Last updated 18 September 2026. The durations here are the ones we quote and work to; a specific order's production window is confirmed in writing with its quote, because piece, quantity and print method change it.
The short answer
An unbranded, ready-to-ship order leaves within 24–48 hours of payment and reaches most Indian cities in 3–5 working days — about a week, door to door. A logo-branded run to one address takes about four weeks from the day artwork and quantities are locked: a week for a sample, two for production and assembly, one for dispatch and delivery. Multi-city home delivery adds a week of buffer. A fully custom hamper or a new box adds two to three weeks for packaging. Add your own approval time in front of all of it — which is where most orders actually slip.
The four order types and their clocks
| Order type | From payment or lock to delivery | What sets the clock |
|---|---|---|
| Ready-to-ship, unbranded | About 1 week (dispatch 24–48 h, transit 3–5 working days) | Courier transit only |
| Branded, one delivery address | About 4 weeks from lock | Sample (1 wk) + production (2 wks) + dispatch and delivery (1 wk) |
| Branded, many addresses or cities | About 5 weeks from lock | As above + a buffer week for the slowest city |
| Custom hamper or new box design | 6–8 weeks from lock | Packaging design and print set-up before sampling |
"Lock" is the day the artwork file, the contents and the final quantity are frozen and the supplier can order materials. Everything before it — quotes, comparisons, sign-offs — is your time, not the supplier's, and it is the part nobody puts in the plan.
Stage by stage, for a branded run
- Brief and quote — about a week, yours. Headcount fixed first, then budget per head as a landed figure (item plus branding, packaging, freight and GST — typically 25 to 35 per cent above the item price). Quotes are only comparable if every supplier gets the same three numbers.
- Contents and packaging approved — about a week, yours. Contents before artwork, because the insert and sleeve are sized to what is inside. Vector artwork (AI, EPS, PDF, SVG) requested from marketing now, not later.
- Lock. Quantity, contents, artwork frozen. After this, a change is a new order with a new lead time.
- Sample — about a week, the supplier's. A finished, physical piece: box, print, card, contents. Approve it in the hand, not from a photograph; check the logo at arm's length and the box for a courier's handling.
- Production and hand assembly — about two weeks. Printing or engraving, then packing. Larger runs and engraved pieces sit at the long end.
- Dispatch and delivery — about a week. Single address: 3–5 working days. Multi-city home delivery: the same, but planned to the slowest destination, which is why a buffer week goes in front of the handover date.
The four decisions that move every date
- Ready-to-ship or personalised. A name on each card is a day; a name engraved on each piece is a stage.
- One address or many. One office is a pallet; three hundred homes is three hundred labelled parcels, an address list to clean, and a buffer week.
- Branded or unbranded. Unbranded skips sampling and print set-up — weeks three to six of a festive plan compress to days. Branding is where the calendar is.
- Edible or not. Edibles are packed last and dated, so they cannot be produced early and stored; a non-edible run can be built weeks ahead and held.
The calendar, worked backwards
weeks relative to the handover date (0)
Weeks −8 to −6 are approvals — the part most plans leave out. An unbranded ready-to-ship order compresses everything before dispatch into days.
Pick the day the gift must be in the recipient's hands, then walk back. For a handover on a Friday in week 0, a branded multi-city order looks like this:
- Week −1: everything delivered; buffer for the slowest city.
- Week −2: dispatch to all cities.
- Weeks −4 to −3: production and hand assembly.
- Week −5: sample produced and signed off.
- Week −6: lock — artwork, contents and quantity frozen.
- Weeks −8 to −7: quotes compared, supplier chosen, contents approved.
Eight weeks. For a single office, six. For an unbranded ready-to-ship order, one — which is why "it is too late" is rarely true; it is only too late for branding. The festive version of this calendar, with real dates for Diwali on 8 November 2026, is in our corporate Diwali gifting timeline.
Where orders actually slip
- The logo file. A PNG saved from the website is 72 dpi and pixelates at print size. It causes no trouble when sent and every trouble at sampling, three weeks later. Ask for vector files in week one.
- Headcount changes after quoting. Branding set-up is a fixed cost divided across units; 200 becoming 350 re-prices every line and, in October, can lose the production slot.
- Approvals. The two longest rows in any festive timeline are sign-offs, not production. Name the approver before the quote, not after the sample.
- The address list. Missing pin codes and phone numbers are the commonest cause of a parcel returning; clean the list before dispatch, not after.
- The peaks. Mid-September to Diwali, and mid-December, are the busiest weeks in Indian gifting; production slots go early, and 2 October is a holiday in the middle of the run.
What the supplier owes you in writing
The production window for your specific order, in the quote; the sample date; the dispatch date; and the tier applied to your quantity. If those four are not in writing, the timeline is a hope. Ours are — bulk pricing from 25 units, one GST invoice with HSN codes, a sample before the run, and delivery to one office or to individual homes across cities; the facts are stated on every corporate gifts page and the budget side is in corporate Diwali gifts by budget.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a bulk corporate gift order take in India?
About a week for ready-to-ship, unbranded pieces; about four weeks from lock for a branded run to one address; about five for branded multi-city home delivery; six to eight for a custom hamper or new box. Your own approval time comes before all of it.
How far in advance should branded corporate gifts be ordered?
Six to eight weeks before the handover date for a branded multi-city order, four to six for a single office. In the festive peak, add a week, because production slots go early.
What is the fastest corporate gift option?
A ready-to-ship, unbranded hamper or single gift with a printed card: dispatch within 24–48 hours of payment, delivery in 3–5 working days across most of India.
What does "lock" mean in a gifting order?
The day artwork, contents and quantity are frozen so materials can be ordered. Changes after lock are a new order with a new lead time, not an adjustment.
Why does a sample add a week?
Because a physical piece has to be printed, assembled and couriered to you, and approved in the hand. It is the only stage that catches a wrong logo file, a box that will not survive transit or a print that is too small to read — all cheaper to fix on one unit than on five hundred.
Can branded gifts be delivered to employees' homes across cities?
Yes — send the address list; dispatch is quoted by address count with tracking per parcel, and the calendar gets a buffer week for the slowest destination.
The Happiness Story runs branded gifting programmes across India with the production window, sample date and dispatch date stated in the quote. To get one, send headcount, per-head budget, delivery date and whether it is one address or many through the corporate enquiry form. Comparing suppliers? See top 10 corporate gifting companies in India.