Cork-top bottles printed with a personal or business logo are offered by John Held, advertising specialty dealer for Ohio-based Kaeser and Blair Inc.

In the last few months locally, two companies began marketing gift bottles etched with a company logo - plus almost anything else desired - and filled with such trendy fillers as macadamia nut oil, olive oil, chili pepper vinegar, balsamic vinegar or wine.

Hinano Monsarrat,
California Etching Co.

Among those jumping on the bottle bandwagon, company representatives said, are restaurateurs, hotels, banks, wedding shops, golf clubs and companies looking to find a different and classy kind of corporate gift or promotional gimmick.

Sarento's Top of the I restaurant is working with California Etching Co. to come up with personalized cruets of oil and vinegar for its tables, said Michael Miho, executive sous chef.

"We think it's a nice touch to have the personalization and the colors are extraordinary," he said. "They're also something we can offer for sale, too."

John Held,
Kaeser and Blair, Inc.

But it's only been recently that the idea has been aggressively pushed here. The recent Hawaii Hotel and Restaurant Expo at the Blaisdell Exhibition Hall served as a debut of sorts for both California Etching and advertising specialty dealer John Held.

Dwight Holiday,
California Etching Co.

At about the same time Holiday and Monsarrat hooked up with California Etching, Held, the local dealer for Ohio-based Kaeser and Blair Inc., developed his own "imprinted business product," using locally produced macadamia nut oil and packaging.

Customers had begun telling him, "No more clocks, pens and calendars," Held said. "They said, 'Do something that's local, that's useful and that we can get our business imprint on.' "

He remembered being impressed, two years ago, with etched bottles shown by a Louisiana company at a trade show in New York City. He began to pursue the idea last November.

The two companies offer decidedly different options.

California Etching is into the more elaborate, individually hand-painted product, although "you can have anything from Dom Perignon down to Ripple, if you want," Monsarrat said. "We can fit it to someone's budget."

She and Holiday were handling marketing mostly for Nike and "Fabulous Five" products (Holiday is a member of the famed University of Hawaii basketball team of the early '70s) when they "stumbled" on the etched bottles earlier this year while putting together a catalog for a Japanese company.

They declined to divulge prices, except to say that an etched bottle of Dom Perignon, plus two crystal wine glasses, carries a wholesale price of $295.

Because costs are lower if bought in bulk, the product is aimed mainly at businesses.

Cost also depends on the type of wine, champagne or other products selected; how many different colors - up to seven available - are used in the etching; and how intricate the design is, Monsarrat said.

As an example of how elaborate it can get, Pebble Beach golf course officials asked to have a tournament crowd scene etched and hand-painted on the back of a bottle.

Clients can opt for one of three bottle designs offered by the company and fill it either with their own concoction or someone else's product, Holiday said.

Among local clients are Roy's Restaurant, the Lodge at Koele and American Savings Bank.

The etching, often based on a photograph, involves shooting abrasive grit, at high pressure, on the glass. The glass is then cleaned and hand-painted.

While Monsarrat says, "What we're selling is the exquisite etching and hand-painting," Held is touting the local connection.

His bottles are less elaborate, screen etched rather than sand-blasted, but filled with local products and bottled locally. The only thing not local, he said, are the cork-top bottles, which are imprinted with a personal or business logo in California.

After Held decided to offer the bottles as a promotional tool, "I began to look for a local supplier." He found one in Oils of Aloha.

Held offers two etched bottles filled with oil or vinegar, packaged in a white or brown cardboard box for about $20 each. That's if you order at least 72 twin packs.

The more elaborate the etching, the higher the price.

Among the target groups, he said, are health care organizations and providers, companies looking for Christmas or promotional gifts, as well as the food industry.

He expects the etched bottles to make up no more than 5 percent to 10 percent of his line, because of their higher cost.

"A person in my business who sells anything with an imprint has to stretch themselves to find something that's useful, local ... and appreciated," Held said. "This is something I did out of demand."

The California Etching Co. only recently entered the Hawaii market with such products as an etched bottle of champagne plus two crystal wine glasses.