After spending a week at the California Gift Show, we arrived in New York two days before the show ended. Our only disappointment was that the New Resources section had closed one day earlier, which was not mentioned in our buyer’s directory. What a drag, as we wanted to see the numerous floral resources on the pier.

There was still lots to see. Here are the highlights.

Gale Greetings sells adorable themed pad and pen sets. Each is boxed in plastic and secured with a stretch gold cord. 114 themes in all. Some of my favorite themes are “Teachers Never Lose Their Class” and “Life in Uncertain, So Eat Dessert First!” The “Cat Tales” theme sports a cat design on the pen, great for pet lovers.

Huckleberry Mountain showed their Beary Bunches, malted milk balls dipped in chocolate, then coated in a Huckleberry (purple) glaze. Each Beary is wrapped in a plum-colored foil, and bunches are packaged in a clear plastic bag with a leaf twist tie. A nice gift basket product.

Southernfood Specialties, a company that sells cheese tabs (great for men’s baskets), biscuits, and cookies in foil packages, is another wholesaler that’s entered the gift basket arena. Lila Willingham (part of the Willingham Manor company) introduced me to the gift basket program where for $24.50, you get a basket with 10 of their products wrapped and ready to sell. They also have a new private label program if you’re looking for silk screened tins with coordinated ribbon.

Judith G. Collection showed its Soap and Bearomatherapy lines. The soap line includes bar soaps, wrapped soaps, jar creams, combination bath soaps and salts, and a five-piece sampler soap set with soap holder.

I loved the Bearomatherapy line, which features a plush animal made out of French terry. Each animal has a zipper in its back where bath salts are placed, creating a soothing scent. Eleven scents in all are contained in multiple sized animals, including bears, bunnies, cats, and a moose. The themed line includes aromatherapy for Easter Halloween, and Christmas.

Provender, one of the many gourmet product distributors, introduced a private label gourmet mix program. Your company name can be printed free of charge on the label, or custom labels emblazoned with your artwork can be prepared. The line features scones, muffins, breads, pancakes, soups, dips, and teas packaged in either tan-colored bags with cord ties or white bags with a tied ribbon atop. I tasted the Spring Garden Dip. Fresh. The Apple Cinnamon Muffin Mix was also quite flavorful.

New York Show Report Continues -- Page 2

NOTE:
Information in each Show Report provides details on products displayed at trade shows. It does not constitute 1) company or product endorsements or 2) prevailing products or prices.

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