Hampers R Us

Bespoke packaging to elevate the gifting experience

In the 15 years that Shakeel Lal worked in the insurance industry, he sent his fair share of gift boxes. In fact, when he started Hampers R Us in late 2020 he was spending over $3,000 a month in gifts for clients and business contacts. 

And while Shak is (clearly!) passionate about gifting, he found it frustrating how long he had to spend searching for suitable gift boxes and was disappointed at the lack of options to send hampers that didn’t fall within the most common gifting occasions (such as to express sympathy or cultural celebrations)

This is how Hampers R Us was born; Shak made it his mission to make corporate gifting better and easier.

Bringing the vision to life

Shak wanted his gift boxes to have beautiful packaging to match the quality of the products he thoughtfully curated to go inside. 

The problem? Sourcing custom-made, quality, and affordable packaging turned out to be a lot more complex than he ever anticipated.

The Alibaba brouhaha

Initial research into custom packaging led Shak to Alibaba. Needless to say, that route was a dead-end. He was overwhelmed by the number of options on offer; didn’t understand the jargon and was worried about trusting these faceless suppliers with a task that could make or break his business. 

Well-meaning (but clueless!) friends suggested he should visit China to assess potential suppliers. He was running out of ideas.

Eventually Shak reached out to another sourcing agency (which we shall not name) and things took a turn for the worse: unclear pricing led him to a nasty surprise and he was stung with predatory pricing, far beyond the scope of a start-up.

 

Meta’s algorithm saves the day

After hitting many roadblocks Shak finally had the break he so badly needed: a 2am Facebook scroll put him in front of an Epic Sourcing ad. Without wasting any time, he contacted us straight away.

That middle-of-the-night enquiry triggered a chain of events that would change the course of his business forever. (Thanks Meta!)

Enter Epic

Once an expert sourcing agent came into play, everything started to fall into place: negotiating contracts, verifying suppliers, ordering samples, negotiating MOQ’s, planning shipping, delivery and even providing extra muscle at the Ports of Auckland, Epic provided an all-in-one solution. 

“Eventually, I handed everything to TK, there was no way I could do it on my own. I handed him the notes, and he made it happen.” Shakeel Lal, Hampers R Us.

Epic Timeline

21st Feb 2021: Epic meets Shak from Hampers R Us

Epic’s Director TK and Shak connected over coffee for an initial planning session. This included identifying packaging needs and customizations 

Tk’s response? “I’ll sort out everything.”

March 2021: The start of our Epic Journey

Epic verified several packaging manufacturers and ordered the first samples.

March-May 2021: Multiple rounds of samples

Good things take time! Shak and Epic went through 5 rounds of sampling, via multiple suppliers, until they reached the golden samples, which included:
  • Six variations of gift boxes using different materials (such as metal and wicker).
  • Wooden crates.
  • Liquor baskets.
  • Three types of pre-tied bows.
  • Cellophane wraps.

July 2021: Order placed for the first production run

Orders were placed and all was set for smooth sailings….until Covid lockdowns hit!

December 1st, 2021: The first shipment landed in New Zealand

After a prolonged staycation at the ports in China due to Covid, Shak’s shipment arrived.Epic’s Team was there to help unload the container! Talk about going the extra mile.

Epic Results

With Epic by their side, Hampers R Us has steadily grown and has now expanded their product range, with gift packages available for all sorts of occasions, including births, weddings, anniversaries and even Halloween! 

You can check their full range on their website: https://hampersrus.co.nz

07551 136406