Corporate gifts reflect the businesses that give them. Certainly, the gesture itself is noteworthy but what you send is even more important. Business is built on relationships and those interactions take cues from each interaction. Corporate gifts, especially during the holidays, contribute to those relationships. What does your choice of gift say about your connection to the recipient?

Choose wisely

As the knight in Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Last Crusade, tells Indiana Jones when selecting the Grail from a host of chalices, choose wisely. As a result, businesses should focus on holiday gifts that stand-out as unique. Effective corporate gifts are ones that actually invite a connection or interaction. The gift that engages the recipient creates a stronger impact. We remember things that intrigued us. We appreciate things that deliver a quality we did not expect. If we run a parallel to personal relationships, then business relationships also respond to the wow factor.

Gourmet chocolate delivers that kind of impression. Chocolate is almost universally enjoyed but fine chocolate elevates the experience to a special level. First of all, it is a social gift. Chocolate is meant to be shared which draws people together. Mutual appreciation for the taste also reinforces the perceived value. If everyone is exclaiming how good this is, then everyone appreciates the sender.

Second, gourmet chocolate speaks to a handcrafted expertise. It feels homemade and that connects us to positive emotions. When a gift is handcrafted, it is by definition unique. It was made with the recipient in mind. Finally, gourmet chocolate is visually appealing. We eat with our eyes first and done right gourmet chocolate is a feast to behold.

Chocolate Pizza

There are countless companies that sell corporate gifts for the holidays. There are dozens that focus on chocolate. But there are few that combine all these elements into their products. Not surprisingly, a select few small businesses compete well in this space. The reason is that they do handcrafted better than the giants that mass-produce. There is a palpable difference in how the product is perceived. On the one hand, a gift basket or box of chocolates that looks exactly like thousands of others. On the other, something as one-of-a-kind as a Chocolate Pizza.

Chocolate Pizza Company has been the king of this confectionery unicorn for nearly 30 years. Located in a tiny town in Upstate New York, this company defines creativity. Skilled chocolatiers temper the highest quality Swiss-style chocolate. Tempering gives gourmet chocolate its shine, snap and velvety mouth-feel. Homemade English toffee is the next ingredient – made on-site, in small batches by the owner. The recipe is local and dates to 1919. Ground fine and blended with the chocolate it creates the Chocolate Pizza “crust.”

This heavenly mixture is poured into real pizza pans. Now, the magic begins. One of the most popular corporate gifts for the holidays is the Avalanche Wreath. Chocolatiers trim the edges of the Chocolate Pizza with a blizzard of candy favorites. Red and green chocolate gems, peanut butter cups, nut and nougat candy bites and white sugar snowflakes create a kaleidoscope of holiday colors. Inside this eye-catching border, they script “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays” in white chocolate. It is a visual masterpiece but no two are ever the same. Amazingly, this gourmet gift comes in a humble pizza box.

Pizza & Wings

Chocolate Pizza Company takes the gift idea even further with its twist on “pizza & wings.” Who hasn’t enjoyed that savory combination at a big game or party? We instantly identify with the pairing as something we love. It’s that connection that makes this combo so successful.

Peanut Butter Wings are a taste sensation that people don’t forget. Glitter magazine tasted them and proclaimed, “You have not lived until you’ve tried these.” Three simple ingredients combine for one titanic taste. Crisp, rippled potato chips are covered in creamy peanut butter and drenched in rich milk or dark chocolate. That’s it. Nothing more. Elegant simplicity executed to perfection. It is the pinnacle of salty-sweet and delivers total wow factor.

Chocolate Pizza and Peanut Butter Wings are both registered trademarks of Chocolate Pizza Company so you can’t get this combination anywhere else. They fill a festive metal tin with a pine cone design with one pound of Wings. Together, with the Chocolate Pizza, it is a corporate gift choice that thousands of organizations flock to. And why not? It satisfies those three key elements. It’s arrival immediately creates a social experience. It draws people in. Opening the pizza box reveals a treat that has obviously been handcrafted. There is nothing mass-produced here. And finally, it is visually stunning. Colorful, aromatic and festive, one bite says this is no ordinary gift.

National Vibes

Chocolate Pizza Company may be a small business competing in a land of chocolate giants but they are not unnoticed. The company’s owner, Ryan Novak, started as a dishwasher when he was 15 years-old. In 2010, at age 21, he bought the small-town chocolate shop. His vision was to transform it into the gourmet chocolate powerhouse it has become.

ChocolatePizza.com is the website that has drawn orders from chocolate lovers on 6 continents. His chocolate specialties have been enjoyed by A-list celebrities, Hall of Fame athletes, music legends and top business leaders. Ryan has appeared on Hallmark Channel’s Home and Family and CNBC’s On the Money. Food Network has shot an episode in his new 10,000 square foot facility. The segment aired globally on Discovery Channel. Forbes magazine and People magazine have featured him.

Hence, businesses that are interested in Chocolate Pizza Company’s Holiday Gift Catalog can download it here. Also, the website also has a Corporate Gifts page (click here).

In the end, businesses can either give a gift or make an impression. The former is a worthwhile gesture. The latter is a memorable bond in an on-going relationship. The holidays offer an opportunity to strengthen important business relationships or recognize key staff. Above all, top business leaders know that holidays gifts are really a reflection of them. With that in mind, choose wisely.