The 2019 Lang Center Holiday Gift Guide

Columbia Business School alumni-founded companies are well known for their wide array of products and services across various industries. Our 2019 Lang Center's Holiday Gift Guide reflects how diverse and creative our alumni companies truly are. Whether it's a gift for your loved ones or yourself, we are happy to also include holiday promotional codes within some of the listings below. Be sure to check out links to other alumni gift guides at the end of our guide.
Tasty Treats
Daily Harvest
Daily Harvest delivers thoughtfully sourced, chef-crafted food to your door, all based on fruits and vegetables and ready to enjoy in minutes. They help you nourish your body and take care of yourself (no matter how busy) so you can focus on bringing the cheer! Gift a nine-box for $75, and the lucky recipient can fill it with their choice of nine delicious smoothies, bowls, soups, lattes and bites. There’s no plan necessary, and they can get their hands on Daily Harvest's limited-edition Chocolate + Peppermint CBD Latte. (Rachel Drori '09)
Give the gift of cold brew. Wandering Bear cold brew has everything you love about coffee—rich chocolate and dark fruit notes, full body, and a surprisingly smooth finish—without the things you don't, like bitterness or acidity. They package it in boxes that protect it from oxygen and light, the two factors that make coffee go stale. Enter COLUMBIA at checkout on their website for 15% off your entire order from now through 2/28/20. (Matt Bachmann '15, Ben Gordon '15)
Il Laboratorio del Gelato offers dozens of unusual ice cream flavors at its two downtown Manhattan locations, one of which just opened at 56 University Pl. This year its selection of cakes includes a holiday ice cream layer cake, featuring eggnog gelato, chocolate Kahlúa gelato and amaretto cookies, with a peppermint stick gelato coating. This cake is available now through at least the end of the year in three sizes: Sm ($39, serves 6-10), medium ($69, serves 10-15), both round, and large ($89, serves 18-25), rectangular. (Jon Snyder '95)
For the inveterate New Yorker seeking ever hotter sauces, Small Axe Peppers' New York City Three Pack takes you on a spicy sojourn through some of the Big Apples’ world-famous boroughs. Made with peppers grown in The Bronx and Queens, its flavors are inspired by New York’s incomparable diversity and dynamism. They make their hot sauces from peppers grown in community gardens in NYC. Today, Small Axe Peppers has expanded its model to 15 cities across America, and purchased locally-grown peppers from more than 75 community gardens. Available online and in stores. (John Crotty '96)
Makku continues the tradition of Korea's oldest alcoholic beverage, makgeolli. Its creaminess, sweetness, and subtle tanginess serve as a great base for other flavors including berries, citrus, and tropical fruits. Authentically brewed without any artificial ingredients, Makku is available right now with a free handblown tumbler with a 6-pack purchase and a free handblown carafe with a 24-pack purchase. (Contact Carol Pak '16)
From one varietal, Cabernet, at Cannonball Wines established 13 years ago to today's parent brand, Share a Splash Wine Co., these award-winning vintners offer innovation and authenticity. This year they are featuring their Cannonball Eleven 3-bottle gift boxes (Chardonnay, Merlot & Cabernet) and 2-bottle gift boxes (Merlot & Chardonnay). They are also offering a promotion code: Columbia at checkout for 25% off (not combinable with any other offers). (Yoav Gilat '06)
Out and About
P.S. Kitchen is a social business and artisanal, plant-based restaurant with a mission to leverage the power of good food and an open heart and to lovingly serve their clients, employees, society, and the earth.
