Israeli gift baskets gain world popularity

"When you get fruit from Israel in the middle of a cold grey winter, it feels like spring is here," a banker from New York once said to Sharona Schnitzer, co-general manager of Ben Ezer plantations, a company that ships gift baskets abroad.

"He got a basket of our citrus fruit as a gift, and later on ordered similar baskets for all his friends," said Schnitzer.

Christmas and Hanukkah are the busiest times for Ben Ezer plantations, which prides itself on its oranges and grapefruit baskets, more so than wine and chocolate.

"People keep ordering the citrus fruit baskets year after year. The effect it has abroad is huge," Schnitzer added.

Ben Ezer Plantation gift basket

Ben Ezer Plantations belong to a family of orchard growers who were among the founders of Petah Tikva prior to the establishment of their own business.

"Over 20 years ago we started operating a gift basket business. People asked us to sent them presents, and so that's what we started to do," explained Schnitzer.

"We had an office in New York, and it was a great surprise to see that Americans, who have plenty of citrus in Florida and California, are particularly interested in fruit from Israel. These days, I operate the business along with my sister and brothers. Our specialty is baskets with treys of citrus picked directly from the company's orchards," she added.

The Ben Ezer family grows, packs and ships the baskets on their own. Their classic Israeli offering consists of a 14kg (30lbs) basket with up to six different types of citrus fruit.

Throughout the years, the company expanded their list of products to include fruitless baskets – a step which allowed them to ship products to countries such as China, which does not allow entry of foreign agricultural products into its borders.

What's in a basket?

A typical gift basket includes oranges, red grapefruit and pomelit, citrus peels dipped in chocolate, almonds, chocolate covered almonds, honey made of citrus flowers, a seasonal fruit jam, a selection of dried fruit, nut and almond stuffed dates, apricots and plums.

Other baskets include olives, olive oil, halva, baklawwa, Israeli wine, orange choclate coins, spa products and Israeli artifacts.

The baskets get shipped directly to the house of the addressee via Ben Ezer's international export service as well as international courier services.

"all the big companies use our services to send gifts," said Schnitzer, "from automobile importers to pharmaceutical companies and industrial firms, including those who can ship baskets with their own products.

"ambassadors and government offices order through us, but also individuals who want to send presents to friends and family abroad. During the holiday season, the entire world exchanges gifts and Israel is getting more and more involved each year," Schnitzer added.

Organic gift set offered by Fed Ex

Gifts according to global trends

Ben Ezer keeps their gift selection updated according to contemporary trends. "Each year we add new gifts, according to global trends," said Schnitzer, "during the summer, rosé wine was very popular, so we added it into our basket. Now cavas are the latest fashion, so we added those as well."

"Prices range between ILS149-600 ($40-160), because you will not sent the same gift to a secretary and a manager. Many people send us copies of thank you notes from recipients, who say how much they enjoyed the gifts, "she said.

Latest hit: Green gifts

International shipping courier Fed Ex is offering a 5% discount on different categories of gifts shipped by the week of December 24th. This week, for example, Fed Ex is offering a discount on cosmetic products, and next week – on sweets. The company has a website in which it offers a selection of gift wraps, greeting cards, personal engravings and more.

According to Fed Ex, this year's biggest hits are green items such as organic, environmentally friendly products and gifts.