International Gifting

The Brief

Delivered on behalf of an events agency we had been working with for some time, who introduced us to their client and asked us to deal with them directly. A global biopharmaceutical company needed thoughtful but modest gift hampers for 10 colleagues spread across 7 European countries. The project demanded navigating a tight per-head budget, a diverse recipient list, and 7 distinct sets of international customs rules to ensure successful doorstep delivery.

Curation & Compliance

A luxury gift is only effective if it actually arrives. For this project, product curation and regulatory compliance had to be handled as a single workflow.

Curated with Care: Every hamper was built by hand using premium products from artisan producers, presented in a gift box with a bespoke branded Christmas card for each recipient. Our day to day contact was the Team Assistant, and every card carried a personal message from the Director she supports.

Compliance by Design: Alcohol can’t be imported into Turkey, and every one of the 10 gifts had to match, so we built the entire run alcohol-free from the start.

Transparent Pricing: From the outset we advised the client that international shipping costs would push the project beyond their initial per-head budget. They valued the direct communication and adjusted the budget accordingly.

Operations & Issue Resolution

International logistics need active management, especially when dealing with strict border controls.

Proactive Tracking: During the main deployment 2 consignments stopped moving. One arrived in Greece to a closed office with nobody there to receive it, and the other was held at the Turkish border for customs clearance. Neither would have moved again without someone chasing it. We managed the carriers directly, supplied airway bills and tracking to the client, and gave a clear steer on what each carrier needed to release the consignment. Every gift arrived before Christmas.

Navigating Border Controls: On a follow-up project to Portugal, local customs issued a rolling series of separate administrative demands over 10 days, raising the next requirement only once the previous one was satisfied. We managed the entire sequence of declarations, proofs of value, identification checks, and signed forms, coordinating every item through the client and recipient until it cleared.

The Outcome

Every hamper arrived before Christmas, despite a destination change mid-project. Five months later the client came back for a luxury leaving gift for a departing manager in Portugal, which was sourced from Fortnum & Mason.