Crumbs! Edible Pants? (biscuiteers.com)

Name: plipplop

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Product:	biscuiteers.com
Date:	30/03/08 (149 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great gift idea, good quality

Disadvantages: More variety required

Do you often find yourself struggling to come up with something unusual to send somebody as a gift, a thank you or even just a hello? I've never been one for run-of-the-mill presents; I want people to look forward to getting something from me because they expect it to be groovy. I am, however, sadly rather lazy when it comes to shopping and will not trawl the high street looking for inspiration. I will, however, trawl the Internet and some months ago, came across a gem that has sat firmly in my Favourites ever since.

As they say on www.biscuiteers.com, why send flowers when you can send biscuits instead? Through the web site, you can order hand-baked tins of novelty biscuits in a number of themes tailored to your occasion or event. They do Christmas biscuits, shaped like colourful baubles and decorations. They do iced LOVE letters for Valentine's Day, chicks for Easter and underpants for, well, anywhere in between. Intrigued? I know I was.

The web site is as simple as the product; clearly laid out with selected, colourful (and most importantly) realistic photographs of the various biscuits. The range of biscuits is displayed in two menus, one by occasion and one by collection, which hints that there are actually more types of biscuit than there are, as several collections appear under multiple occasions - but there is still plenty of choice. Navigation is dead easy, and as a portal for the product the site is very effective, free from the clutter and advertising associated with many similar sites.

There are around 14 different collections available at any one time, with enough choice to suit pretty much any intended recipient. I love the Creepy Crawlies tin, filled with giant insect-shaped biscuits, all beautifully iced in vibrant, creepy colours. The Bootylicious shoes go down well with some of my girl friends, complete with flip flops, glamorous high heels and coloured boots. My Nan loves the Oodles of Poodles, five different coloured poodle biscuits complete with giant bones. To appreciate what there is, you really just have to have a browse; the reality is that the actual biscuits are probably far more impressive in real life than they appear online.

The order process is very simple, you simply select the Buy Now link shown with each collection and move through a very straight forward process of adding / subtracting from your basket before you checkout. As this is very much a gift idea you can, of course, have the biscuits sent straight to the recipient, complete with a personalised message (which is printed on a small card and fixed to the outside of the tin.) The payment process is via Secpay, a well-known and trusted payment service, so any concerns over information security can be rested. I also like the very clear delivery timescales; order on a working day before 13:00 and your biscuits will arrive the next working day (subject to Royal Mail reliability). I've ordered several of these tins now, and I've always been satisfied with the delivery process. The tins come packaged in fairly robust cardboard, which wouldn't stand up to being kicked round a van, but does seem to protect the contents well enough. The company has, to date, never missed the next day deadline for any of my orders.

The biscuits themselves are quite unusual, rather more like small cakes than crunchy biscuits. They're pretty big and whilst the tin holds around 16 biscuits, you could only really manage one or two at a time. The thick, coloured icing makes them very sweet; the biscuit base is fairly rich and dark chocolate. I was actually expecting something more like a traditional butter biscuit but the site does actually describe them as "super-chocolatey", which they are. I can't say that I love the biscuits myself but most of my friends seem to go mad for them, and the sheer imaginative nature of them is really where I think most of the appeal rests. The tin is actually quite nice too, sturdy and decorated in appropriate printed card. Certainly, my friends' kitchens are all starting to acquire one.

They're not cheap. This is partly a reflection of the fact that they're hand-made, pretty much to order, that they're unusual and that the ingredients are all of good quality (no artificial nasties here). A tin of these fellows will set you back £37.50, which for around 16 biscuits is quite a lot. Add on the postage and it comes to more than £40, but I'm happy to pay this for the reaction I get. For a lesser budget, they do individual biscuit cards, essentially one or two biscuits in a small box for £8 and you may wish to try this option before you plunge headlong into the full-sized tins. Experience tells me that these biscuits are not for kids. They love them to look at and touch, but find the actual recipe rather rich and one biscuit also seems a bit too much. Adults only here, I reckon.

Like anything ordered online, you're within your rights to send back if dissatisfied but I've never had to do this simply because everyone loves them so much (or is too polite to say otherwise).

Criticisms? I wasn't keen on their Easter biscuits and expected biscuit eggs, as I thought these could be really attractive. There will always be a need to keep introducing new collections too, as otherwise, regular customers will get bored. I think a medium-sized tin might be a good idea too - the jump from £8 to £37.50 is quite a lot. I'd actually like a choice of biscuit base too. The dark chocolate one isn't for me and something lighter, and more buttery would go down really well.

Nonetheless, for what is a very young venture, the future looks bright. With a simple, innovative approach, I think they're on to a winner here and would recommend wholeheartedly.

Highly recommended

Summary: Why send flowers when you can send biscuits?