Upgrading Your Holiday Gifting Game

This year, skip right past Amazon and department stores and go with something more inspired: direct-to-consumer brands. Known for digital ease, elevated customer service, and overall highly quality products, the direct-to-consumer craze is in full swing. You’ve probably heard of a handful of these brands already–they are known for effective targeted marketing, especially online. At this point, no matter what kind of product or service you’re looking to buy for someone, there’s probably a direct-to-consumer option out there for it. Let’s take a look at a handful of strong gifting options to kick it off.

Parachute

This startup makes home goods so nice, you’ll be tempted to just buy them for yourself instead. Among their most popular products are their varieties of Italian bedsheets, which are certainly on the pricier side. If you’re looking for something more affordable, their $99 bathrobes are a good place to start. But Parachute’s product lines have expanded into dinnerware, rugs, pillows, curtains, and a whole host of other items at very high quality. Make sure to check out their Holiday Gift Guide for some convenient suggestions including a “below $100” section.

Warby Parker

Perhaps the most well known of any direct-to-consumer brand now, eyeglasses retailer Warby Parker has since expanded to brick and mortar stores. Their original model remains extremely popular, however, and it’s easy to see why: you simply order glasses online to your prescription and select up to five options to have sent to your home, where you then try them all on and choose which to keep. The best part is that these spectacles often come at huge savings as compared to traditional glasses retailers. Warby Parker also has plenty of sunglasses and contacts, or there is always the gift card route.

Craft Coffee

These days, many of us have been cranking up the home coffee pot more than usual. Which also means many of us have yearned for something better than the big old tub of Folgers coffee grounds, but may not have gotten around to it. Craft Coffee offers much higher quality grounds at roughly the same prices as the cheap stuff, delivered to your door as frequently or as infrequently as you need. Convenient gifting options can get your loved one started with their first few shipments, which are completely customizable between a multitude of different blends. Since each batch is ground fresh right before shipment, they’ll even get to decide how coarse or fine they want their grounds. Deliveries start at just $11.99.

Blue Apron

For that friend who really wants to get into cooking, subscribing to meals through Blue Apron is an excellent stepping stone. Blue Apron sends non-GMO and hormone-free ingredients and instructions for gourmet meals to your home for two to four recipes per week, for two to four people. You get a rich yet simplified cooking experience without first having to squint at dozens of labels at the grocery store while running down a lengthy grocery list. Blue Apron is now offering wine as well, which can be planned as accompaniments to meals or ordered separately.

Brightland

Even when cooking for taste, most people don’t give the brand of olive oil a second thought. The folks at Brightland are not most people. The company sources its oils and vinegars from family-run California farms, bringing out tremendous flavors. As with many direct-to-consumer companies, Brightland offers quantities and packaging convenient for gift giving, and free shipping for orders over $65.