Picnic Time, founded by Gustavo Cosaro and Mario Tagliati in Southern California, is celebrating 40 years as a family-owned small business with Gustavo’s son, Paul Cosaro, and Tagliati’s son-in-law, Danny Corbucci, now at the helm.
Picnic Time was created with the mission to inspire people to spend quality time with family and friends, according to company officials. Today, the Picnic Time Family of Brands includes Oniva, Legacy, Toscana and Picnic Time, totaling more than 10,000 proprietary and officially licensed indoor and outdoor leisure, entertaining and gift items.
“At the heart of it, family is what Picnic Time is all about,” said Paul Cosaro, managing partner at the Picnic Time Family of Brands, “What’s a picnic at its core? It’s memories, time with loved ones and having shared experiences. Our products help make all of Gustavo and Mario’s efforts worth it, for family and friends alike.”
After immigrating from Italy, Gustavo Cosaro and Tagliati in 1975 opened a wine and cheese shop in Woodland Hills, Calif., called Two Gentleman from Verona. Following repeated inquiries about selling picnic baskets to go with their wines and cheeses, the two created their first picnic basket, according to the company. Sales grew regionally and then nationally through trade shows.
Picnic Time continues to sell high-quality European-style picnic baskets, and it has evolved to include high-end dinner party essentials; camping chairs; beach gear; picnic baskets; picnic blankets; beer, wine and spirit accessories; and a variety of officially licensed sports and entertainment properties including NFL, MLB, NHL, Disney, Star Wars, Warner Brothers’ Harry Potter and DC.
“Two hardworking immigrants, a family business, growing a small storefront into a full family of brands, a startup from a garage, a second-generation carrying the torch… wow, American dream much? With forty years of business, everyone on Team Picnic really is living the dream, making life a picnic, one quality product at a time,” according to a Picnic Time press release.
