What Employees Choose When They Can Choose
We analysed 17,585 real orders from Christmas campaigns where each employee created their own gift box. Here's what happens when the team decides — and it debunks a few fixed ideas about 'what people like'.
Published on July 30, 2026
The Finding: More Budget Means More Focus, Not Diversity
Intuition suggests that with more budget, people add more variety to their box. The data says otherwise: extra money almost entirely goes to one category — charcuterie and Iberian products. In boxes around €40, charcuterie accounts for 29% of the value; in boxes around €140, it's 70%.
Other categories don't disappear: they maintain a fairly stable absolute spend, which is why their percentage drops. In other words, with a tight budget, people spread their spend across drinks, sweets, and savoury items; with a generous budget, they buy the ham they wouldn't buy on an ordinary Tuesday.
Box Value Distribution by Budget
| Category | Box of ~€40 | Box of ~€65 | Box of ~€100 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charcuterie and Iberian Products | 29% | 44% | 70% |
| Drinks | 25% | 20% | 14% |
| Nougat and Sweets | 28% | 18% | 15% |
| Preserves and Others | 10% | 10% | 7% |
Median percentage of box value by category, based on 17,585 orders from gourmet gift campaigns managed on our platform. Data is aggregated and anonymised; percentages do not sum to 100% because they are medians per category, not a breakdown of a specific box.
What Repeats Campaign After Campaign
- Budget Trumps Taste. The same person creates very different boxes depending on the amount: charcuterie goes from 29% to 70% of the value between a €40 box and a €140 one.
- Nothing Disappears Completely. Drinks, sweets, and preserves drop in percentage but maintain a similar absolute spend: they lose relative weight, not presence.
- With Low Budgets, Distribution is Balanced. At €40, the three main categories each account for about a quarter of the value: there's no clear winner to justify a fixed gift box.
- Dispersion is the Norm. No specific combination appeals to the majority of the team — which is exactly what an identical gift box for everyone assumes.
- Those Who Choose, Don't Complain. Complaints of 'I don't eat this' vanish when the recipient has composed their own box.
What This Means for Your Campaign
If your per-person budget is high, a fixed gift box with balanced distribution is poorly calibrated: most would have spent that money on the premium item. And if it's tight, it still misses the mark, because at that level preferences are spread and there's no majority combination. At both extremes, letting them choose wins.
A candid note about this data: it comes from gourmet gift campaigns, where the catalogue is food-based. The free selection from the full catalogue — including technology, home, and experiences — is too recent on our platform to have a solid sample, so we prefer not to publish figures for that distribution until the 2026 season is complete. When we have them, we'll update this page.
Frequently asked questions
Where Do These Data Come From?
From 17,585 real orders from Christmas campaigns managed on our platform, where each employee created their own box. The data is aggregated and anonymised: we do not publish information about identifiable companies or individuals.
Why Do Percentages Change So Much with Budget?
Because the extra spend isn't spread out: it's concentrated in the highest unit value category. An Iberian product costs as much as several bottles or nougats, so as soon as there's room, people include it and the rest becomes proportionally smaller.
Can I See What My Team Chose?
You see the aggregated data of your campaign — participation and trends by category — not the individual choice of each person: their selection is theirs.
Can You Share These Data for an Article or Study?
Yes. If you're a journalist or analyst and need methodological details or specific cuts, write to us at [email protected] and we'll let you know what we can share.