Christmas comes early for corporate gifting firm

Corporate gifting company Colleague Box has said it has already wrapped up 10,000 Christmas orders, despite it still being summer.

Owners Natalie and Adam Bamford have reported their earliest Christmas orders since the Covid pandemic.

It has seen their festive order book filled with 10,000 gifts as companies think months in advance about how to reward their staff.

The couple founded Colleague Box at the start of the pandemic in 2020 after Natalie was tasked with creating a thoughtful box of gifts for employees that could be easily posted through a letterbox.

Furloughed and home-working staff were so delighted with their gifts that the idea for Colleague Box was born.

Four years later, companies based all around the country including DPD, Arden University and Valiant Pub Company have been coming to Colleague Box to arrange Christmas gifts for their staff.

Adam said the majority of businesses had chosen to hand pick a bespoke selection for employees rather going for one of the company’s ready-made gift box options, indicating a desire from HR directors to pull out all the stops when it comes to the perfectly chosen Christmas gift.

He said: “We’ve not seen this many Christmas orders so early in the year since the pandemic.

“It’s nice that companies are being really thoughtful in looking after their staff and turning their thoughts to the festive season already.

“It has been strange for us to choose Christmas presents in August – but we’re delighted to have seen these early orders too.

“At Colleague Box all we want is to spread happiness with our work and it’s great to know that companies are really buying into the idea that when you have happy staff, you get increased retention and productivity.”