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eentje Michiels, from Belgium, and Camilo Macías, from Colombia, met ten years ago in Argentina, where they had a daughter, and ended up moving to Barcelona in 2015, a city where they have chosen to start a business. Just one year later, they created InCityBox, a company specialized in gourmet corporate gifts. Their project worked especially well for corporate events, congresses, tourism companies... But the current pandemic completely twisted their plans. "We were working well and growing. Until the coronavirus arrived," laments Michiels. After months without invoicing, they decided to rethink their business, focused on the sectors "most hit" by the crisis, and chose to turn it around by promoting The Impact Gift Co., adding "a new, more local and conscious perspective" to their proposal.
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Michiels and Macías' new initiative offers companies gourmet gifts "with social impact," relying on more than fifteen non-profit organizations and social enterprises that employ people with disabilities or at risk of social exclusion to offer local and organic products. El Rosal Cookies from Grup Alba, Mallart cured meats, organic products from Aliments Onyar and Can Moragues, wines and oils from L'Olivera, "imperfect" jams from Espigoladors are some of the partners this couple has sought for their new adventure. The vast majority are from Catalonia, except for one, Apadrina un Olivo, a project that aims to combat the phenomenon of Empty Spain by revitalizing the town of Oliete, in Teruel, through the recovery of its olive trees.
But that's not all. The Impact Gift Co. also seeks to incorporate the social component throughout the entire process of preparing and sending the packages: the special employment center La Calaixera, in Barcelona, is in charge of the transport service; the wooden boxes for the lots are handcrafted at the Ilersis center, in Lleida, and the assembly and handling of all their products are carried out at the Cares Foundation, located in the Port of Barcelona.
"It's a pleasure to work with them," explains Michiels, who doesn't want to get "corny," but emphasizes the satisfaction they get from being able to support these types of entities. "Every time we visit a foundation, we are inspired to do things better because the people who work in them are very special, with huge hearts, patience, ideals... And, for them, this work generates a lot of satisfaction and they infect us with it," he values. In addition, Michiels argues that their products are not only of very good quality, ecological, and handmade, but they are also made by people who "otherwise would not be able to enter the labor market," on which, many times, their development and personal autonomy depend.
For these entrepreneurs, The Impact Gift Co. allows them to leverage their strengths, thanks to their experience in marketing, communication, and design, to support organizations that employ the most vulnerable.
The Impact Gift Co. has just launched ---last week they launched the website and finished the catalog a few days ago--- and both are working against the clock to contact their old clients and look for new ones who might be interested in their product. "Here we are, little by little, one by one," Michiels summarizes. Christmas is presented as a turning point: if it works, they plan to expand their proposal and create an e-commerce platform that will make other types of products available to users, such as t-shirts and bags. But, always, with a social component.