A saree, a plant, a laptop bag: How corporate gifting is changing in India

A laptop bag to mark five years at work. A high-end perfume for completing a decade with the same company. An entire cinema theatre booked for teachers on Teachers’ Day. And a plant and a saree on a professor’s birthday, accompanied by a card signed by colleagues.

These may seem like small gestures in the larger world of corporate rewards. But for the people receiving them, they can mean far more than their price tag.

Pankaj Verma*, who works at a multinational company, was given a catalogue of gifts to choose from when he completed five years at the organisation. He picked a branded laptop bag. Five years later, when he completed a decade there, he was offered another catalogue and chose a high-end perfume.

Having the freedom to choose something he actually liked made the gesture more meaningful. It also left Verma feeling wanted and valued by his employer.

His experience reflects a gradual shift in Indian workplaces. Corporate gifting, once largely associated with Diwali hampers, annual bonuses and festive celebrations, is increasingly extending to birthdays, work anniversaries, promotions, onboarding and personal milestones.

The idea is no longer just to give employees something during the festive season. It is to make them feel remembered throughout the year.

For Asmita Raj Yadav, a PR consultant, one of her most memorable workplace gifts came on her birthday. Her team at a previous organisation surprised her with a beauty box set and a voucher.

“That thoughtful gesture made me feel valued and loved, reminding me that appreciation at work goes beyond professional achievements,” she says.

Diwali, however, has a charm of its own. Yadav recalls receiving practical gifts such as mixers, air fryers and trolley bags, along with sweets and dry fruits. She enjoys receiving presents, but finds a festive bonus equally exciting because it gives her the freedom to buy something of her choice.

For Neelam Gupta*, a teacher at a school in Delhi-NCR, the most memorable workplace celebration was not about an individual gift at all. On Teachers’ Day, her school organised lunch and booked an entire cinema theatre exclusively for the teachers.

“The entire theatre screen was booked just for us. We felt honoured and valued,” she says.

Lecturer Nidhi Sharma* has a different but equally personal tradition at her workplace. On birthdays, her department gifts professors a plant and a saree, accompanied by a card personally signed by the dean and other staff members.

For Sharma, the handwritten messages are invaluable. They turn a routine birthday present into a personal expression of appreciation.

Kush Sharma, a senior PR consultant, believes such celebrations also help colleagues connect beyond their everyday responsibilities. The excitement of guessing what the company might give for Diwali, exchanging sweets and opening presents together adds to the festive atmosphere, he says.

Whether it is a personalised hamper, a useful product or a shared experience, these examples show how workplace gifts can become memorable when employees feel that thought has gone into them.FROM FESTIVE HAMPERS TO YEAR-ROUND GIFTING

These personal experiences reflect a broader shift in how companies approach gifting. While Diwali remains a major occasion, employers are increasingly using birthdays, onboarding, work anniversaries, promotions and professional achievements to recognise employees throughout the year.

The scale of the gifting market offers some context. Estimates cited in the ‘Indian Gifting Market 2021’ put India's overall gifting market at around Rs 2.5 lakh crore, with corporate gifting accounting for Rs 12,000 crore.

An eYantra Corporate Gifting and Trends Report 2022 found that 80% of respondents believed gifts helped strengthen connections with clients and employees. The report also found that 88% wanted high-quality, personalised gifts and a wider range of choices.

Festive seasons accounted for 32% of gifting initiatives covered by the report. Employee onboarding followed at 26%, while special days, including work anniversaries and company milestones, accounted for 19%. Promotions made up 8% and retirement celebrations 4%.

The findings underline the importance of festivals while highlighting the range of occasions on which employers use gifts to build relationships with employees. However, these figures reflect the report's findings rather than the current distribution of corporate gifting across India.

The gifts themselves are changing, too. Alongside traditional sweets and hampers, companies are exploring vouchers, gift cards, lifestyle products, wellness items and experiences. The aim is to offer something employees can use or enjoy, rather than sending everyone an identical box.WHAT GIFTING COMPANIES ARE SEEING

The shift is visible in the orders received by gifting companies, which say organisations are increasingly treating gifting as a year-round employee engagement tool rather than a seasonal expense.

