Unlike previous years, the market for gift baskets meant for the upcoming Tet (traditional Lunar New Year) has heated up quite early.

Apart from conventional items including confectionery, wine and dried food, Tet gift baskets in recent years also boast vegetables, regional specialties, spices and costly imported food.

In previous years, shoppers typically fill the supermarkets for the gift baskets one week prior to Tet.

This year’s Tet begins on February 19.

Supermarkets and shops in Ho Chi Minh City have seen dozens or hundreds of orders for gift baskets a day so far this year.

Supermarkets of the Coop Mart system in districts 1, 10 and Binh Thanh and some other provinces each receive between 500 and 1,000 orders a day.           The baskets cost between VND250,000 (US$11.65) to nearly VND2 million ($93) apiece.  

The supermarkets’ representatives said favorite components of the gift baskets include confectionery, dried food, jam, wine and beverage.

Baskets with fresh vegetables and fruits are expected to be a draw as Tet approaches, they added.

Vo Hoang Anh, Saigon Coop’s marketing director, said the company will also gift 2,000 copies of Tuoi Tre (Youth) Newspaper’s Tet edition to clients.

The group has also prepared hundreds of already-wrapped baskets in different “themes” to cater to clients’ diverse tastes and demands.

The “themes” include spices, cereal and condiments; confectionery and jam; milk and healthful products; produce; and regional specialties.

This year, the Coop Mart group debuted free delivery services of gift baskets to clients’ relatives and friends who live in 38 provinces and cities.

Meanwhile, Thien Hung Company based in District 8 has received roughly 50 orders for produce gift baskets each day.

Nguyen Thi Thien, its director, said this is the second year her company has offered such baskets on customer demands.

The produce, which is purchased from farms in Da Lat town in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong, all obtain VietGAP (Good Agricultural Practices) certificates, she added.   

The baskets vary from VND250,000 to 490,000 (up to $23) apiece.

According to Thien, the currently most sought after produce is asparagus, followed by artichoke, broccoli, pea and green pepper.

The items fluctuate between 10 to 14 dependant on the basket prices.

Thien added her company is looking to ink agreements to supply local supermarkets with around 500 or 600 such baskets.

Offers for Tet gift baskets have also inundated online shopping websites these days, but customers are advised to stay vigilant when shopping from these sites.

Luxury gift basket segment also warms up

Costly gift baskets are also on view at supermarkets and shops throughout HCMC.

The baskets offered at GB market in Phu Nhuan District’s Huynh Van Banh Street boast expensive confectionery and wine imported from Belgium, France, Germany and Scotland. 

The shop also offers packages which are imported whole from the U.S. and fetch up to VND2.5 million ($117) apiece.

Over the past few days, shops specializing in costly imports are also packed with clients who come for price quotations.

Most-loved delicacies include French “foie gras” (greasy goose livers,) German sausages, Russian caviar and bacon, and American dried shred beef.  

L.P., who introduces himself as vice department chief of a company in District 4, said he plans to order around 25 baskets, which cost around VND12-12.5 million ($583) each, to present to his company’s key partners.