Ahead of the festive season, we’re encouraging everyone to shop small – and what better way to do so than with our Gift Guide 2025 edition! With a wide range of members across the UK from sweet hampers to skincare, we’ve got you covered.
In this Member Spotlight series, we’d like to introduce you to the brilliant minds behind the Gift Guide. Meet Alex Gill, founder of The Sweet Hamper Company.
Hi! Can you tell us about your business and why you started?
The Sweet Hamper Company is a family-run business, offering a wide range of sweet and chocolate hampers, boxes, bouquets and gifts for every occasion. I started the business during the pandemic – I found that people were looking for a way to connect with loved ones without seeing them in person, and things took off from there! Our range has gone from 12 sweet box options, to over 100 products on our site now in the past 5 years.
What makes your product the perfect gift for the holiday season?
Our made-to-order hampers are beautifully presented and bursting with carefully handpicked sweets and chocolates. Each hamper is filled with a variety of festive favourites and classic treats, with a personalised message available to add to every gift.
What do you love most about running your company?
I love that our company gets to be a part of some of our customers' most personal moments – from birthdays to wedding anniversaries, there’s a wide range of orders that come in with lovely messages. Knowing our hampers brighten someone's day is what it’s all about.
It’s also great working with the family – my wife, mum and brother are all part of the company!
How do you prepare for the festive season ahead and what advice would you give to other small business owners?
We prepare by stocking up gradually where we have space to do so, and looking back on last year's numbers to try and estimate what we’ll need ahead of time. We also look at things like staffing so that we can employ temporary staff before the big rush, in order to make sure they can hit the ground running when orders do pick up.
The months before the festive season are also the perfect time to strengthen relationships with new and old corporate clients, since many businesses order hampers as gifts for their teams and partners, and it’s always good to get these orders in early. Getting a head start on corporate orders can be a huge benefit ahead of the mad December rush!
My advice to other small business owners is to plan everything early (before October!) – stock, packaging, and delivery services all get stretched thin over the holidays. Also, always focus on customer experience.
How has Tide helped you to run your business and what has been your favourite feature?
Tide has been a lifesaver when it comes to running the financial side of the business. As a small business owner, time can be hard to come by, so I love that Tide is so simple and can be managed through the app.
When I first started working with Tide it was really difficult to find the right business bank to partner with as there were so many people setting up companies independently. Getting started with Tide was quick and easy, and we haven’t looked back since! The in-app messaging and customer support has been exceptional.
What’s the biggest challenge for your business at the moment?
The biggest challenge at the moment is the rising cost of stock, especially products like chocolate. We are conscious that our hampers should remain affordable – we always try to absorb increases without passing them straight onto customers, but sometimes it just isn’t possible. We’ve seen an average cost increase of over 50% for a lot of the core chocolate that we stock!
It’s a balancing act between managing higher costs, and still delivering the quality and value people expect from us.
Lastly, what’s one tip you would give to people who want to start their own business?
Always do something you enjoy – without that passion, it can become difficult to put your heart and soul into the company.
