artisan cookies

When it comes to One Planet Catering the first thing that comes to mind is world class. Michael Kraus is best in class, not only as a phenominal caterer but also as someone who truely cares. His goal is to give people a quality dining experience, healthy nutrious and tasty meals to fuel you through the work day. I first met Michael about a year ago when he walked into Tradeworks Custom Products looking for handmade wooden presentation boxes for his locally delivered meals. His style is impecable. Creativity, unbelievable, Michael never ceases to impress.

We are stoked to be working with One Planet closely this holiday season with a line of delicious artisan holiday cookies. These are a little taste of the heavens. Man, I couldn't wipe the smile off my face when Michael brought over the first batch. Hand cut and decorated, full of buttery goodness, these are tasty treats for the holidays. Yet again, a great corporate gift for offices these cookies are great as everyone can have a taste, enjoy and think of you. Baked in a European tradition (Michael was born in Germany) there's a taste of tradition that's hard to miss. If you're looking for a quality experince Michael is your go to guy.

Top 3 things we appreciate about One Planet Catering

1. Service - Super reliable and on time

2. Experience - Meals are delivered in beautiful wooden cases filled with wooden serving boxes. Stacked neatly and protected for transportation One Planet presentation is unique in itself. Eating off nice place settings, drinking from glass and eating with silver ware give the food the opportunity to not only be eaten, but enjoyed.

3. Social conscious - Michael wants the world to be a beautiful place for everyone to enjoy. He's always looking for ways for his business to benefit the community as I've seen through his consistant enquires to procure products from Tradeworks, a downtown eastside Vancouver social enterprise that trains women in carpentry.

All business is about building relationshps. Gifts are an opportunity to say more than 'thank you' for a job well done, a great contract, or employee appreciation. By building values into gifts and customizing them to tell your story, successful corporate gifts tell people what you're all about and why they do business with you. These types of memorable experiences build relationshps in a meaningful way and help you give more than 'stuff'.

Top 5 things to remember about corporate gift giving

1) Make it memorable, no one needs more 'stuff', if you wouldn't want it yourself, chances are your clients' don't want it either. You can do more harm than good if peoples' reaction is 'thanks?'

2) Wine or alcohol can be a good gift BUT ONLY if you know them personally and that they'll appreciate it. The last thing you want to do is make someone uncomfortable becuase of personal or religious reasons. Remember, we're trying to build relationships here, not destroy them.

3) Have a budget in mind. Know what you're comfortable spending and give a range to your service provider. Let them customize a gift program for you that makes sense based on your needs and values and go from there. High price point gifts can be really nice for some select clients but you don't always have to break the bank. Creativity can go a long way on a limited budget.

4) Tell a story. Use the gift to create an experience that tells your story and shares your values. By sourcing local products for example you tell a story about your values for community and a strong local economy. Sourcing premium artisan products tells a story about quality. Organic and fair trade items tell a story of environmental and social responsibility. What's your story? Let us help you tell yours.

5) When giving gifts to an office that lots of people are going to share, make it easy for them to all get in on the action. Our local artisan cookie gifts, artisan organic chocolate truffle gifts and local artisan specialty nut gifts were designed with this in mind. Lots of small items that people can each get a taste for, enjoy a fresh tasty treat and know who was thinking about them. Its a quick and easy way to get a great point across. Not only do you have good taste but also a sense of practicality.

Cooperation once again triumphs. Last week Saul Good along with Eclipse Awards hosted an open house and green roof mojito party for our clients, associates and friends down at our green office space in the Strathcona Green Zone in Vancouver, BC. We wanted the opportunity to show our clients what we've been up to this past year, developing corporate gifts, recognition items and promotional products that say more than 'thank you', using sustainable materials and fair labour practices to create memorable and meaningful gifts that tell a story. Over the last couple years my strategy in this space was to throw a local, organic, wine cheese and chocolate tasting party for my clients to let them have a taste of what we have to offer in terms of our gourmet gift baskets, hosting the party in the fall leading up to holidays, giving ideas for corporate Christmas and holiday gifts. We reincarnated, made fresh mojitos, added a green roof and an amazing space and the 1st annual green roof mojito party was born.

One Planet Catering, Vancouver's leading socially and environmentally responsible catering company, provided an amazing array of things to eat and treat through the day. From hand made cinnamon buns and muffins in the morning to croissants with pear and brie to a spread of cheese and fruit into the afternoon and evening. Amazing artisan crisps from Gone Crackers paired with artisan cheeses and a selection of organic wines from Lotusland Vineyards, a local organic vineyard near Abbotsford, BC. We were also happy to showcase new artisan specialty nuts from Cocoa Nymph, a Vancouver based chocolatier, featuring espresso and cocoa covered local Agassiz hazelnuts, great items that are easy to share and enjoy for hosting or to send to your clients. Once again we were also happy to feature fair trade organic chocolate bars from Zazubean and the new single origin fair trade organic coffees from Salt Spring Island Coffee.

I felt really good getting to spend time with my clients, new and old, and meeting some of the companies that have been working with Eclipse over their 11 years in business. It was something that really pulled our team together both at Saul Good, Eclipse and how we both work as teams individually and collectively. We can't take all the credit, we had great help, insight and planning from Corwin at Red Wagon Management, whose work and experience made the event a smooth success. Did I forget to mention the party? Had a great time playing dj with Unkl' Funkl', one of my friends from BGI, mixing tunes well into the night. Thanks to all our friends and associates for coming out, contributing, good times and conversations. We're in it together and its really just begun.