One hot July day, a year before I started making gift baskets, Macy’s offered customers a four-piece Godiva sampler with the purchase of another product.

I wanted that sampler, so I participated in the promotion. What I was thinking?

All four pieces turned into a soup sampler by the time I arrived home by car. The trip was a mere 10 minutes, but it didn’t matter. You know how brutally hot a car’s interior becomes during the summer months.

Thinking back, the experience was a lesson for my designer life that chocolate is not to be included within gift baskets during warm months or in tropical climates.

I searched for manufacturers selling chocolate items that didn’t melt or were packaged properly, such as sauces or fudge toppings, and that search uncovered products that were outstanding.

Some of the companies are now out of business. Others, such as Cary’s of Oregon (a sponsor of this blog), offer Trail Toffee and Toffee Fingers, two chocolate treats that are warm weather friendly.

What items do you offer in gift baskets as alternatives to chocolate during warm weather months, or do you simply remove chocolate from your inventory?

Shirley George Frazier

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Who can raise their hand to admit that they’ve added chocolate to a gift basket during the summer, hoping that the confection would not melt before arriving at its destination?

Years before I entered this industry, Macy’s gave me a free, four-piece box of Godiva Chocolates as an incentive for something I purchased.

I was giddy about receiving the chocolates, but the day I received them happened to be a wickedly-hot summer day.

By the time I walked to my car, drove home, and opened the box, the chocolate had melted and was now one huge, shiny glob. It looked strange, but I didn’t care.

The box was deposited into the refrigerator, and the next day I demolished the giant mold piece by piece.

That memory stayed with me when I began my gift basket business. I didn’t want anyone to experience that. One customer insisted on having a favorite bag of chocolate-coated popcorn in a gift basket, which was to travel from my east coast warehouse to Phoenix during the summer.

The customer not only paid for the cold packs and overnight delivery, I also had her sign a waiver stating that she understood the consequences of shipping chocolates during the summer and that any melting that occurred would not be rectified.

What problems have you had shipping chocolates during summer months? Did the situation occur because you were unaware of how quickly chocolate melts, because of a transportation delay, or another unexpected dilemma?

Shirley George Frazier

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