Caribou Gifts

Caribou Gifts is a Canadian gift shop and local Toronto business that you can shop online or in person at one of their two retail locations. They specialize in curating beautiful gift baskets for everyone on your gift list. They also sell individuals products so you can shop for yourself or you can pick and choose products for any gifts you need.

What inspired you to start your business?

I have always loved making cards and gifts for friends and family but I never imagined being a business owner. I had a corporate job that I loved and I started this business while on maternity leave to help pass the challenging days of early motherhood.

I started this business just before the COVID lockdowns occurred which oddly caused a serge in the need for gift delivery. As a result my business grew more than I could have imagined and I absolutely fell in love with running a business. I saw a clear gap in the market for gift baskets, which was our primary product when we started, and I wanted to fill that gap. A lot of the gift baskets on the market are full of cheap, imported products and there’s very limited options for families with kids (other than baby gift baskets). I wanted to create gift baskets fill with full size, locally made products that people actually want, for all ages. I’m very proud that although my business has changed and grown since 2020 we still have the same values today.

How do you describe your business?

We are a full service gift shop offering ethically sourced gifts and gift baskets for all ages. We have sell through several sales channels including: online, 2 brick and mortar locations and a growing number of corporate clients.

What’s your bestselling product & why do you think it’s so popular?

Our best selling products are our gift baskets.

Our gift baskets are what got us going and still our best selling product today. As mentioned above I identified a gap in the market and our gift baskets have amazing and unique products inside which people love and keep coming back for. We also offer the ability to completely customize the gifts and include a hand written note making it easy on the sender.

What’s your personal favourite product?

I have so many favourite products from my store but lately I’ve been gravitating to the awesome Canada pride products that we carry from CarolynDraws – pins, stickers, etc.

What’s your favourite local business?

We have hundreds of local suppliers and as a small business myself it’s so hard to name just one!