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When meeting Christine Maree at her Yuppie Gift Baskets (YGB) warehouse in George Industria, the immediate effect is of a real-life trompe l’oeil: does she appear smaller against the backdrop of her large business premises, or is it the other way ‘round?
A brief chat to the friendly Kingswood resident swiftly exposes her as the embodiment of understated commercial success. When establishing YGB back in 2016, she drew inspiration from her personal life as “proud house woman” with a passion for beautiful home décor.
“I started the business to prepare for the day our children would leave the house – and to keep me busy, of course. It soon became clear that there was a significant gap in the market for unique picnic baskets,” she says.
Most products available commercially comprise boxy fourperson baskets, so Christine started designing picnic kits for groups containing five to six people. She never looked back: today, YGB clients have 10 different basket options to choose from, as well as 15 picnic rugs and a plethora of other products.
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At first the business consisted of a small online shop supplying mainly picnic baskets, but it quickly evolved into a wholesale warehouse to keep up with the demand from other businesses that were keen to sell Christine’s carefully selected products.
She remembers her husband’s surprise when, shortly after getting YGB off the ground, she shared her plan to apply for funding from SEDA (South Africa’s Small Enterprise Development Agency) and then the joy of that initial ‘sponsored’ trip to her first trade show in Gauteng.
“SEDA paid for my flights, accommodation and registration, and this exposure was an excellent springboard for business networking on a national scale,” she says, adding that over the past few years, she has been attending the SARCDA Trade Expo at Gallagher Estate in Midrand twice yearly for this purpose.
It didn’t take long for her attention to detail and pursuit of quality goods to result in strong links forged with international suppliers — most of her products are sourced from outside of South Africa’s borders.
“I’m essentially an importer, but feel strongly about supporting local enterprise. Fellow Kingswood resident Anneri Marais has a workshop where all our handmade leather products for corporate gifting and the YGB catalogue are manufactured.”
Local picnic service providers are also on Christine’s list of South African suppliers, and she tries where possible to give her customers the option of choosing between internationally and locally manufactured goodies.
Corporate gifting buyers and stockists make up the majority of her clientele, while her products are distributed countrywide by Takealot and stocked by retail outlets as well as big business collectives.
A dedicated three-strong team, all of whom trained at Signa Academy in George before joining her gentle fold as YGB interns, forms the backbone of Christine’s business. Vigenine September was the first apprentice to sign up, before Buena Vermeulen and Lwazi Mruqhli followed suit.
Life at Kingswood has been good to the Marees since semi-grating from Centurion in 2008. “The children were still in primary school when we moved to our first house, located close to the Oval with its kids’ play area.
“Our youngest, who studies online from home, is a member at Kingswood Golf Club and loves playing a round when taking a break from the books – without having to drive anywhere for this privilege.
“One of our sons is an avid triathlon contender and before flying the coop, both he and our daughter used the estate’s vast training terrain to prepare for competitions, or simply enjoyed using Kingswood’s many tracks on their regular jogs.”
Christine says that they have never regretted the decision to decamp to Kingswood, where their leisurely existence allows for quality living at its best.
yuppiegiftbaskets.co.za
