GIFT OF THE YEAR 2023

Following a first round of online judging last December, the Gift of the Year’s live product judging, organised by The Giftware Association, took place across all four days of Spring Fair in February, with a record-breaking turn out from over 60 judges. What impressed the judges most was newness, innovation, quality and the sustainability credentials of the shortlisted products.

Hall 5 at February’s Spring Fair provided an ideal venue for leading names in gift retail, as well as experts in the fields of sustainability, licensing and gift trade media, to come together to assess and judge the shortlisted products submitted for this year’s Gift of the Year competition.

Over 100 industry experts comprised the judging panel this year - the highest in the competition’s history - with shortlisted companies enjoying seeing their products put in front of a huge number of influential retailers.

“The newness was fantastic this year, with many products I cannot wait to stock in all Lark stores,” stated Priya Aurora-Crowe, co-owner of 13

Lark gift and lifestyle shops in South London, West London and Woking. “The quality was second to none and the retail price was fair for most entries.”

Jo Williams, owner of Joco Interiors in Nuneaton, was equally enthusiastic: “This year’s shortlisted products were absolutely fantastic across all the categories, and seeing them up close made some of them really stand out. I especially loved judging the home fragrance category, as my shop is always filled with fragranced gifts. I saw some new lines which really impressed me.”

She continued: “Across the board I enjoyed seeing new products from companies I had not seen within the Gift of the Year awards in previous years. The use of sustainable materials and innovative ideas were what drew me to vote for the products I selected from each category. Following the voting process, I spoke to some of the suppliers with a view to stocking their products in the shop.”

Carol Bairstow, owner of Pure Inspiration in the Isle of Man, added: “There were some

All Gift of the Year finalists are also in with a chance of winning the coveted Judges’ Choice award tonight. In addition, The Giftware Association will also be announcing the Gift of the Year’s People’s Choice award at Harrogate Home & Gift in July, which is judged by the general public, enabling everyone to vote for their favourite product across all of the Gift of the Year categories.

The People’s Choice Award has again been opened up to all shortlisted products, with The Giftware Association hoping it will be its biggest year yet, affording an opportunity for a shortlisted company to get through to become the third People’s Choice winner.

wonderful products, and my initial thoughts were the packaging and presentation, and also asking myself if the product had the all-important ‘wow’ factor, and would I stock it in my shop. I was aware of the cost of products too, as, in the current climate, customers are looking to get the most for their money. I also had fun trying out some of the games and figuring out a few of the more complex gifts. It certainly was an interesting array of products.”

She added: “Once I’d finished judging, I bumped into several of the shortlisted companies and made a point of hopping onto their stands to learn more about them and their products, and also taking some information back to the Isle of Man with me.”

Caroline Ranwell, owner of Hugs & Kisses in Tettenhall, concurred. “I really enjoyed it as there was such a diverse range of top quality, innovative gifts. It was so difficult to choose between them. I ended up spending most of the morning looking at them all. Since the judging, I have placed orders with some of the companies. It was a great way of sourcing new products, especially as some of them were completely different to anything we have ever stocked before.”

Andrea Pinder, owner of Presentation Cards & Gifts in Barrowford, also found the judging day fascinating. “There were so many lovely products. I ordered the Love Coco coconut bowls and Cotton & Grey’s sentiment relaxing candles, with several other shortlisted products on my list to order.”

With sustainability at the forefront of most retailers’ minds, Helena Mansell-Stopher, founder and ceo of Products of Change, (the sustainability membership, education platform and resource hub), highlighted: “Judging the Gift of the Year’s Ethical and Sustainable category has been a real delight over the last two years, but what I have loved the most is seeing the increase in companies sending nominations through for this category, and also, the level of change the industry is making. To see companies being truly innovative is the biggest privilege of all.”

Gift of the Year organisers The Giftware Association (GA) confirmed that the Gift of the Year product display also attracted non-judges to the area, who were on the look-out for the next best products featured in the shortlist, with a lot of trade contacts shared, and interest in all the shortlisted products.

“It was great to be back at Spring Fair to live judge again and for longer, allowing more judges to complete their inperson judging which we know is so important,” said the GA’s PR and marketing manager Chris Workman.

“What we learned from this year was that the area attracted a great deal of attention from non-judges, who were looking for great products, so we hope that businesses who were exhibiting benefitted from extra traffic as a result of GOTY, as well as nonexhibitors also receiving interest and follow ups.”

As Chris pointed out: “Being able to hold the judging during Spring Fair – the most important exhibition on the gift industry’s calendarmakes perfect sense for the future, and speaking to judges on the day we found that this was a great time for them to buy from the Gift of the Year contenders and go and meet the companies behind the products.”

Adding her views, The Giftware Association’s ceo, Sarah Ward, said: “We’re delighted that Gift of the Year 2023 has been so well supported by the whole gift community - from Hyve Group’s commitment as headline sponsor to our strong roster of category sponsors –in addition to the widespread engagement from the suppliers who entered, and the great care and attention to detail from our enthusiastic judges. I can’t wait for everyone to celebrate together at The Gift Awards tonight!”