New One-Of-A-Kind Luxury Picnic Experience Makes Viral Waves In Charlotte

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Inventive, Instagram-worthy, fun, socially-distant, convenient, low-cost, personalized and luxurious is just a few of the words that can be used to describe a new Charlotte business that has gained viral traction across the country.

On August 30th, 27-year-old Taylor Ross posted a video of her luxury picnic business called CLT Luxury Picnics on her personal Twitter page stating that one retweet could help her find her first client. Since posting the video she has reached more than a first client.

Her post has now harbored in over 419,000 views, over 14,000 retweets and close to 20,000 likes.

These numbers are huge and Taylor, herself, was overwhelmed and grateful to see those numbers continue to climb.

The video displays all the feels of a fairytale date, but the magic is more than just for show for Taylor – it is personal.

Like many people, Taylor has had an eventful 2020 – not only has the pandemic affected her life but she is recently engaged, a new mom, with a new job at Atrium Health and to top it all off a new BUSINESS.

But the business idea sparked for the Charlotte resident and North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University alumni due to the new social dynamics that happened because of COVID-19.

Taylor found herself as a new mom with no real dating options for her and her fiance to feel comfortable. She and her beau wanted to still enjoy themselves while not doing anything to increase their risk of contracting the virus or that went against social distancing guidelines.

From there CLT Luxury Picnics was born.

“I was just trying to think of different things that we could do where we could still enjoy each other and possibly still bring the baby,” Taylor said.

But a normal picnic wasn’t what she was after – she truly wanted to elevate the experience.

” I wanted to make it something memorable for the both of us. So I just started looking and I didn’t really see anything like that offered in Charlotte or surrounding so I figured its something other people might want to do as well, especially during that time [pandemic],” Taylor said.

This concept is new to the Charlotte-area but luxury picnics are not a new feat. Taylor said one thing that makes her business’ experience unique is the affordability.

The lowest tier price is around $80 whereas when she did market research of similar concepts found that for others their lowest price was still over $200.

“I wanted to try to do something that I am like ‘yeah, okay, I want to make it affordable but I want people to still have that Instagrammable worthy moment,'” she said.

But affordable does not mean cheap with each tier offering a variety of items including fresh floral arrangements that she makes herself, snacks, drinks, games, decor, and more. With tier three including a chef prepared meal for two.

The luxury picnic company primarily serves the Charlotte and surrounding area for now but Taylor hope that she will be able to venture out to other North Carolina cities such as Raleigh and Greensboro.

Reaching out to areas like Greensboro where she can cater to other Aggies is not the only trick up her sleeve, Taylor is also continuing to plan activities and fun ways to keep picnics going even when it gets cooler.

But overall the Aggie alumn’s long-term vision is just that – to be able to continue this venture for a long time.

“It’s an intimate date, it is still something nice but its intimate, I think it is something people will enjoy once the pandemic is over because it is not an experience that you typically have,” Taylor said.

Ultimately, Taylor and CLT Luxury Picnics wants to provide a long-lasting and memorable experience.

“My permanent goal is to just be able to offer a different, fun, affordable experience for people in Charlotte,” she said. “Whether that be a date, proposal, just hanging out with your girlfriends, hanging out with your guy friends – whatever. I just want to provide something memorable while being accessible.”

To learn more about CLT Luxury Picnics, click here.

To book your CLT Luxury Picnic experience, click here.