Maple Ridge Farms (PPAI 114165, S8) originally sold wooden gift boxes to gourmet food companies, including Williams-Sonoma. Then, in 1979, owner Tom Riordan got the idea to brand the boxes and fill them with cheese and sweets, and sell them as business gifts – and company sales took off.

In recent years, the company added other packaging options and expanded its product assortment to include cakes, hams and even gourmet ice cream. It’s no surprise that the Mosinee, Wisconsin company is one of only two food gift suppliers to make our list.