Despite the fact that it is early in the year and Christmas may be far from the minds of many, the magic of creating Bronner’s Christmas Favorites® Catalog for 2023-2024 is well under way! In addition to a small sneak peek behind-the-scenes of what goes into this merry mailer, I’m sharing one NEW ornament in a teaser. (We won’t tell Santa you’re peeking!😉) To celebrate said ornament, I’m also sharing my favorite sweet & spicy chocolate bark recipe to go along with it! Can you guess what it might be?!
Behind The Scenes of Bronner’s Christmas Favorites® Catalog
They say it takes a village to raise a child — likewise, it takes a team to bring Bronner’s cheerful catalog to life. By comparison, Santa and his workshop of hard-working elves would be a better fitting analogy to be sure. Think of Wayne Bronner as the main man in red himself!
Where Bronner’s Christmas Favorites® Begins
Father and son duo, Wayne and Dietrich Bronner, head up the year-round effort. In fact, the next catalog enters development well before the new season even begins! (A timeline that is a bit similar to Bronner’s exclusives designing process.)
To kick things off, Dietrich begins previewing new items in October. Then toward the close of the season in December, he considers which items from the current catalog may be carried over and which will possibly be dropped to make room for exciting new offerings.
Early in the new year, Wayne, Dietrich and Bronner’s buying team attend trade shows, both domestically and internationally. There they view projected trends and new items that will largely shape the coming year’s catalog. Following these trips, Dietrich begins to plot out product by “spreads” and buyers place their product orders with our suppliers.
Bronner’s Christmas Favorites® Coming Into Focus
Cover Concepts
In spring, our catalog creative team starts to work on prospective cover shots. After feature products have been selected, Lauren begins brainstorming product photo setups.
Once Lauren and Carrie complete a setup (from covers to product shots), Wayne Bronner will shoot the image. In fact, this is all done from our in-house studio!
Pictured Lower Right: (L to R) Taylor, Wayne, Dietrich and Erin review proposed covers.
Bronner’s Christmas Favorites® Catalog “Spreads” JOY
From Dietrich’s initial spreads, Denise, our Internet fulfillment supervisor, organizes catalog product samples onto trays to be photographed.
Meanwhile, Erin and Taylor, our team of graphic artists, begin a first draft of Bronner’s catalog spreads to plot product-shot needs. As a result, Lauren plans props to correspond with products that will be featured in each setup.
This leaping llama shot, featured in our 2019 catalog, happens to be one of Lauren’s favorite setups.
Concurrent to product photography, Erin and Taylor develop the catalog spreads further, adding fun flourishes and cute quips. With the addition of product descriptions compiled by our copy writer, Malissa, the design is complete. Product photos go on to be color corrected for true-to-life representation before spreads are finalized for proofing. Finally, we send the catalog to print after many months of development!
Beyond The Pages
But this is not where the journey ends for Bronner’s Christmas Favorites® Catalog. As a matter of fact, the merry magic continues!
Bronner’s web team makes sure every catalog item is available online for ordering. Shortly before the new catalog “drops” for the season, our creative team preps Bronner’s eco-friendly E-CATALOG. (This digital version of Bronner’s Christmas Favorites® Catalog can be viewed online.)
Without a doubt, Bronner’s Christmas Favorites® catalog would not be complete without the dedicated team who wrap and tag every item featured in the catalog once inventory arrives. (To say nothing of the talented team that hand-letters every PERSONAL-ized ornament before it ships!) This collaboration makes efficient order fulfilment possible at the World’s Largest Christmas Store®, bringing the JOY of CHRISTmas to our cheerful community of Christmas enthusiasts.
How To Get Your Copy Of Bronner’s Christmas Favorites® —
Santa Claus is coming to town … and so is Bronner’s Christmas Favorites® Catalog!
Sign up online to join our mailing list or view our digital catalog:
Bronner’s Christmas Favorites Ornament SPOILER!
Dietrich Bronner shares, “this year there are a lot of new items to include, which is great and exciting.”
“We have a lot of great European ornaments in this year. It’s always exciting to see which ones sell well. The humorous, cute, and food themes are my favorite.”
Well, speaking of European made, food-themed ornaments, how about I share my favorite new ornament being featured in this year’s 2023 catalog?!
Have Yourself a SPICY Little Christmas!
I really don’t know why, but lately I have been obsessed with ALL THINGS GINGER!!! Raw ginger sautéed into dishes or grated into salads and slaws … Pickled ginger … ginger chews … CANDIED ginger!🤤
So it is no surprise, really, that this remarkably realistic-looking ginger root ornament has got to be, hands down, my favorite feature!
And as promised, I am sharing a simple chocolate bark recipe that I looove to make, featuring the spicy little root!
What’s more, I don’t ever have to feel guilty about indulging in this quick dessert because ginger is one of nature’s great gifts with its anti-inflammatory properties. (As is a responsibly sourced, antioxidant rich dark chocolate!) Additionally, roasted chickpeas (that even the pickiest eaters won’t likely notice) are a fun way to sneak in a punch of protein. I also like to add a handful of highly nutritious buckwheat groats, a whole grain that many people consider to be a superfood. (Let’s just ignore the sugar part, OK?!
)
Need I say more about this super delicious 5 ingredient bark recipe?!
Candied Ginger + Chickpea Crisp Chocolate Bark Recipe
Sweet + Spicy Chocolate Bark
Ingredients
- 15.5 oz Chickpeas drained and rinsed; skinning optional
- 2 cups Dark Chocolate
- 1 tsp Coconut Oil
- ½ cup, scant Candied Ginger finely chopped
- 1/8 cup Buckwheat Groats
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Place drained chickpeas on a parchment lined baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, chop the candied ginger.
- After chickpeas are roasted, prepare the chocolate by melting with coconut oil in a microwave safe bowl or double boiler. (Microwave method: stir between 30 second intervals. Roughly 1½ minutes total.)
- Into the chocolate add the roasted chickpeas, candied ginger and buckwheat groats and stir.
- Spread onto a parchment-lined baking sheet or pour into a parchment-lined bread tin for a thicker slice. If you wish, add a few pieces of candied ginger or buckwheat groats to the top for that fancy touch! Allow to firm in the refrigerator.
- Remove the pan from the refrigerator just before the bark is fully firm for cutting. Or let the pan set on the counter for a few minutes after it's fully firm to soften slightly for slicing. Cut the bark diagonally into shards. Store in air tight container.
Notes
- Dried blueberries + lavender
- Sea salt + freshly crushed black pepper
- Rosemary + caramel
- Chili powder/flakes + dried cherry
- Raisin + rosemary
- Lemon zest + poppy seed
- Dried cherry and pistachio is classic (or cranberry). Toss in some toasted coconut and you’ve got yourself “red, white and green” Christmas colors for a delicious holiday bark!
PIN this recipe and save it for later!
Christmas & Flavorful Favorites To Enjoy!
We hope you’ll enjoy Bronner’s Christmas Favorites® Catalog and this addicting recipe for chocolate bark with ginger!
Looking for more Bronner’s Favorites? Be sure to check out our exclusive collection of Flavorful Favorites Cookbooks!
Bronner’s Team
If you enjoyed this BTS feature, you may also enjoy our MEET THE TEAM series.
Looking to join Bronner’s cheerful crew? EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES for the World’s Largest Christmas Store® can be viewed at Bronners.com.
Did you know, in Bronner’s busy season, we staff more than 650 employees?!