Family business: Anna of SevenYays

When Anna Staal, a teenage student thought, “Why don’t we have advent calendars for birthdays?” she knew she had the ideal concept for her GCSE business project. After pondering the idea and sharing it with her parents, who agreed it was brilliant, they got to work as a family and created a unique premium gifting concept that is already shaking up the market.

Anna’s GCSE business idea is now known as ‘SevenYays’ and officially launched to the market last month. The idea and production were developed during the various national lockdowns. The new personalised gifting service allows users to create customised countdown calendars for birthdays and other occasions, for friends and family or there are several ready-made boxes with themes including gin, wellbeing, and celebration. Customers simply choose six small, high-quality gifts and one larger gift – the Seventh Yay – plus a card with a personalised message to complete the SevenYays experience online. The boxes are sent to the recipient in time for the countdown to their special occasion.

SevenYays aims wherever possible to support independent British businesses with ethical and sustainable values which was an important value in Anna’s initial business plan. The family has also taken great care in the development process to make all packaging as planet friendly as possible. Cardboard is sourced from FSC-approved sustainable sources and is 100% recyclable. The trays within the SevenYays calendars are made from 86% recycled plastic (produced from drinks bottles and other clean plastic waste) and are 100% recyclable. The gifts selection includes craft gins and rum, wellbeing products, high-quality beauty items, sleep masks, socks, books, and tech items, which are sourced from smaller, independent British businesses where possible.

“There are so many amazing SMEs out there creating some wonderful gifts and incredible products. We can give them a platform to boost their brand and increase their sales – and bring some exciting new gifts to our customers. SevenYays is a fun, fresh approach to gift-giving, one that prolongs the fun experience.”

Research in November 2020 by Censuswide for Roland DG found that UK shoppers were set to spend over £750m on personalised gifts over the festive period alone, with buyers of personalised gifts predicted to spend more than £40 each on unique presents for their loved ones. According to the study, UK shoppers are prepared to spend an extra 7% on gifts with personalisation elements because they consider personalised gifts more thoughtful.

SevenYays has 12 different pre-selected themed boxes and 130 different premium gifts to choose from in the create-your-own box option. The countdown calendars are available from the SevenYays website, with prices starting around £30. www.sevenyays.com

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