Corporate Gifts in India: Kansa, Brass and Copper Your Team and Clients Keep

Because they are made for the giver, not the person receiving them. About 40% of employees say they have re-gifted or thrown out a corporate gift (a 2018 Snappy survey, reported by People Matters). In an earlier UK survey by Office Angels, almost half of 500 staff said they threw away or never used the gifts their company gave them, and branded sweatshirts, ties and pens topped the list of the least wanted.

The pattern is the same in India: the plastic gadget, the diary with a big logo and the dry-fruit box that is finished in a week. What people keep is something useful, well made and meant for their home, not their desk.

Tier by relationship, not by rank, and never let two tiers meet in the same room.

• Everyone on the team gets the same gift. Differences inside a team cause more hurt than a small gift does good.
• Managers and long-serving staff get a step up that is still practical: a copper bottle set or a brass dhuni.
• The top few clients and leaders get the heirloom: a kansa thali set.

Send tiers on separate days or to separate addresses, and let the card explain the occasion (a work anniversary, a partnership of five years) so a bigger gift reads as recognition, not favouritism.

Low-cost "kansa-look" and "brass-look" pieces are often cast from scrap aluminium or recycled alloys, and those can leach lead into food. Weidenhamer et al. tested aluminium pots from ten developing countries and found that many released lead during cooking, and Fellows et al. found high lead in some imported aluminium and brass cookware. For a gift that goes on someone’s dining table, that matters.

One more clue is price: a six-piece “kansa” set at a fraction of the usual price is almost never solid bell metal. The four checks below take a minute.

Hampers are eaten in a week and boxes of chocolates are forgotten. Kansa, brass and copper stay on the dining table, in the puja corner or at the bedside for years, and every time someone uses them they remember who gave them. They also suit almost every Indian festival and family, so one gift works across a mixed list of clients and employees.

Most companies use three tiers: a gift under ₹1,000 for the whole team, ₹1,000 to ₹3,000 for managers and regular clients, and a heirloom such as a kansa thali set for the top few clients or leaders. Fix the tiers first, then the gifts; it keeps the list fair and the budget predictable. See corporate gifts under ₹1,000 and premium corporate gifts.

Diwali is the biggest gifting moment, followed by New Year. Many companies also gift at Pongal, Makar Sankranti and Lohri in January, at the close of the financial year, and on work anniversaries and retirements. Gifts that arrive a little before the festival stand out more than those that arrive with everyone else’s.