4 Steps For A Holiday Bundle That Sells

Based on the Small Bites with Stephanie episode

The holidays are closer than they look.

If you're like most early-stage founders, you're asking: how do I get more holiday sales, easily, and without launching something new?

The answer might be the easiest new product you ever create. Think holiday bundle.

Now, if you're in retail or on Amazon, your Black Friday promotions should already be set. This post is about your other selling channels:

➡️ Your website
➡️ Your farmers markets
➡️ Popups
➡️ Holiday markets
➡️ Your own network

A bundle needs no new recipe, no new minimum order, and no new co-packer conversation. It's products you already make, put together with a reason to buy right now. Here's how to do it in four steps.

Step 1: Build the bundle
Start with what you have. Pair a favorite or a best seller with something newer that you'd like people to try, like a recent launch. Or pair two of your best sellers. Make it really enticing. Customers get more of what they already love, and you get trial of a newer item without a new launch.

A few guidelines:

• Pick two or three products. That’s plenty for a gift set.
• Consider two price points. Make them clearly different: a higher-priced bundle for nicer gifts, including corporate gifts, and a lower-priced one for colleagues and acquaintances.
• Give each bundle a name and a price. That's it. Instant gift set.
• Make it feel like a gift. Add a holiday shipping box or sleeve, a bow, and box filler. A small surprise like an ornament or a bell is a nice touch. Include a thank you note on a holiday card, with a promo code for their next purchase.

Notice what doesn't change: your product packaging. You're only adding the wrap, the box, the card, and the small extra.

Do the math before you set a price download the Holiday Bundle Planner. The extras add up, and you want to know your floor price, the lowest you can go and still make money, before anyone mentions a discount. The Bundle Math tab in the free planner does this for you.

Finally, think about the unboxing. When someone opens your gift, that's your brand in their hands. Keep it simple, make it special, and include an easy way to reorder.

Step 2: Ask your network
If you're coming from a professional career or if you have a strong network, this is your secret weapon. Think about former colleagues, clients, your old team, and the office manager who orders gifts every December. People in professional settings are always looking for a thoughtful, fresh way to say “thank you” at the end of the year.

Here's the key: don't pitch, ask.

“Hey, I put together a holiday gift set you might like. Would it be helpful for your clients or your team?”

You're not selling. You're solving a holiday problem with something unique and easy. That's a conversation, and conversations turn into orders. Ten people who each buy gifts for ten others is a hundred boxes. If you'd like a little help drafting your outreach, the AI Prompt Builder in the planner writes your first message, a follow up, and a social post.

And don’t forget to thank the person who ordered the gifts. Depending on how much they spend, you can add a small gift for them. If it’s a really big order, think about adding an extra bundle for them. Or simply offer a promo code with a deeper-than-average discount on their next regular order.

Step 3: Tie it to Black Friday
I’m sure you already know that Black Friday isn't just one day anymore. Run your specials for the whole month of November, on your website, at your farmers market, or anywhere you sell direct.

If you're on Amazon, take advantage of their Black Friday promotions too. And don’t be afraid to post your bundles on Amazon. Just be sure you have your shipping logistics worked out ahead of time. If you’re selling FBA, it might be too late, but check into that.

Consider making free shipping a perk. It depends on the weight of your product, but if you can build the cost into your pricing, you'll typically sell more. If you don't normally offer it, make it your Black Friday deal or part of the gift pack. Position it as a gift pack and you raise your average order, which matters when you're paying for shipping and ads.

Then tell people, and keep telling them.
If you have a newsletter, it's an easy announcement.
If you're solid on social, it's a great post, and a good moment to boost it and send people to your website.

Don't announce it just once. Start right when you're ready to take orders and keep going until the last day you're taking them.

And for non-perishables, ship as orders come in, starting the first week of November. Don't wait for Black Friday.

Step 4: Set your cutoff
Most professional and friend gifts are given before Christmas, so you can push all through November. For non-perishables, you can ship into the first week of December and still lock in deliveries.

Here's a simple way to find your last order date:

1. Start with the date you want gifts delivered, such as December 15th.
2. Take your normal ground shipping time to your farthest customer, let’s say it’s 7 days, then plan on about 9 to leave cushion for things that go wrong.
3. Add one to two days to get packages out the door. Prepackaged bundles keep this quick.
4. That puts your last order date about 10 to 11 days before delivery.

Post your last order date everywhere. A hard deadline gives people a reason to order today.

 Put it all together with the free Holiday Bundle Planner

I created a free planner to make this easy. It includes three simple tools:

• Bundle Math helps you quickly build bundles and see your potential profit.
• The Countdown Calendar shows you exactly what you need and when.
• The AI Prompt Builder helps you draft your email and social outreach.

Download the free Holiday Bundle Planner

 When you're ready to transition your idea into a real packaged goods brand, we'd love to help.
👋 We're Food Business Success®. We mentor early-stage founders with real coaching, strategy, tools, and systems to help them avoid common pitfalls and build a brand that lasts. We're also home to the Launch & Grow Accelerator.

Until next time, happy selling,
~ Stephanie