What was in our event boxes this virtual season? All local!
From the desk of: Courtney DeAngelis
Wow, what a year! Think about all the adjustments you had to make, crazy right? Well, small businesses have had to adjust even more during this global pandemic. In thinking about this, AE Events made a commitment to shop local!
As we made preparations for the Fall season, we understood that our events would all be virtual. With these events not being able to gather, we knew we had to come up with ways that allowed our clients to create an experience with a personal touch. How do we bring something to them, that lets their guests know they are still important to them? In thinking about this we ultimately created a new business model: Custom Gift Boxes. Customized curated gift boxes which allow clients and guests to experience virtual events while still being engaged and excited.
As we looked into potential vendors we could work with we thought – lets keep it local!
AE Events is fortunate to have many wonderful clients, and they too wanted to support local businesses. So, as a small business ourselves, it seemed only logical that we should take this initiative –this was a perfect opportunity! Additionally, we have also made an effort to focus primarily on minority and/or women owned businesses as well.
As a team, we created a list of all the vendors we have had the pleasure of working over the past few months. Although our gift box segment of the business is coming to an end, we would love to continue to grow this list so that we advance in our pursuit to support local – both as a business, and personally!
Check out our list of amazing local businesses who have provided their products in our custom-made gift boxes. It was a real honor getting to work with each one and we can’t recommend them more!
MAX Ultimate Food – Local to Boston, MA
MAX has been a longtime partner of AE and we have absolutely loved getting to send guests their MAX at-home catering boxes to so many of our clients. These include customized meals with full dinners and drinks and we also got to include a delicious mocktail kit in one of our client gift boxes!
Nussli118 – Local to Cambridge, MA, Minority and Woman Owned
Nussli118 is the reason we love to support local! Angela, the owner and founder is so appreciative of every piece of business we were fortunate enough to provide her. We HIGHLY recommend her delicious nut clusters that we used in out boxes, but also all the other products that she let us sample! From overnight oats and granola to superfood blends and more! Angela provides products that are organic, gluten free, healthy AND DELICIOUS! “Healthy never tasted so good!”
Lyndigo Spice – local to Dorchester, MA, Minority and Woman Owned
You may have to wait a few weeks to purchase, because we completely bought Lyndigo Spice out of every flavor relish she offers! Celeste, who is the incredible owner and founder of Lyndigo Spice, has been so lovely to work with and we were lucky enough to include her almost all of our custom-made gift boxes.
Brewer’s Crackers – Local to Sommerville, MA
This company is not only a small local business based right out of Sommerville, but it is also a company driven to reduce food waste! Brewer’s Crackers uses the spent grains that are typically discarded during the beer making process, and instead uses them to make their delicious quality crackers! We included Brewer’s Crackers in almost every one of our boxes.
Formaggio Kitchen – Local to Boston, MA
Who doesn’t love a delicious, quality cheese?! You have to try Formaggio Cheese, it is one of the best cheeses I have ever had!
McCrea’s Candies – Local to Boston, MA
McCrae’s offers so many great caramel flavors, and they are the perfect addition to a holiday gift… We used them in the box highlighting the crackers!
Gräem Nutes and Chocolate – Local to Concord, MA, Woman Owned
We purchased chocolate covered espresso beans from Gräem, but they have so many options to choose from! They are so delicious and come in perfect little jars!
PopInsanity Gourmet Popcorn – Local to New York, NY
A delicious gourmet popcorn vendor, and you can even get your logo right on the bag! We used two styles in a custom box for a clients gala.
Boston Common Coffee Co. – Local to Pelham, NH
As I sip my Boston Common Coffee writing this, I must say, if you are looking for a quality cup of coffee, this is the one to try! When we included Boston Common Coffee in one of our breakfast gift-boxes it was my favorite because it made the whole room smell like fresh ground coffee for the week!
Yummy Mummy Bakery – Local to Westborough, MA, Woman Owned
With the holidays coming up you may want to order your desserts, rather than bake them! If so, order from Yummy Mummy Bakery. Melissa is the owner and not only runs the bakery, she is also a mother of triplets! She is remarkable and was great to work with, and our guests absolutely loved her brownies.
Diablo Glass School (Artist Christopher G Watts) – Local Glass Blowing School
We had one client that wanted custom made glass wine stoppers. We reached out to Diablo Glass School and got to work with Chris to create beautiful custom wine stoppers! Chris was great to work with and we were so happy to support a local artist and school.
Signature Printing – Local to Providence, RI, Woman and Veteran Owned
We purchased masks that were printed by Signature Printing, and they are truly the best masks ever and easily customizable.
Popped! Popcorn – Local to Salem, MA
The number of flavors that Popped! Popcorn offers is incredible! We got to try the sea salted caramel and S’mores flavors and not only were they the perfect touch to our gift-boxes, they were delicious to enjoy during the virtual event!
We hope you take the time to learn more about these local vendors but also the local vendors in your neighborhood.
Thank you so much to each vendor we worked with over the fall - our clients could not stop talking about how amazing each piece was!