A Quick Peep

Good morning, PromoPepper readers!

Time for another Tuesday edition of the newsletter. We had a bunch of new signups this past week (thanks for sharing, everyone!) and even had one of our very own subscribers, Josh E., break a huge story that we highlight in today’s Deep Dive. Also, our interview this week is full of incredible takeaways, I really hope you enjoy reading it.

Today’s newsletter rundown:  
Merch around the Internet
Deep Dive: Welcome Back to a Favorite
A Quick Peep
Interview with Vic from Printing Studio
Promo Job Postings

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UPDATE: Aldi's "Gear Collection" merch is selling out in the Twin Cities
A few issues ago, we wrote about Aldi’s new affordable merch drop. Well, it’s been so popular in Minnesota, that it is selling out already - only a week after launch.

Credit Suisse merch is cool again now that the bank has averted a crisis
Credit Suisse merch is popping up in online marketplaces following the 167-year-old lender's merger with UBS. Vintage knitted ski hats are particularly popular on Swiss marketplaces — bids came in at nearly $200 each.

Taco Bell Is Spicing Up Summer With a Giant Hot Sauce Pool Float and More Fiery Merch
The fast-food chain has gotten a jump start on Summer and released a hot sauce-inspired collection of swim gear, tumblers, coolers, totes, t-shirts, and more.

All the Best Passover Clothes on the Internet
Passover seder is fast approaching. Have you got a seder plate? A Haggadah? And most importantly — do you know what you and your kids are wearing yet??

Easter merchandise spending is expected to reach a record $24 billion
Consumers will spend an average of $192.01 on Easter, the highest figure on record.

UConn players profit off merch sales as tournament runs continue
Even though UConn men’s basketball is in Las Vegas and the women are in Seattle, the players are still making some money today on campus.

HOW TO: Drop merch to celebrate BIG moments
From dropping merch to celebrating milestones to designing collections inspired by their fans, hear how these creators make shopping experiences their fans love while earning on YouTube.

'If he goes, he goes': Packers apparel shop may heavily discount Rodgers merch if he leaves Green Bay
All eyes were on Aaron Rodgers last Wednesday afternoon as he announced his intention to leave Green Bay and head over to the New York Jets.

The Best Formula 1 Merch for Racing Obsessives, From Team Polos to Model Cars
Consider this roundup—comprised of pieces from authentic polos and jackets cast in each team’s colors to tomes and rare prints of historic races—the ultimate pitstop for Formula 1 merch.

‘This is so stupid’: Employee says job gave her company merch that she can’t wear to work
A TikToker by the name of Kristen went viral after calling out her employer for issuing sweatshirts to her and her co-workers but then told them that they couldn’t wear company-branded clothing while on the clock.

Hasbulla Sells Mind-Blowing Amount Of Merch In 48 Hours
Hasbulla Magomedov is a pint-sized social media star who has taken the world by storm in the past couple of years, thanks to a combination of his appearance, fighting talk, and apparent confidence to square up to some of the biggest names in combat sports.

Toronto Comicon 2023: The Best Types Of Merch That Won’t Make Your Eyes Roll
Variants of Deadpool, Luigi, Sailor Moon, and Goku filled the alleys of Toronto Comicon 2023 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre from March 16 to 19.

Houston Astros to host 'Gold Rush' event on Wednesday with exclusive gold merch
Fans will have the chance to purchase exclusive Houston Astros gold merchandise at the Union Station Team Store in Minute Maid Park.

THE BIG NEWS FROM LAST WEEK:

Kudos to Josh Ellis and the PPAI team for breaking the story.

According to PPAI Media, “almost two years after announcing it would no longer authorize the addition of brand logos on its products, the popular outdoor apparel retailer (Patagonia) has shifted course. Beginning this spring it will allow limited brand embroidery off of the front of its garments, such as on the arm or beneath the neck.”

The below article is a great summary of what you can and cannot do moving forward, according to Patagonia. A must-read for any industry member.

Katy Perry's shoe line, Katy Perry Collections, is hopping on a brand collaboration with Peeps for Easter. The marshmallow-themed sandals and slides ($59) come in the brand's signature bright colors and are topped with the classic Peeps bunny symbol.

