillers and handmade cards. So it makes it quite different. When you open a box you get an unboxing experience. This is not a common gift box that you receive, this is something when you open, you feel happy and good about it.

  • Q: Can you give some examples of these exciting products that you have sourced?
  • I used to go to many local farmer's markets and exhibitions where many homegrown brands participate, and these products are not marketed widely in different cities and states. I started buying them for my personal use and then for the gift boxes. For example, we have a jute bag collection which we are launching next month, these are artisanal, handcrafted products and will rarely be seen in departmental stores.

  • Q: Please describe some other things that you have put in your boxes.
  • We generally source our products from homegrown brands. These could be unique tea blends. You may have heard of the blue flower tea where the colour of the tea is blue. The flowers are blue and purple in colour. It has many natural benefits for the skin and gives you an aesthetic feeling in the box. We usually add products that look pretty in the box and provide utility to the customers.

  • Q: You also offer subscription boxes. Since you take a lot of effort in sourcing products for them, why not list these products for sale outside of the gift boxes?
  • Yes, we are in the process of adding the retail business to our website for these individual products. But right now our focus is mainly corporate clients and wedding gifting where we curate according to their budget and requirements. They give us their own theme and colour combinations and we curate products accordingly.

  • Q: Where do you get the idea to put together these boxes?
  • I trawl for inspiration everywhere starting from the environment surrounding me!

  • What are you trying to achieve through TL?
  • As of now we are focussing mainly on corporate and wedding gifts. As I mentioned, we are in the process of adding a retail section also. We get a lot of messages on our Instagram and social media pages for personal gifts. Birthdays are one of the most common occasions when people require gifts. We will be introducing certain themes for individual retail orders so that people can enjoy gifting to relatives.

  • Q: How do you ensure the quality of each box's contents?
  • We take a lot of care for the box's quality because whatever products we include in our packages we personally source them. We get the samples first, and then we use them personally. I distribute them to my friends and relatives to get feedback on the product first and then include them in the boxes.

  • Q: How do you go about sourcing products for the boxes?
  • I used to stay in Delhi and there are usually many exhibitions going on there. Right now due to the pandemic nothing is on, but I used to do a lot of networking at these events all through the year. That's how I got to know a lot of homegrown brands and would test out their products.

  • Q: How have you managed in the past few months where everything is shut?
  • I think it's challenging for everybody, for every business everywhere. We have also faced a few challenges, but still our site has picked up in the last few months.

Product Showcase: Tastefully Loaded

Tastefully Loaded's curated box service is all about personalisation so customers have a great deal of flexibility in the kind of box they need to put together. The site currently offers the service to retail customers and also as bulk orders (return gifts for occasions like weddings and baby showers, and corporates). As we mentioned earlier, the choice is a mix of lifestyle products ranging from food, home decor, fashion accessories, spa essentials and even stationeries for workspace. We profile three curated boxes available currently.

Self Care Box

The Self Care Box is all about making the person opening the box feel good. Each box usually contains a range of products designed to comfort and lift our spirits such as gourmet food, elegant art journals, premium skin and bath care products, cute fashion accessories and aesthetic stationery. The pricing for this gift box is Rs. 2,000 and you can order this box for a month, two months or three months.

The Sustainable Lifestyle Box

If you or someone you know is a strong believer in living sustainably then this eco-friendly subscription box is a amazing idea. It contains natural and organic products that promote sustainability for your everyday use. The products in the box include organic skincare, plantable stationeries, jute or bamboo clutch bags. Each box is priced at Rs. 2,000 and you can get these for up to three months.

The Home Bakers Box

The Home Bakers Box is chock full of baking-related items that will fill anyone who loves baking with joy! The box contains a selection of baking tools, accessories and cool recipes to try. So gift this to anyone or even yourself and satisfy their or your baking passion. Available for a subscription of up to three months, each box is priced at Rs. 2,000

Where Can You Find Them?

tastefullyloaded.com

Get A Glimpse into Diksha's Journey

  • Q: Tell us about some professional and personal challenges that you have faced.
  • When starting a business you know the vision you want to reach. The process is a very monotonous process, and you have to face a lot of challenges. The main issues are when you start designing your prototypes and products then start marketing them.

    When I started these curated boxes a year and a half ago, people didn't actually know what they are and I had to explain it to them. At that point of time, introducing a niche category and market it in a new way was totally a challenge because people didn't know about it. People in India want to know what value they will get from anything they are spending on. They need to see the product and gauge its value themselves and only then will they actually want to buy it.

  • Q: How did you overcome these challenges?
  • I marketed the idea by explaining a lot of concepts through my social media posts. We introduced a kind of case study example so that people could actually see what the client's requirement was and how we came up with the idea and what product we delivered to them. The visualisation part worked really well as people could see if they order a box it will look something like this. And if the visual part is good, they will go for it. We put a lot of effort to make our product look visually appealing and aesthetic.

  • Q: Has there been any interesting or difficult idea that you had to execute?
  • Every order is a new challenge. The process itself is kind of draining. If I have like 600 boxes to deliver in a particular timeline, so that becomes a very tedious process. When you source your products from different parts of the country, you have a deadline. A particular product has to reach you at a specific time. Due to this unprecedented time, the logistics are playing its part.

    It's a process and a lot of hard work is involved. When you design the product it starts with choosing the products, we give our clients a lot of options. For example, if they want five products in the box, we give them 20 options to choose from. From choosing, designing, placement and packing the product, it is a lot of hard work. It's just not like a box can be put together in a day.

Know More About Diksha and Her Future Plans

  • Q: Tell us about yourself and your background.
  • I have a design background! I studied graphic design and prior to Tastefully Loaded worked as a graphic designer. Also, I have a degree in marketing and retail - I am an MBA in marketing and retail. So before starting Tastefully Loaded, I enjoyed all my marketing classing courses, and I actually had an idea before I completed my MBA, that I want to start something of my own. So slowly, with my love for all things aesthetic, the idea came into the picture, and I started Tastefully Loaded.

  • Q: What are your own interests and how did you spend your time at home during this lockdown?
  • As I have already mentioned, I love my work, and I am a creative person. I really enjoy designing all these boxes. The design on the front cover of the box is also designed by me. I usually take care that the inserts are handwritten and the fillers we use are of best qualities, so I kept doing all of that in my lockdown time. I thought of new ideas and themes for the boxes, maybe scrolling through what could be the best possible outcomes for these designs.

  • Q: That does sound like a lot of work. Do you have a team helping you out?
  • Yes, I have a team of interns who are working virtually from different places in India.

  • Q: What other plans do you have for TL?
  • Currently, we also have introduced e-cards, digital gifts. For example, we are looking into that format where people can send gifts digitally. We are not very sure about this, we are just in the design phase of it, and we will do a market survey of what people actually want. And then we will fully customise that kind of product category.

Any Recommendations or Suggestions for Us?

  • Q: Please give our readers some tips on how to put together a good gift box.
  • The recipe for a good gift box could be based on whatever interests the recipient has. For example, if you are gifting to a friend and you know she is a travel junkie, you know that she will love all things related to travel. So you could obviously include a travel journal or the things that are required for a good journey. When that person sees such a box and the utility of each item, they will love it.

  • Fillers add to the experience. When someone opens the box they should have an experience, and feel happy as they see the different things inside. For example, it could be a handwritten note, a personalised message, or anything that could add to the receivers experience.
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