It all started with a sneeze. After learning his brother-in-law was allergic to live Christmas trees, our soon-to-be CEO searched the market for high-quality, realistic artificial trees and came up short. And hence came an idea! After manufacturing the first batch, he soon couldn't keep up with demand, and thus, Balsam Brands was formed.

In only its second season, Balsam Hill’s trees, wreaths and garlands wowed the Ellen audience in her holiday set reveal, paving the way for the brand to become the top choice for set designers nationwide.

Recognized for their stunning realism and premium quality, Balsam Hill trees, wreaths, and garlands are backed by the Good Housekeeping Seal. A valued emblem of consumer trust, the seal has been retained ever since, reassuring customers that what they receive is the highest in quality and beauty.

Coming out of the 2008 recession, Balsam Brands stands out from its peers by keeping the team fully intact. More bonded than ever, we celebrate one hundred shared lunches as a team. We also set our internal record of eight consecutive sneezes by a single team member.

With the popularity of artificial Christmas trees on the rise, The New York Times stood up and took notice. Balsam Hill leads the pack.

Balsam expands across the ocean, hiring its first team members in Manila, Philippines. What began as a team of writers quickly begins to grow and represent several functions within the company!

Balsam Brands opens its second corporate office in the United States in Boise, ID. After a blockbuster year, the company surprises its team members with a celebration trip to Hawaii. Families were invited, work was not!

Also this year, flagship brand Balsam Hill crossed the pond to introduce beautifully realistic products to families in the United Kingdom, Germany, and France.

Balsam Hill travels to the Land Down Under to celebrate the holidays in Australian style. Shrimp on the barbie, anyone?

Never afraid to step into a new marketing channel, Balsam Hill debuted our trees on TV with our very first commercial.

Less of a surprise, but just as exciting, Balsam Brands heads back to Hawaii for a second time to catch more waves and sunshine.

Balsam Brands moved 8 miles south to Redwood City, where the “Climate is Best By Government Test!”

We opened a seasonal showroom in Burlingame, California, where our customers experienced the beauty and realism of our products in person.

Lastly, we launched our very first catalog with much success.

Always looking for ways to grow our business, Balsam Hill expands into holiday and home décor, launching 450 new products for the 2014 season.

Balsam Hill becomes the exclusive home of the Flip Tree®, a revolutionary advance in artificial tree technology.

Balsam Brands establishes a regional headquarters in Manila, nearly doubling its employee count overnight and expanding its comprehensive healthcare benefits across the ocean.

Balsam also adds Europe to its continent checklist, opening an office in Dublin, Ireland. Who knows where we'll land next?

Balsam Brands is honored to be named by Forbes as one of America's Best Small Companies. The 25 privately-held "Small Giants" on the list were recognized for choosing to become standouts in their industry, rather than grow as big as possible as quickly as possible.

The Forbes recognition comes as Balsam Brands’ flagship brand Balsam Hill moves into its 10th year!

With the aim of offering products for all seasons, Balsam Hill launches a collection of exquisite spring florals designed with the same level of realism found in our Christmas trees.

Balsam Brands’ Idaho team joins the downtown Boise community by becoming the anchor tenant of the Union Block building, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Thos. Baker and Maine Cottage furniture companies become a part of the Balsam Brands Family, introducing premium indoor and outdoor furniture to our product offerings.

In honor of the 2018 Winter Olympics, we held an Olympic Ping Pong tournament in the office, bringing friendly competition to new heights.

2019 is the year of updates - not only did our Redwood City office get a facelift, we updated our company logo and employer branding.

The team continues to celebrate growth together with teams in America and Dublin venturing to Santa Cruz to cruise the boardwalk and bond with each other. Our team in Manila traveled North of the Philippines to rediscover the country’s rich history in Bataan, while giving back to the local school by painting some of its classrooms and cleaning up its park.

A year like no other, Balsam Brands navigated 2020 bound by a common purpose: create joy together.

When the COVID pandemic began, we wanted to help in any way we could. For several months in the Spring, we launched a philanthropic initiative, Balsam Provisions, to make food and household essentials accessible online to customers in rural or hard to reach areas across the United States. In Manila, various fund-raising efforts helped support over 1,500 public school children as they geared up for the year's unprecedented challenges.

Through it all, we still found time to celebrate the silver linings - including meeting company targets earlier than expected, and continuing to grow our team.

Balsam Hill celebrates 15 years of sharing joy with thousands of customers who created meaningful moments with our trees and decor. In Manila, we provided vaccination opportunities to 100% of our team and their families.

To top it off, our Manila ROHQ received a Great Place to Work Certification honoring the workplace culture our Brandits built!

A big welcome and bienvenue to our new Canadian office! Predominantly a software engineering office, our Ontario site is small but power-packed. Meanwhile in Manila, Balsam International was recognized by Great Place to Work as Asia's Best Workplaces for its exceptional workplace culture and commitment to becoming a people-first company. Congratulations, Team Manila!

Putting our values into action, some of us flew to Hawaii for a tropical getaway while others had an epic beach-themed celebration to share joy and build relationships. We also came together virtually to raise funds for our non-profit partners World Central Kitchen and Negrense Volunteers for Change (NVC).

2023 was one for the books! Excitingly, Balsam Hill expanded its offerings to include fresh and preserved greenery, as well as delectable gourmet food and gifts. The festivities were in full swing as we commemorated the first year of our partnership with the renowned Rockefeller Center in New York City. The skate chalets underwent a magical makeover, turning into a holiday wonderland adorned with the charm of Balsam Hill products!

We remained true to our people-first culture, building relationships with our hybrid and remote team members, and our annual global events exemplified our purpose to Create Joy Together. Our Dublin office hit the milestone of 10 full-time team members, and our Manila team proudly retained their title as one of the 'Best Places to Work in Asia'.

2024 continues to be an exciting year for Balsam Brands! We are thrilled to open BH Studio, our first specialty ornament store, on the Hawaiian island of Maui. We are also bringing our products into more homes by expanding into new geographies, introducing Balsam Hill to the Canadian market. We've also grown our team by hiring in Mexico City.

We continue to prioritize a people-first culture by hosting company retreats worldwide, celebrating our successes, deepening our product understanding, and reinforcing our values. Our mission to Create Joy Together remains central as we strengthen relationships with our hybrid and remote teams, with our Manila team retaining the distinction as one of the Best Workplaces in the Philippines and Asia. Here's to another year of growth, innovation, and joy at Balsam Brands!