Bananalab Gift Experiences (Melbourne)
Bananalab have spent the last three years quietly growing their simple, authentic experience-filled gift box business. Now the 2nd largest experience gift provider in Melbourne, we caught up with owner Tom to find out what was so special about it. We instantly fell in love (with the product, not Tom. Tom’s lovely, but just to clarify, Tom and I are both in committed relationships with other people).
So what makes Bananalab so different…
Locally focused: Bananalab are a Melbourne based company, and they really care about that. They’re a small business, promoting other small businesses in Melbourne and Victoria and there’s a real authenticity in everything they do. Not only does this mean you’re getting unique opportunities that you won’t find elsewhere – you also get that warm fuzzy feeling of knowing that when you buy this as a gift you’re helping out hard-working local people too. This is even down to the photographs used, and the printers – where possible, every single aspect of Bananalab is created within Melbourne.
Gift Box: I love giving and receiving experiences as gifts. I’m all for reducing waste for one. Most people in my life are in the fortunate position where if they really want something (within the price range I can afford to spend on them, anyway), they can go out and get it. And, the experiences are the gifts you remember. Ask my partner about the gifts I’ve bought him over the last 8 years: the only one he’ll remember is his shark diving experience. Ask me, I’ll probably tell you where we all went to dinner, what we ate and what we talked about. I’d have very little memory of what I actually received.
However, on the flip side, I do miss that physicality of giving something and the experience of exchanging gifts. Bananalab get this, and with every package there’s a sustainably produced, recyclable gift box – with the voucher and experience booklet inside. While they may not book their experience until months later, there’s still that joy of excitedly flipping through the booklet and reading about all the great things you can try. The tangible memory and item, that anchor to why we give gifts in the first place.
One price, many experiences: Bananalab do 4 gift packages: Petite ($99), Sweet ($199), Classic ($299) and Unique ($599). The boxes have a range of covers, so you can personalise this to the foodie, spa queen or adventurer in your life, but the beauty is they can choose from any experience in the box. There’s so many great foodie experiences, that to be honest I’d struggle to go past without choosing one but if I was feeling daring and decided I’d prefer a surf lesson instead – that’s okay. I can choose anything, and the price covers any experience in that book (to give you an example, the classic book contains over 80 experiences). It’s just has such an elegant simplicity.
So how does Bananalab Work…
The Gift Giver:
- Select a gift box: Remember, you choose from Unique ($599), Classic ($299), Sweet ($199) and Petite ($99).
- Choose the cover that best matches the personality of your recipient.
- Give gift. Simple!
The Recipient:
- Opens gift.
- Thanks you with a big smile and starts flicking through their book to decide which gift they want.
- Chooses an experience.
- Books direct with the Banana Lab partner using the details provided. (They can also check online for any new or limited edition experiences).
- Enjoys their authentic experience.
- Treasures their memories, and their gift book, which they use to plan many more exciting adventures.
What else do I need to know:
Not much. Check out our guide to some of the top foodie experiences. We’ll be reviewing some of the experiences too, so keep your eyes peeled for our posts and recommendations on these. For any other questions, head to Bananalab’s website.