Press & Media
Writing about gifting, produce or small family businesses in Chicagoland? We'd be glad to help. Rob Gregory has worked in produce since the early 1980s and is happy to talk fruit: how to pick it, when it's at its best, and what makes a gift feel personal.
Rob is open to interviews about Northstar, his background in produce, and what it takes to pick and build a great basket.
Media contact
- Call or text: (224) 836-7444
- Email: press@northstargift.com
- Or send a note: our Contact page
Quick facts
| Company | Northstar Fruit & Gift Baskets |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1999 |
| Founder | Rob Gregory |
| Based in | Palatine, Illinois |
| What we make | Fresh fruit and gourmet gift baskets for personal and corporate gifting |
| Where we ship | The continental United States, by UPS |
| How to order | Online at store.northstargift.com, or by phone at (224) 836-7444 |
| Price range | $34.99 to $149.99 per basket |
About Northstar (short boilerplate)
Northstar Fruit & Gift Baskets is a family business in Palatine, Illinois, founded in 1999 by produce veteran Rob Gregory. Northstar builds fresh fruit and gourmet gift baskets by hand, with fruit chosen through Chicago's South Water Market, and ships them by UPS to anywhere in the continental United States. Learn more at northstargift.com.
About Rob Gregory (founder bio)
Rob Gregory started at Dominick's Finer Foods in Wheeling, Illinois, in 1980, at sixteen, and moved into the produce department a year later. Rob learned the trade from produce manager Tom Zogas and worked his way up to assistant manager and then manager. He later worked at Heinen's in Barrington. In 1999, while still at Dominick's, he started Northstar. He still judges fruit by hand, by weight and by color, and still holds every basket to one test: if you wouldn't want your own family to receive it, it doesn't ship.
Quotes you may use
These are Rob's own words. Use any or all of them.
"You want that basket to ship out the way you'd want to receive it."
"Nobody gets excited over a can of corn or a box of pasta."
"It really starts with the grower. When you have a trusted grower, you get consistently the best quality — and that's the key word, consistently."
"You have to have live eyes. That's the most important thing — the best way to ensure quality before that basket leaves the warehouse."
Brand assets
Available on request, or as downloads once this page is built:
- Northstar logo — full mark and wordmark, on light and on evergreen backgrounds
- Portraits of Rob Gregory
- Brand style sheet (colors and typefaces)
Photos of finished baskets are coming soon.