How many of us really want to shop local?

According to market research company “Behaviour and Attitudes” in a survey titled “2021 Sign of the Times, it became apparent that across all age groups over half of consumers are planning to shop local for the foreseeable future (The Irish Times, 2021). Shopping local has become more popular due to shopper safety, shopper convenience and wanting to support our own high-streets. At Baskets Galore we have been shopping local from small artisan Irish suppliers for many years now, but we felt now is the time more than ever to showcase the produce they have on offer by combining them together to create a perfectly rounded gift.

(source: The Irish Times, 2021)

 

 

We have select produce from 15 out of 32 counties across Ireland, we ensured that we selected products from small artisan producers who place an emphasis on quality. We are extremely pleased to be supporting small businesses across half of Ireland who have products that meet the needs of our Irish hampers. Being a family business ourselves, we often try to purchase from other family businesses with an interesting story which led them to become business owners.

 

Now is the time for us to call upon our customers, our supporters and our friends for help. As we continue along this blog post we will disclose how you can help us and add input into our company.

 

*We supply produce from counties across Ireland which are colour coded.

 

In particular, we have products in our Emerald Irish Hampers from County Armagh, Antrim, Cork, Donegal, Down, Dublin, Galway, Kerry, Kildare, Laois, Limerick, Offaly, Tipperary, and Waterford. Some of the businesses we work alongside are Skelligs, Kilbeggan, Foods of Athenry, Crossogue, Bandon Vale and more. To give you an insight into some of the interesting companies we work alongside we will give you some background information below.

 

Kilbeggan

 

Kilbeggan Organic Foods are a family owned company that we are very proud to purchase from. Since 1844 they have grown oats on their own farm in the heart of Ireland, which they then use to hand-make their cookies, meaning that all the labour and profits stays local to their economy. Also, they are delicious!

 

Forest Feast

 

Started in 1996 as a family business, Forest Feast have travelled the world to source sustainable, tasty treats to bring back to Ireland. In our hampers you will find a range of their nuts, and chocolate enrobed mango. One of our customers even mentioned in a review “my friend who received the hamper told me that the products in the basket are really tasty, especially the mango covered with chocolate”.

SD Bell

 

If you’d like to try Ireland’s oldest independent tea blender and coffee roaster, look no further than one our of Emerald hampers to sample them in. For 125 years SD Bell’s have been creating a stir with their tea and coffee, four generations later they are still successfully creating the recognisable taste of their Belfast tea and coffee.

 

Of course we could go on forever celebrating how great our suppliers are, but when we compile the products together into a gift where the flavours complement each other, that’s when a perfect gift is created. As mentioned by Susanne in a review, “This basket was delivered to my cousins in Ireland.  They were just thrilled with the gift. They particularly liked the use of local artisan products." We are happy that our recipients recognise that we support high quality, artisan brands in our Emerald hampers.

 

So why do we want you?

 

We are on a mission to stock produce from every county on the Emerald Isle, if you own, work for, or know of any artisan Irish produce businesses which you feel would be able to supply high quality products that meet the demands for our hampers, we want to hear from you. Please contact us via info@basketsgalore.co.uk

 

We look forward to hearing from you soon and hope you can join us on our journey of sending happiness through gifts.