Established in July 2000, Mark Berriman a then 21 year old entrepreneur from South Shields cracked open the bubbly in celebration after GIFTTODRINK™ was granted a drinks license by South Tyneside Magistrates - the first North East based company to be granted a license to sell alcohol over the Internet.

Mark was co-owner of GIFTTODRINK™ a web based supplier of luxury gifts based at TEDCO's South Shields business centre. Keeping it in the family, Mark and his father Tony came up with the idea of setting up a website to sell alcoholic gifts after Mark's mother, then an off-license proprietor, had a huge success selling gifts over the counter, direct to the public. The idea was born and the rest is, as they say, history! Mark and his mother were full-time partners in the successful business.

During a rapid two years of growth GIFTTODRINK™ were finalists for the UK's regional ecommerce awards and Mark himself was short listed for the Express national newspaper entrepreneur of the year award and he narrowly missed out on this prestigious award. GIFTTODRINK™ have led the internet gift industry with it's innovative forward thinking approach.