The work of P.S. hopes to break the cycle of poverty by connecting resources to vulnerable communities, providing tools necessary for self-sustainability, and building meaningful relationships with neighbors, near and far. With 100% of profits going to sustainable charitable work locally and overseas, dining at P.S. Kitchen helps support their efforts. Check out their holiday-themed gift cards to enjoy (or gift, or both!) a tasty, healthy meal. (April Tam Smith '10)
For something different, you can share the Joys of Flying Private with Family, Firends, and Clients this Holiday. Ask about Charter Flights to the Bahamas and the Keys and Evening Experiences in Key West with oceanside cocktails at an historic innn and an 8 -course tasting menu and nightlife in Old Key West. State-of-the-Art Travel, the way private was meant to be. CBS alumni can access exclusive offers. (Jacqueline Zimmerman ’95)
Hill Country honors the barbecue and live music capital of Texas and takes its “cue” from the legendary meat-markets-turned- barbecue-joints of Central Texas with their distinctive, dry-rub style. Buy a $100 Hill Country gift card & get a $25 bonus card, their holiday gift to you!. Available for purchase now through December 31, 2019 in-store or online here. *Bonus cards can be used beginning January 1, 2020 (Marc Glosserman '06)
Look Good, Feel Good
Whether you're supporting someone else's quest to stay fit, or on taking on the challenge yourself, it's easy to get frustrated with monthly fees at the gym, no matter what your schedule is. You owe it to yourself to check out FlexIt, the mobile app that quickly and seamlessly enables users to access gyms where and when they want and only pay for the time they are in the facility. The app offers consumers the flexibility that they desire and expect. FlexIt users access any gym on the FlexIt network in a paper-free manner, and have access to amenities and classes. FlexIt Inc. currently partners with 1K+ gyms across the US and is live in 20 markets. Visit https://www.flexit.fit/ (Austin Cohen '16)
Freedom from runs the first day, falling tights, losing their shape, Garni is a growing consumer brand that makes ultra-comfortable, high-quality hosiery focusing on beauty and freedom. Opaque as chocolate and soft as silk, these matte black tights have you completely covered this Holiday and winter season. Enjoy this CBS-exclusive code: CBSHOLIDAY15 (Elina Tunyan '17)
No more carrying around a second pair of shoes or compromising fashion for comfort. SantM is a functional luxury, comfort chic, and handmade-in-Italy footwear. SantM was created with a podiatrist/professor of shoe design at Parsons, Milan-based designer with 35 years of designing for top luxury brands, and a 4th generation family fun factory. (Min Santandrea ’06)
Did you know 60% of us have either a too broad or too petite face, too big or too small nose, or even ears too crooked for conventional eyewear? Spinoza soft-launched the 3D-printed collection at éclectic at 27 Greene St . Now they offer tailor-made eyewear based on your facial size using a 3D-scan application. Meet HJ for a 15-minute measuring session at Spring Place in TriBeCa. These feather-light custom-glasses are promotionally priced at only $195 per frame for CBS alumni instead of $395 until the official launch in spring 2020. Remember FSA deadlines! (Silja Kim ’14)
Staying In
Know a culture vulture that can't get to the theater? Marquee.TV is the premier streaming destination for arts and culture, featuring high definition performances from leading arts organizations such as the Royal Opera House, the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Bolshoi, Arena di Verona, Teatro Real and many others. A one-year subscription is $89.99, and includes unlimited access on all apps, including iOS, AppleTV, Android TV, Amazon Fire Stick and Roku. Subscribe at https://marquee.tv, electronic gift cards available. (Marc Kirschner ’02)
For last minute gifts for your clients, employees or friends, how about a Book Lovers Gift Set? Customizable with your brand and responsibly sourced to reflect your business values. Ethically-made branded tote bag in 100% organic cotton and cut and sewn in a women-owned and operated factory. Paired with the book "Buy the Change You Want to See: Use Your Purchasing Power to Make the World a Better Place" (Penguin Random House, January 2019).
#1 Consumer Guide and #1 New Release in Business Ethics on Amazon. Target Non-Fiction Best-Seller. As Featured on CNN, Bloomberg, Marie Claire, Forbes, mindbodygreen, and many more. (Jane Mosbacher Morris ’12)
StoryTerrace turns life stories into books. They work with a pool of over 500 ghost-writers and have built a proprietary software platform as part of their mission to capture 1 million life stories by 2028.
There is probably at least one special person you know who would appreciate such a meaningful holiday gift. Packages range from $1,900 to $7,500 and include ghostwriting, editing, design and printing. (Rutger Bruining ’08)
Other Holiday Gift Guides featuring Columbia Business School alumni:
Columbia Startup Lab:
https://entrepreneurship.columbia.edu/2019/12/16/shop-csl-for-the-holidays/
Columbia Business Alumni Magazine:
https://www8.gsb.columbia.edu/articles/columbia-business/2019-holiday-gift-guide
Columbia University Alumni Magazine:
https://magazine.columbia.edu/article/12-holiday-gift-ideas-columbia-entrepreneurs