CanGift Virtual Market – February 2021

In the absence of a live, in-person CanGift Winter event at the Toronto Gift & Home Market this year, the Canadian Gift Association will be presenting another Gift + Home Market VIRTUAL event, coming February 22-25, 2021. Through an online platform, Atlantic Canadian Craft Producers will have the opportunity to connect with qualified retail buyers who are looking to source new products by taking part in the CraftLab virtual listing. With our CanGift membership, Craft Alliance has again secured a space for our Craft Lab project in the online event, with some additional value-added marketing on the CanGift site.

Participating producers will be included in Craft Alliance’s listing and promotional efforts, including:

• Brand presence on the CanGift 365 wholesale platform (see below)
• Their catalogue featured on Craft Alliance’s “Craft Lab” exhibitor page in the CanGift Virtual Market
• Photo(s) in the “New Products” section of the Craft Lab exhibitor page
• Approx. 1-to-2 minute long segment in a Craft Alliance-produced sponsored video, to be featured on the Virtual Market site
• Products featured in Craft Alliance’s social media feeds as well as other opportunities with CanGift’s social media tba
• Video conferencing capability through the CanGift platform for hosting virtual meetings with buyers
• Read more about the expanded capabilities of the CanGift Virtual platform for 2021 here: https://www.cangift.org/media/551337/promo-sheet-for-feb-vm_final.pdf

A significant element of this coming virtual event is product placement on the CanGift 365 platform. Retailers visiting the virtual event will be linked to an external platform where products will be hosted year-round for ordering. This is part of a new investment by CanGift into a Canadian-focused wholesale platform (also accessible to international buyers). Contact Craft Alliance to learn more about CanGift365.

Only 10 Atlantic Canadian craft producers will be selected to participate in this online showcase. Preference will be given to producers who were registered with Craft Alliance for the Toronto Gift + Home Market CraftLab Fall 2020 booth or virtual event.

This project is funded through the ACOA Business Development Program. This opportunity is only available to craft producers who do not yet have a CanGift membership and are unable to register for the Virtual Market on their own.

Participants are required to:

– complete a detailed online Producer Profile
– contact Craft Alliance with their expression of interest
– pay a participation fee of $75.00
– complete two follow-up surveys after the trade show is complete.

For information on the CanGift virtual market, watch this demonstration video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHqZOWJbx4s&feature=youtu.be