Designer Ulrich Conrad Simpson credits his daughter with inspiring him to launch his denim kitchen goods company, Mi Cocina. But if there’s another woman that has changed his business prospects in a big way, it’s Oprah Winfrey.
“Respectfully, I call her Queen Oprah,” Simpson said. The magnate has featured his wares on her holiday list “Oprah’s Favorite Things” several times over the years. Getting Winfrey’s stamp of approval has had a “huge, huge, huge” impact on Mi Cocina’s sales, he added.
This year, Winfrey featured a bundle that includes an oven mitt, which received vigorous vetting from her team before making its way into her kitchen, he explained during a recent tour of his new storefront and headquarters in the San Francisco Centre mall.
“I can honestly say that if we didn’t have her support, yes we would be here, but we wouldn’t be here,” he said, in a nod to both the space and Mi Cocina’s overall trajectory. “It opened people’s eyes to our brand.”
His experience with what could be called “the gift guide effect” reflects that of many small business owners. Once late November rolls around, the shopping-list avalanche begins in full force, with recommendations flowing in from major news organizations, celebrities, and niche influencers. You’ll see “Anti-Gift Guide” gift guides, farcical gift guides, and even hyper-specific gift guide assistance.
The format has become so ubiquitous that the glut gets its own news cycle: “Enough with the Gift Guides” begged one New York Times headline, while the Atlantic described them as a recipe for a “soulless holiday-shopping strategy.”
Meanwhile, the business of gift guides, with publishers at times getting a cut of sales through affiliate links, has escalated to the point that some gift guides will include only products from which they get a kickback, eroding trust in the endeavor.
But even amid the think pieces on gift-guide exhaustion, Simpson and other San Francisco business owners can attest that inclusion in a well-known roundup can drive serious sales.
Jennie Lennick, who founded Jenny Lemons in 2015, said this has been her brand’s most prolific year yet for appearing in gift guides. Her vibrant, cartoon-style hair clips and hats have been featured in recent lists like “The 34 Best Taylor Swift Gifts, Chosen by Swifties,” “19 Delightfully Impractical Gifts for the Friend Who Has Everything,” and even The Standard’s own listicle (courtesy of myself).
Her lobster barrette earned a mention in The New Yorker’s food-themed gift guide, while her claw clips received a full-page recommendation in the print edition of Better Homes and Gardens. (As a sign of the times, scoring a copy of the magazine took some effort: Lennick visited three stores in San Francisco trying to find it, while her in-laws checked four locations in Monterey County before snagging one.)
“It feels surreal,” she said of her starring role in this year’s gift-guide wave. She’s been running her business for a decade, including a six-year stint with a Mission storefront, but this feels like a breakout moment. “I try to celebrate, like, ‘Let’s raise a glass tonight!’” she said. “It feels really great, like I’ve made it after putting in a lot of time.”
She attributes this year’s increase, in part, to the public relations agency she’s been working with to showcase her products to editors.
“Now is their time to shine — they have been working hard all year, laying the groundwork for November and December,” she said. She estimates that about a third of Jenny Lemons’ annual sales come in the last two months of the year, with gift guides a key driver.
Robin Sloan, author and co-owner of the olive oil company Fat Gold, said it seems like there’s “no rhyme or reason” behind which gift guides will lead to sales. But for a subscription company, piquing someone’s interest can spark a long-term relationship. “Being included in a gift guide can be, for us, the gift that keeps on giving year after year after year,” he said.
This year, The New York Times featured Fat Gold on its Hanukkah list, and the SF Chronicle included it on its “Bay Area Food and Drink Gift Guide” (as recommended by chef Samin Nosrat).
While the Fat Gold team was delighted by the local press, Sloan said, the company didn’t see a noticeable sales boost — at least, at first. But when the Chronicle’s Sunday print edition came out, the company received a “swell” of new sales and subscriptions.
“I guess the folks that still receive the Sunday print edition of the San Francisco Chronicle are the same people who are interested in extra-virgin olive oil subscriptions,” he quipped.
Sloan, in fact, publishes his own gift guide every year and believes that they are most delightful when they include personal touches or unexpected items: “Truly the best thing that they can do is tell you about something that you had never heard of before and never would have found another way.”
In practice, that means highlighting artisanal goods instead of big-name electronics and artists instead of anonymous online sellers.
“Shopping small is like voting with your dollars,” Lennick said. “By supporting a small business or a maker, you’re voting for that instead of Shein or Temu.”