Editor’s Note: This week, I interviewed Vic Berggren, Owner of the Printing Studio — creators of custom promotional headwear to help brands expand their reach. 

He put a lot of thought into his responses, I think you will find some helpful nuggets of information in there! Hope you enjoy it!

If you'd like to be interviewed for a future PromoPepper, reply to this email and we'll get you on the schedule.

Describe the Printing Studio.
Printing Studio is a custom hat company. We make Leather Patch Hats to help companies maximize their brand exposure.

What’s the most exciting project you’ve worked on?  
We've worked on many exciting projects, but I'd say one of our smaller projects, Choice Safety Services. The client didn't have a brand. So, we made them some awesome-looking TravisMathew hats, a logo, and images sized for all of their social media needs. I feel like we provided a great outcome above and beyond a few hats. We even provided all of the original artwork for the client to use.
I also have clients that I love to exchange ideas with, Dialed In Golf Solutions is one of those companies. Their founder has a really good sense of design, so I love to hear his ideas for his brand and help bring them to life on a hat.

What do you love about the promo industry?
I love it when people are proud to wear their hat and show it off on social media. When they show it off, I know they love it. We want the customers to love their hats and will do whatever we can to ensure they do. To that end, we do not charge for art setup/vector fees or patch samples. In our business, we generate plenty of leather scraps, so we leverage the scrap material to produce an actual sample to make the next sale. We use the sample to place it on a hat and send photos back to the customers. They love that we're willing to do that.

How do you think the promo industry will evolve over the next 5 years? 
Five years doubles my time in the space, so I'm a bit new, but I'd say demand, consolidation, and direct relationships from manufacturer to consumer. Those are the things I see. In addition to sustainability, which is mentioned in the press and various associations around the industry quite a bit, we experience very little in the way of requests for that from clients though. I would like to see supply chain risk reduction and have more products built closer to the markets where the product is sold to reduce constraints experienced during covid. We got our start during that time, and there was a period where we could not get supply at all. I had to stop selling, and when the supply did arrive, there was a tremendous amount of hoarding. It was really tough to fill orders.

How has technology impacted your business?
In a couple of different aspects. From a product perspective, without technology, my business would not exist. We make our patches in-house through the use of laser machines and heat presses to apply the work to a hat. On the operations side, my tech stack is made up of no-code solutions, which allows me to go from idea to e-commerce in a matter of days. I'm a former Chief Technology Officer for a managed IT services firm that operated at a global scale and knew I didn't want to build custom software solutions.

The no-code tech stack we operate with runs my business for approximately $155 per month.

• Shopify with Variant Product Options - $50

• TaxJar - $19

• Pirate Ship (Free)

• Google Workspace - $12

• Adobe Creative Cloud - $30

• Canva - $10

• Hypefury - $16

• QuickBooks - $15

• Monday (Free)

• Zapier - $19

How do people find you / what sales channels are most effective for you?
I started locally, meeting people in person and through my local Chamber of Commerce. I'm still a big believer in meeting people directly and expanding through in-person networking. We use Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Twitter to show our work. By showing our work, we generate plenty of leads from new customers. I feel that we need both online and offline to be effective. We target four market areas:

• B2C - Direct to consumers for individuals looking for a custom hat with no minimum orders.

• B2B - Companies needing corporate/team/uniform wear

• B2B - Companies that resell branded merchandise

• B2B - Existing decorators and promo companies looking to expand their service offerings to include leather patches or leather patch hats.

We got our start in direct-to-consumer but targeting the business-to-business segments has been the most effective sales channel.

Click on each link to see the application/job description page:

• Marketing Manager @ Brewery Branding

• VP of Sales, Souvenir & Promo Products @ Matrix Sales Group

• Inside Sales Representative @ TJM Promos

• Account Manager, Promotional Product Development @ adm Group

• Marketing Manager @ PPAI

• Merchandising Buyer @ Pinnacle Promotions

• Project Coordinator - Branded Merchandise @ One Hum Inc.

• Customer Service - Custom Heat Transfers/Promotional Products/Embroider @ Santa’s Stitches

• Account Manager - Licensed Sports Group @ G&G Outfitters

We have so much more to say but we're saving some for next time. Reply back with your comments and/or questions and we’ll utilize them for the next issue!

Have a great rest of your week,

J.