Why Marketplace Sales Matter to Pellatt Cornucopia Gift Baskets

‍Chaya Gniswich is the Vice President of Pellatt Cornucopia Gift Baskets, a gifting company that specializes in gourmet foods, baby, and spa gift baskets. The company has been in business for over 100 years, and Chaya and her business partner Stacey have been at its helm for the past six years. 

Pellatt Cornucopia is a values-driven business. They’re women-owned and all their employees are women. They also support local Canadian businesses based in Quebec. Pellatt’s products use sustainable packaging like eco-friendly packing peanuts and reusable cardboard boxes. Pellatt is partnered with Canadian book and gift retailer Indigo on the platform. 

Chaya and Stacey are coming off of an incredible holiday season for their business. They partnered with multiple new marketplaces in 2022, and their marketplace sales jumped to 40% of their total revenue over the holidays. 

It’s no surprise that Chaya says, “Dropshipping is an important key to growing our sales.”

What was a unique custom gift from this past holiday season?

We had a customer who came to us and said she wanted to do something really different as a gift for her colleagues. She wanted to create a sort of sangria kit.

Our team created the gift in a large mason jar. We put in fresh fruit and chocolates as a snack while you create your sangria, some sparkling cider, and we tied it together with a bow embossed with the client’s logo. 

We were a little nervous because of the glassware we used to create the gift, but the client loved it! It was a wonderful learning experience for us as well. 

What’s the biggest benefit of dropshipping for your business?

The biggest benefit is saving time for us. Customers see what they’re ordering on our partner’s sites and they order it in the configuration that’s advertised. There’s no unnecessary communication and no back and forth. 

Is there a successful retail partnership story you can share?

We had created a BBQ gift set for Father’s Day. It had themed chips, spices, and sauces, all laid out in a wooden gift tray. 

The problem was that it wasn’t really selling on our website. We were nervous because we had bought all this stock for Father’s Day sales.

So my partner Stacey said let’s try sending the product to Indigo and see what happens. 

We uploaded that gift and it’s been selling throughout the year on Indigo. It’s always useful to have some chips, sauces, and spices, and it ended up becoming a year-round gift for our customers. It was a really nice surprise for us.

What tips do you have for brands who want to be successful with dropship?

Two things come to mind. First, be rigorous about your shipping times. Try to ship out an order as soon as you get it. You want to make the customer happy!

Second, focus on your customer service. Even though you may be shipping an order that comes through your partner’s website, the customer will see your packaging and they may try to contact you for returns or to replace an item in your order. You want your customer service to be top notch and that’s really important. 

What are you excited about for 2023?

We’re extremely excited for our new Body & Soul spa basket! All the products in this basket are made of natural ingredients — our scented candle is made of organic soya and the soap and lotion contain no sulfates and parabens.

We also made the basket more eco-friendly. It’s now in a reusable metal planter base that you can use for your plants instead of throwing it away. 

You’ll be able to try it out or gift it to a loved one on Valentine’s Day, so keep an eye out for it!

Thanks to Chaya for participating in this conversation!