A behind-the-scenes look at what it actually costs to send a gift that supports local
We get asked this sometimes. Someone spends $100 or $120 on a gift box, and they wonder: where does that money actually go? It’s a fair question, especially right now when every dollar feels like it matters more than it used to.
So we thought we’d open the books a little and show you what happens between you clicking “buy” and your recipient lifting the lid on their gift.
The producers get the biggest share
This is the part we’re most proud of. The majority of what you pay goes straight back to small Kiwi food and drink producers.
When you buy a Hawke’s Bay gift box, for example, your money goes to a small wine maker in Napier, an olive oil grower in Havelock North, a natural fruit soda maker down the road, and a handful of other artisan producers across the region. These are real people running real businesses, often with just a few staff. They’re not mass manufacturers. They make things in small batches with care, and they charge accordingly.
We work with over 200 producers across Aotearoa. Since we started in 2018, we’ve returned close to $4 million to these local businesses. Every gift box you send keeps that number growing and keeps those producers doing what they love.
The trade-off? Small-batch products cost more than supermarket equivalents. A jar of locally made relish from a one-person operation in the Wairarapa will never compete on price with something made in a factory overseas. We think that’s the point.
The box itself tells a story
Every gift arrives in a wooden box made right here in New Zealand. Some of our boxes come from The Shed Project in Paraparaumu, a community workshop that provides training and employment for people with disabilities. We’ve worked with them since the very beginning and they’ve made thousands of boxes for us over the years. Every box that leaves their workshop represents hours of real craft and real purpose.
We also work with other NZ-based box makers to keep up with demand, because staying local matters to us even when the easier option would be to import.
The boxes are packed with natural wood wool instead of cellophane or plastic. Our courier cartons are custom-made to minimise waste. And through our closed-loop programme, recipients can send the wooden box back to us for reuse.
All of that costs more than buying a (often non-recyclable) cardboard gift box from overseas and stuffing it with shredded paper. Considerably more. We’ve made that choice deliberately, and we stand by it.
The people who pack your gift
Behind every order is a real person in our Kāpiti warehouse carefully arranging products, writing greeting cards by hand, and making sure everything looks right before it goes out the door.
We pay our team fairly because we believe in paying people properly for good work. That commitment costs us more as a small business, and it’s one we keep making because it’s the right thing to do.
The bits you don’t see
There are costs in every gift box that never show up in a photo. Courier fees to get products from producers to our warehouse. The courier that delivers your gift to the recipient’s door. Payment processing fees. Website hosting and maintenance. Product photography. Insurance.
We also set aside 1% from every single sale for New Zealand charities through One Percent Collective. That goes to organisations like Kaibosh (rescuing surplus food in Wellington), Bellyful (meals for families with newborns), and Garden To Table (teaching kids to grow and cook fresh food). Every review you leave, good or bad, triggers an additional $1 donation.
These aren’t marketing line items. They’re commitments we’ve kept since day one.
The elephant in the room: everything costs more right now
We’d be kidding ourselves if we pretended the last few years haven’t changed the landscape. Post-Covid inflation pushed up the cost of ingredients, packaging, and freight across the board. And now, with global trade disruptions and rising fuel costs adding another layer of pressure, our producers are feeling it again.
We work hard to absorb what we can. For many of our gift boxes, we haven’t changed our pricing in over 12 months despite our supplier costs going up. We can’t do that forever, but we’re doing our best to hold the line where it matters.
The reality is that small-batch, locally made products were never going to be the cheapest option. What they are is the most meaningful one. Every dollar you spend with us stays in the New Zealand economy, supporting families and communities across the country.
So, is it worth it?
We think so. And based on the feedback from 20,000+ customers and more than 1,000 5-star reviews, most people agree.
When you buy a gift box from us, your money doesn’t disappear into a corporate supply chain. It goes to a chocolate maker in Dunedin, a honey producer in Northland, a craft brewer in Tauranga. It pays for someone at The Shed Project to learn new skills. It puts a meal on the table for a family through Bellyful. It keeps our team employed at a fair wage.
And at the other end of all that, someone you care about opens a box and knows, without question, that you thought about them.
You’re choosing to support something that matters. That’s worth a lot more than a discount sticker on a mass-produced hamper.
If you ever want to know exactly what’s in a gift box before you buy, every product page on our website shows the full contents for each size and variation. Pick a size, pick your options, and you’ll see exactly what your recipient will unwrap.
And if you’re not sure what to choose, just get in touch. We love helping people find the right gift, and we’ll always be honest about what we think will land well.
We Love Local is a Kāpiti-based gift box company supporting 200+ artisan producers across Aotearoa. Browse our gift boxes or learn more about our social mission.
