Novelty food gifts are always a holiday hit
Sellers of locally made goodies face busy month
The holidays are a time for giving gifts, attending parties and eating. Lots of eating.
The food fests that begin with Thanksgiving weekend will continue over the next month or so, providing ample opportunity to shop for and consume all sorts of holiday goodies, many of them locally made.
Lara White, owner of Periodyc Baker, sells jams and other sweets at farmers’ markets and restaurants. She expects to see a rise in sales during the holidays with jam flavors such as Spiced Cranberry and Cranberry Port.
“A lot of people use jams as gifts and stocking stuffers,” she said. “Businesses
such as Realtors like to give them to their customers.”
White, who formerly worked in chemistry and geoscience, started baking as a sideline interest. She founded the company in February 2022 and credits her website, periodycbaker.com, with helping to drive interest. She also makes jellies, marmalades and various baked goods to order.
White appears regularly at farmers markets such as those held at North Phoenix Baptist Church, McDowell Mountain Community Center in Scottsdale and Lord of Life Lutheran Church in Sun City West. She said she sold out of jams last holiday season.
Candy galore in Glendale
At the other end of the longevity scale, Cerreta Candy Co. of Glendale has operating since 1968, and a familyowned predecessor business in Canton, Ohio, celebrated its 100th anniversary this year.
Co-owner Jerry Cerreta said the company now is entering the busy season that will extend through the holidays and carry over to Valentine’s Day, Easter and Mother’s Day. He said boxes of chocolate are popular stocking
stuffers and make good office gifts, with each piece individually wrapped to allay concerns about people touching or coughing on candy in open boxes.
Cerreta makes most of its candy onsite. Visitors can take a tour at costs ranging from $7.50 and up and make their custom candies, he added.
Tours are held Monday through Friday (1-623-930-9000, cerreta.com) and take 20 to 30 minutes.
The tours are popular with children, adults and senior groups.
A time for small businesses to shine
According to a survey by Bankrate. com, 61% of consumers said they are likely to support local entrepreneurs by shopping on Small Business Saturday, Nov. 25.
In comparison, 56% said they’re likely to shop Nov. 24 or Black Friday. However, Cyber Monday topped both, with 66% of shoppers indicating that they’re likely to pull out their wallets on Nov. 27.
The survey of more than 2,300 people was held in late October.
Foods from other Arizona companies that can make nice gifts for the holidays include Prickly Pear Cactus jellies, trail mixes and salsa from Arizona Gifts in Phoenix.
That’s in addition to dates from Sphinx Date Co. in Scottsdale (sphinxdateranch.com,) brownies from Fairytale Brownies (brownies.com), Bacon Pecal Brittle from Tracy Dempsey Originals in Tempe (tracydempseyoriginals.com) and golden caramel corn from Lehi Valley Trading Co. of
Mesa (lehivalley.com).
Blending food, wine and merchandise
Denise McCreery started selling wine jellies out of her home more than 20 years ago.
Now she and her husband run d’Vine Gourmet, a store in Chandler’s old town section that offers caramels, chocolates, mustards, nut and snack mixes and other food treats along with a range of merchandise including ornaments, soaps, candles, t-shirts, jewelry and artwork, most of it made in Arizona.
The store also has a wine loft and hosts wine tastings, book signings and other events. The store features an onsite kitchen where many of those goodies are made.
“We cook five to seven days a week,” McCreery said. “People love to watch.”
The store makes around 20,000 food baskets and other gifts each year, with the volume ramping up during the holiday season. Selections can be viewed at dvinegourmet.com.
Other party ideas
The holiday season also means parties, and that creates opportunities for businesses such as Arlow & Birch Jewelry.
The company makes and sells permanent jewelry that features welds rather than clasps that are susceptible to breaking, said owner Lindsey Beaule. The bracelets, necklaces, anklets and other items she sells, of gold or silver, are designed not to be taken off but worn around the clock.
Beaule, who describes herself as a “serial entrepreneur,” started the business about a year and a half ago. She markets through Instagram, word of mouth and her website, arlowandbirch. com.