Simi Valley businesswoman Carol Reniger would have been satisfied with her company being named among the Top 100 gift basket providers in the country by an industry trade publication. But having Baskets ‘N’ Bows named in the Top 50 by Gift Basket Review makes it all that more “sweeter” for the 15 year-old company, Reniger said. “There are so many gift basket companies out there that Top 100 would have been fine,” Reniger said. The honor from Gift Basket Review was based on a survey Reniger filled out and returned to the Florida publication. Recipients are recognized for their high professional standards demonstrated to clients and customers, Gift Basket Review Publisher Debra Paul said in a prepared statement. Reniger will receive the award at a ceremony in September in Boston. Originally located in Reniger’s home in 1991, Basket ‘N’ Bows moved five years later to retail space and is now located in an industrial park with a showroom for the gift-baskets that Reniger and freelance employees assemble for any occasion. If there are less than 100 baskets to an order, Reniger said she does all of them herself, while larger orders require her to bring on help from employees who have worked with her for years. As for her success, Reniger points to the customer service she provides and that many of her baskets can be custom made. A tough thing about being located in Simi Valley is that potential customers think they need to be close to order her baskets, Reniger said, while the actuality is she sends her products all over the country. Her baskets can include alcohol, food, and chocolates made in a variety of shapes for weddings, baby showers, graduations or even the end of the tax preparation season. Two months ago, Reniger received an order to be sent to an accountant on April 15 of one basket with 51 bottles of beer and a second basket with food. “It was so heavy we had to wheel it out,” Reniger said. “That was the strangest (order) we’ve had.”
