Despite economic challenges, Americans are expected to spend generously this holiday season. The National Retail Federation’s annual consumer survey reports consumers plan to spend nearly $900 per person this year on holiday gifts, food, decorations, and other seasonal items. It’s a safe bet that a good number of the holiday gifts will come from the wine and spirits industry.
Not every gift has to be a bottle of wine. In fact, in order to set themselves apart, some companies are getting more creative with their offerings. Here are a couple of examples of some outside-the-box gift ideas, and how data can help organizations hone in on the type of gifts that can help set them stand out from the competition.
Wine tastings aren’t just for the vineyard anymore
A number of companies have started offering wine tasting kits, bringing wine samples from around the world into the home. Vinebox, for example, has a California Dreamin’ box featuring California-made wine samples – red, white, and rosé. In addition to the sommelier-curated samples, the box has a tasting mat with wine notes and pairing suggestions, as well as offering the recipient access to a sommelier-led virtual tasting video. The California box is just one of a variety of collections, from “Card Night” to “Chocolate Pairing.” The company also offers what Food & Wine calls the “Best Wine Advent Calendar of 2025,” with either 12 or 24 samples of wine from across the country and around the world.
Wine pairings
White wine with fish, red wine with meat. But which wine pairs best with garlic? Some companies are combining efforts to bring wine – or its taste – into other ventures. Take, for example, seasoning – from garlic to salt and more, you don’t need an actual bottle of wine to add that flavoring to your cooking.
Wine doesn’t always have to pair with food, either. Companies are pairing experiences with alcohol as a luxury upgrade to whatever services they are offering. For example, Drybar is teaming with Chloe Wine Collection to offer a package where customers can get a glass of Chloe wine and a hair bow to go along with their blowout through the beginning of January.
How can data help you be creative?
Organizations have all of the data they need to create the next item that can become a hot holiday gift. The same information that allows them to market certain products to individuals who are likely to buy them can help inform what might be a popular gift.
Data can help organizations identify trends, and that’s where the impetus for so many of these gift ideas come from. People who drink a certain kind of wine also frequent a certain salon? There’s a collaboration opportunity.
Data can help turn information into opportunities. It may hurt one aspect of the business that some people are taking a break from alcohol, perhaps pledging to cut down in the new year. There are organizations that are taking advantage of that market by offering subscription services that include non-alcoholic wines. One company in particular also offers in-person tastings and other community-centered events that can increase their outreach even further, and potentially lead to the collection of even more data.
It’s similar to what some beverage alcohol companies have done with cannabis-infused beverages. Recognizing consumer interests and what you might have in common with a developing trend is a strength, and data plays an important role in the decisions that turn that recognition into actions. Being able to track data in real time and strengthening relationships with customers through data-backed insights allows organizations to begin thinking creatively about the marketplace, and where to focus their efforts.
The holiday season offers organizations in the wine and spirits industry with a data-driven approach the chance to flex their creative muscles. For other organizations, it can offer a blueprint to follow – what data do you have that might lead to the next hot collaboration that people hadn’t thought about yet. There are still people showing up to the holiday party with a bottle of wine, but organizations using the data to get creative could help point party-goers and other consumers in another direction.
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