In this guide
Quick answer
A diwali gift for employees under 500 has one job: to arrive looking like a deliberate choice rather than the cheapest line on a quote. With a large team the maths gets tight, but a two-jar box filled with two good things does that job better than five thin packets. Here is how to make the number work.
Who usually works to 500 a head?
Mostly companies with a big headcount. A plant with 300 people on the floor, a BPO floor in Hyderabad, a retail chain with staff across twenty stores, a hospital that wants every nurse and ward boy included. The budget is small per person because the list is long, and nobody wants to leave anyone off it.
That is a good instinct. A modest box that reaches all 300 people does more for a workplace than a lavish one that reaches the 40 in the head office. The trick is making sure the modest box does not look like an afterthought.
What fits in a 500-a-head box?
Fewer things, chosen well. At this band we usually start with the two-jar boxes, because two jars filled properly read as a gift, while four half-filled jars read as rationing. Two fills is also easier to keep even across a few hundred boxes, which matters when people compare on the way to the car park.
The pairings that work best:
- Kaju and kishmish (cashew and raisin). The most familiar pair in any Indian home, and the kaju does the heavy lifting on how the box looks.
- Badam and kaju (almond and cashew). The classic pair. Slightly more serious, good for a staff list that skews older.
- Kaju and makhana (cashew and fox nut). Makhana is light, so it fills a jar to the brim and looks generous.
- Badam and khajur (almond and dates). Good where many people fast during the festive weeks.
For how many grams a jar should hold before it looks short, the gifting quantity guide has the working numbers.
The Ivory Damask is the box we suggest most for a large employee count. It is a twin window box in ivory and gold with a ribbon handle, two jars visible through the front, and it stacks neatly when 400 of them arrive at one reception. It looks festive without needing anything added.
What makes a cheap box look cut down?
Most of the damage comes from four or five small decisions, each of which saves very little. Here is what we see, and what to do instead.
| Choice | Looks cut down | Looks considered |
|---|---|---|
| Number of items | Five varieties, a handful of each | Two varieties, each jar full to the lid |
| Grade | Broken kaju to hit a headline weight | Whole kaju, even a smaller grade |
| Filler | Half the box is sugar-coated saunf or cheap raisins | Kishmish or makhana as a proper second item |
| Packaging | Plastic tray with a printed sleeve | A box people keep, with a ribbon handle |
| Card | No card, or a generic printed one | A short note signed by the founder or the team head |
Notice that none of the right-hand column is expensive. Whole kaju in a smaller grade costs less than you would expect, and the difference between broken and whole is the first thing anyone sees when they open the lid. Our note on kaju grades shows why a smaller whole nut is the better choice than a big broken one.
If the team is a little smaller, say a design studio of 60 or a branch office, the Peacock Mahal is the other two-jar option. It is a pink mahal-print keepsake box with a peacock inside the lid, and people keep it on a shelf long after the dry fruit is gone. It suits a younger team and anyone who likes the box itself.
How do you order for a team of several hundred?
Choose the dry fruits and pack sizes on the website, order them there, and put the gift together at home. Ready-made gift boxes and hampers are not available at the moment. Orders start at ₹1,000, every order ships free across India, and payment is online through Razorpay. Delivery takes a few days depending on the city, so order well ahead of the day.
Is it better to raise the budget or cut the list?
Neither, usually. If 500 a head is what the company can spend, the better move is to keep everyone on the list and keep the box simple. A raised budget for a few people creates the comparison problem you were trying to avoid, and a shorter list means the people left off notice. Two full jars for everyone is a fair, clean answer.
Questions people ask
Will every box in a large order be filled the same?
Each item is weighed and sealed the day it is packed, and every box in an order gets the same fill, so nobody’s jar is lighter than the next person’s.
Is two jars really enough for a festive gift?
Two full jars of whole kaju and good kishmish look better than five half-filled ones. People judge a gift by how full it looks when opened, not by the count of items.
We deliver across India See 87 city pages
Written at our counter, where these questions get asked every week.