Tarun Joshi, founder and CEO of IGP, says gifting is becoming part of how companies recognise, reward and engage employees throughout the year.

“Gifting is no longer restricted to festivals; it has become part of how organisations recognise, reward and engage employees through the year,” he says.

According to Joshi, around 35% of IGP's corporate orders are concentrated around Diwali, while the remaining 65% come from occasions throughout the year. These figures reflect IGP's own order patterns, rather than the corporate gifting market as a whole.

Birthdays, joining kits, promotions, performance recognition and personal milestones are creating more opportunities for employers to acknowledge their teams. This is also influencing the products they choose, with personalised items, gourmet treats, wellness products, lifestyle accessories, vouchers and experiences gaining ground.

Gaurav Bhagat, Managing Director of Consortium Gifts, says corporate gifting has evolved considerably over the past three to five years. What was once largely centred on festivals and annual milestones is increasingly becoming part of the employee and client relationship lifecycle.

“The question has evolved from ‘What should we gift for Diwali?’ to ‘What is the right moment to make someone feel valued?’” he says.

Bhagat says organisations are spreading their gifting budgets across onboarding, work anniversaries, promotions, team achievements and personal milestones. They are also paying greater attention to usefulness, personal relevance and timing, instead of focusing only on the price of a present.

He believes a thoughtfully chosen gift, even if it costs less, can mean more to an employee than a pricier, generic hamper.

But giving employees more gifts is not necessarily the same as making them feel appreciated. For that, the intent behind the gesture and the wider workplace culture matter just as much.WHAT HR SAYS: A GIFT CANNOT REPLACE GENUINE RECOGNITION

For HR teams, the rise of year-round gifting raises a bigger question: can a present actually make an employee feel more connected to the organisation?

Dr Yogish Arora, director and CEO of HR Anexi, believes the timing and thought behind a gift matter more than the act of giving itself.

“When every employee gets the same box in the same week, it tells them the company remembered the calendar. A gift in March, for something specific a person did, tells them someone noticed their work,” he says.

Arora believes companies need to build a culture in which recognition does not depend on one festival, one manager or one business owner. This is particularly relevant in family-managed businesses, where Diwali gifts and bonuses have traditionally played an important role in employer-employee relationships.

He also cites a 2025 Great Place To Work India and Vantage Circle study, which he says found that only 55% of employees experience the full impact of recognition at work. The finding points to a gap between offering recognition and ensuring that employees genuinely feel its impact.

However, Arora cautions that gifting alone cannot improve employee retention. It cannot compensate for inadequate pay, poor management or limited career growth. Recognition linked to promotions and performance must also be fair and transparent.

A gift can strengthen an employee's sense of belonging, but it works best when it is part of a workplace culture that values people's contributions throughout the year.WHAT MAKES EMPLOYEES FEEL TRULY APPRECIATED?

Not everyone wants the same thing. Some employees may prefer a bonus or voucher, while others may value a practical product, a shared experience or a handwritten note from their manager.

The experiences of Yadav, Verma, Gupta and Sharma suggest that memorable workplace gestures are often those that make people feel seen as individuals. Sometimes, even a simple birthday card or an appreciation email from an employer can make an employee feel valued.

For companies, the challenge is to make gifting personal without making it arbitrary, while ensuring that recognition remains fair across teams.

Diwali hampers are unlikely to disappear from Indian workplaces. But as birthdays, milestones and professional achievements become part of the gifting calendar, the annual festive present is becoming just one part of a much bigger story.

Employees may forget what was inside a gift box. The feeling of being appreciated, however, can stay long after the wrapping paper is gone.

*(Names changed to protect the identities of the individuals concerned.)- Ends

Jasmine Anand is a Senior Reporter (Emerging Tech) at India Today. With over 15 years of experience, she has earlier worked as a Financial Journalist in a multinational equity research firm, tracking equities, stock market, economy, IPOs and market-moving stories. Jasmine's forte is to scribe meticulously complex facts and figures into lucid and interesting reads. In her leisure time, she loves binging on movies and is passionate about painting, calligraphy, arts and crafts.