Merch Trends To Know from the ASI Show

The Printable team recently spent a week at the ASI Show in Chicago, looking for the mid-year trends in the promo merch space. After walking tens of miles, visiting hundreds of suppliers, and scoping out thousands of products, here’s an overview of what we found:

More Customization

Completely custom products used to be available only to large companies with deep pockets. Not any more!

New manufacturing processes allow us to offer fully custom apparel, shoes, bags and more…with very low minimum orders that fit reasonable budgets.

Why settle for printing your logo on the chest or sleeve when you could custom design the entire garment? Why choose a stock bag when you could have it color matched to your marketing materials?

Exciting Flavors

Gourmet food and beverage gifts are one of the leading categories leading up to the holiday season for 2022. This year, we’re seeing more options than ever before!

Flavor profiles have expanded beyond the basics, and now include offerings like Cinnamon Churro Toffee, Chocolate Bourbon Cookies and Adobo spices.

Retail brands like Eliqs are moving into the promo space as well, allowing us to offer custom cans of beer, hard seltzer (think White Claw), wine, and sparkling water.

Sustainability

To be fair, sustainability and social responsibility is not a trend but a movement.

A plethora of eco-friendly brands were at the show. Some of our favorites:

• Allmade - Shirts made from 50% recycled poly, 25% organic cotton and 25% Tencel modal

• Marine Layer - Re-Spun program recycles your old tees, makes new ones

• Record Remix - Upcycles old vinyl records into journals, clocks, bottle openers, photo frames…and more!

• Raining Rose - A certified BCorp that makes retail-quality lip balms, reef-safe sunscreens and lotions

⁩Drinkware

Drinkware is a ubiquitous lifestyle accessory that has been growing in popularity.

Vacuum insulated bottles and tumblers are in-demand, and name-brand options abound…Yeti, Camelbak, Corkcicle, HydroFlask and more.

Stickers, and faux-sticker imprints are a trend we’re seeing everywhere on all types of drinkware, especially bottles.

Bold Colorways

The same bold colors we’re seeing in retail apparel are also available in promo!

If you want your recipients to wear your merch, think about their demographic and what they want to wear…then we can help you find a way to adapt that to work with your brand.

Business Casual-er

After sever years of work-from-home, business casual has become even more casual.

People are looking for a dressed-down style that doesn’t remind them of being in the office. They want less of a uniform and more of a lifestyle look.

This is not your grandfather’s office-wear!

Luxury

High value items, and high perceived-value items are very popular right now.

Many name-brand consumer goods can be co-branded with your logo as incentives, business gifts, and team merch.

Tech products like speakers, luxurious blankets, and other quality lifestyle items are also a good bet.