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– Unique Food Gifts IN THIS ARTICLE –
Looking for an amazing gift for an adventurous friend who loves traveling and exploring new flavors? Go for some of these unique food gift ideas. Not only you’ll gift delicious international and exotic food, but also you’ll be supporting amazing brands that are working hard to give back!
Traveling is fantastic in so many ways! First, we have the opportunity to try unique food and drinks. But more than that: when we are immersed in a different culture, we have extra incentive to push our boundaries. When we push our boundaries we allow ourselves to experiment with new things. From new experiences, we may feel less confined; we may find answers that make us feel less alienated; we may get closer to our own best self and feel more connected. It is a privilege! However, traveling is not a guarantee neither a requirement for it!
It requires us to be open to the new; to step out of our comfort zone, habits, and limiting beliefs. It’s a life skill that is more related to your mindset than your bank account. Surprisingly we can trigger it with everyday actions like eating!
Related: Amazing Rustic Dining Tables To Warm Up Your Kitchen and Dining Room
If you open up to try international food, from a country, continent, or culture you are not familiar with, you are pushing boundaries!
That’s our wish with this gift guide: encourage you and a loved one to be adventurous with something as trivial as eating. After all, why not?
01. International Food Gift Boxes
Taste of Peru Pantry Box – $75.00
UncommonGoods, by Ben Simons
What you get: A flavor-rich selection of cooking ingredients, sourced from small-batch producers + tips and tricks so your traveler friend bring some of the World home!
Your preferences: You can choose Pantry Boxes from around the World: Spain , France, Italy , Greece , Southeast Asia, and India! I couldn’t find a more perfect gift for a travel-abstinent exotic food lover!
How you give back: Besides being focused on local and authentic small businesses, UncommonGoods is building a sustainable business. They encourage the use of environmentally friendly packaging and only feature leather, feather, and fur-free products!
On top of that, for every purchase you make they donate $1 to a partner of your choice through their Better to Give program .
Finally, they offer and advocate for fair parental family leave, and their entry-level pay for hourly team contributors is more than twice the federal minimum wage.
Photos Courtesy of UncommonGoods
Italian Antipasti Basket Gift Set – $239.00
Food52, by Salt Traders
What you get: Small batch production of Artichoke Lemon Pesto, Olivada Olive Spread, Preserved Lemon Cream Citrus Spread, and Crostata Buttery Tarts, plus crackers and flatbread for that extra crunch and the olive wood knife.
How you give back: Food52 is a women-owned business and supporting women in a country that doesn’t do much for us (hello equal pay, paid paternity leave, investments rounds, etc) is giving back!
Also, they work with small businesses, makers, and artisans. Finally, they promote a respectful and mindful relationship with food (cook 52 weeks/year), and every time we cook, we don’t support the Big Food / Big Pharma industries.
Courtesy of Food52
02. Exotic Spices Sets
Sutter Buttes International Spices Of The World Gift Tin 9 Pack – $29.99
Cost Plus World Market
What you get: 9-Pack 3oz jars with Mexican chili lime rub, Pacific seafood rub, Chinese 5 spice, Louisiana Cajun rub, French herbed poultry rub, Italian Tuscan herbs, Indian garam masala, Jamaican jerk rub, and Moroccan tagine spice mixes.
How you give back: Cost Plus World Market offers a 20%off discount for healthcare professionals, first responders, and teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic. When you shop from them, you endorse this policy!
Photos Courtesy of Cost Plus World Market
World Salt Tower – $28.00
Food52, by Salt Traders
What you get: 6 different flavors of hand-harvested salts from around the world. Bali Sea Salt, Australian Murray River Pink Salt Flakes, Maine Cherry Smoked Salt, Hawaiian Red Alaea Sea Salt, Himalayan Fine Grain, Black Cyprus Sea Salt Flakes
How you give back: Food52 is a women-owned business and supporting women in a country that doesn’t do much for us (hello equal pay, paid paternity leave, investments rounds, etc) is giving back!
Also, they work with small businesses, makers, and artisans. Finally, they promote a respectful and mindful relationship with food (cook 52 weeks/year), and every time we cook, we don’t support the Big Food / Big Pharma industries.
Photos Courtesy of Food52
03. Foreign Beverages Gift Packs
Single Origin Coffee Gift Box – $45.00
La Colombe Coffee Roasters
What you get: 3 full-sized 12oz boxes of coffee beans. Flavors: Ethiopia Yirgachefe, Colombia San Roque, Brazil Blue Diamond.
Your preferences: You can choose from 9 different grinds, including the whole beans.
How you give back: Currently La Colombe partnered with Vote.com and I can’t stress enough how thankful we are that people voted!
Also, they have a substantial list of charitable that really make a difference for American people’s lives, going from Emergency Funding for School Lunches, to Keep America Wild and Supporting Everytown for Gun Safety, ECHOES, Haiti, and more. When you shop from them, you help them keep up with the good work!
Photos Courtesy of La Colombe
Teas From Around the World Set – $55.00
UncommonGoods
What you get: 10 tubes of tea leaves, containing approximately 2oz each.
Your preferences: You can choose between Caffeinated or Botanical flavors sets, all sourced globally and blended in France!
How you give back: Besides being focused on local and authentic small businesses, UncommonGoods is building a sustainable business. They encourage the use of environmentally friendly packaging and only feature leather, feather, and fur-free products!
On top of that, for every purchase you make they donate $1 to a partner of your choice through their Better to Give program .
Finally, they offer and advocate for fair parental family leave, and their entry-level pay for hourly team contributors is more than twice the federal minimum wage.
Photos Courtesy of UncommonGoods
Seedlip Non-Alcoholic Spirits Trio Pack – $50.00
Food52, by Seedlip
What you get: 3 bottles containing 6.8oz of Made in the UK elixirs. Spice 94 is rich and aromatic with notes of citrus peel and bark, while Garden 108 is bright and herbal thanks to peas and garden herbs. Then there’s Grove 42, complex and zesty with a spiced orange taste.
How you give back: Food52 is a women-owned business and supporting women in a country that doesn’t do much for us (hello equal pay, paid paternity leave, investments rounds, etc) is giving back!
Also, they work with small businesses, makers, and artisans from all over the World. Finally, they promote a respectful and mindful relationship with food (cook 52 weeks/year), and every time we cook, we don’t support the Big Food / Big Pharma industries.
Photos Courtesy of Food52
04. The power of enjoy yourself and give back
Because food is one of the most cultural daily habits we have, it is also a very powerful tool for change! If we are lucky enough, we can eat every day and eventually give back, creating a full circle of purpose. For that reason, this unique food gift guide brings only international food, beverage, and spices from brands that are actually trying to make more than just a profit.
Finally, remember that there are several ways to give back to this Planet, not only by donating money or volunteering. Surprisingly, it can be as simple as buying local, or from a black or women-owned business, cooking your meal once in a while, reducing one type of plastic use, having 1 meatless meal per week, buying fresh food once a month, and so on.
It’s much easier (and realistic) to make small changes. They are a path to not feel powerless and anxious for not changing the World at once! When we act to promote the change we wanna see in the World, that’s when real changes take place!
Also, international food doesn’t have to be fancy or super expensive. If your cravings are pricier than your usual eating budget, consider making it a special gift to yourself. And again, we are talking international flavors here, but it can be any new flavor, from anywhere. It’s all about exploring the unknown in a positive way!
What do you think?