From t-shirts to backpacks to notebooks, branded merchandise is a fun and cost-effective way to keep your brand at the top of customers’ minds. It’s also a great way to put your brand in front of new eyes—just think of all the branded tote bags you’ve seen at the grocery store.
With the right brand assets and marketing strategy, you can leverage branded merchandise to expand your reach, encourage customer loyalty, and delight your employees.
Ahead, learn how branded merch can benefit your business and how to create your own.
What is branded merchandise?
Branded merchandise is any product featuring a company’s logo, brand name, or other promotional or identifying asset. Sometimes called “promotional merchandise” or “branded merch,” it can include items such as apparel, cookware, stationary and writing tools, and technology accessories. Businesses of all sizes create and distribute branded merch to increase brand awareness and nurture brand loyalty.
What are the benefits of branding merchandise?
- Increase brand awareness
- Encourage brand loyalty
- Affirm brand values
- Gamify your marketing strategy
- Launch a new revenue stream
- Generate hype for new products
- Encourage larger purchases
Whether you sell branded merch or give it away, it can help your company meet a number of goals, including the following:
Increase brand awareness
Customers who wear apparel (or carry around items like tote bags) with your brand name or brand logo act as brand ambassadors, advertising your company wherever they go and increasing brand recognition.
With the right brand assets and products, you can create a cost-effective marketing strategy that encourages word-of-mouth advertising.
Encourage brand loyalty
Branded merchandise can be a great way to thank loyal customers, encourage repeat shopping, and incentivize loyalty program signups.
Affirm brand values
Your choice of branded merch should affirm your brand values, reminding employees and consumers what you stand for.
For example, if you run an environmentally responsible ecommerce store, you might offer branded apparel made with sustainable fabrics from a wholesale vendor like Everybody.World.
Gamify your marketing strategy
Whip up excitement for your merch and brand by starting a contest or creating a limited-edition drop, as ecommerce food company Heyday Canning Co. did.
In an episode of Shopify Masters, Heyday co-founder Kat Kavner discussed how she came up with the idea for the pop-up. This relatively low-budget event let visitors purchase limited-edition bean merch using cans of beans as currency.
“For the pop-up, the objective very much was to cut through the noise on TikTok,” said Kat. “We really wanted it to be something that people would want to experience and capture and then put on TikTok. Then other people would see it and be like, ‘Wait, I need to be there too.’”
With lines around the block, Heyday’s pop-up was a smashing success, garnering TikTok virality and brand awareness.
Launch a new revenue stream
Branded merchandise is excellent for gifting and can also generate revenue streams. For example, in February 2024, skin care brand Rhode launched a branded phone customized to hold its popular lip tint. The phone case went viral and sold out instantly.
Tech accessories and beauty products might not be an obvious combination, but Rhode’s innovative product created an entirely new revenue stream while simultaneously promoting its existing lip tint. The viral phone cases also fostered user-generated content (UGC), as customers snapped and shared mirror selfies with the phone case and lip tint on full display.
Generate hype for new products
To successfully launch a product you need to consider seasonality, market conditions, and consumer trends, and develop a thoughtful product marketing plan. Well-branded merchandise can help cultivate consumer excitement ahead of the launch.
For example, before selling a single pickle, ecommerce company Good Girl Snacks developed a customer base with a social media marketing campaign branded “Hot girls eat pickles” hats. By the time they launched, they’d already built an online community hungry for their pickles.
Encourage larger purchases
Free merch can support an upselling strategy, by encouraging additional or more expensive purchases. Skin care company Dieux took this approach by filling a branded makeup bag with its signature reusable eye mask and assorted samples, then giving it to customers who spent over $150.
Popular promotional products used for branded merchandise
Here are some of the most popular products for brand promotion.
Apparel
Apparel—including t-shirts, hoodies, hats, and shoes—is great for companies with a strong visual brand identity. For example, if you have an eye-catching logo or fetching color palette, you could create t-shirts featuring these brand elements.
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Look at Canyon Coffee, an ecommerce business and brick-and-mortar café that sells organic coffee beans, brew equipment, and artistic mugs. The company also sells branded merchandise including hats, t-shirts, ceramics, and tote bags.
Cookware
Cookware and drinkware, such as coffee mugs and reusable water bottles, are popular. Unlike apparel, they can be ordered in a single size.
If you sell consumable goods, you can customize cookware for your products. For example, tinned fish brand sells serving boards and cutlery sets that showcase its signature style.

Technology accessories
Accessories like laptop and phone cases, branded headphones, and charging cords are great gifts at trade shows, conferences, and job fairs. You can also sell them. For example, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City sells branded tech accessories, including touchscreen cleaners.

Bags
Backpacks, tote bags, and duffel bags are moving advertisements that can increase brand awareness. While it’s tempting to produce them at the lowest price possible, higher-quality products will last longer and increase exposure as customers carry them in public.
Also, consider branded bags specifically designed for your products. For example, Ami Colé, a makeup brand for consumers with melanin-rich skin, sells branded makeup bags featuring the company’s brand name and slogan, “Melanin-rich.”

Self-care items
Self-care items like lip balms and hand lotions can be thoughtful and welcome gifts if they align with your brand mission.
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For example, skin care company EVE LOM offers branded silk sleep masks as part of its Beauty Sleep Bundle. The relaxing accessory reflects the company’s mission statement: “EVE LOM invites you to slow down, breathe deep, and connect with the power of your skin.”
How to create branded merchandise
- Establish your merch goals and budget
- Generate product ideas
- Choose a method of distribution
- Design your branded merchandise
- Find a manufacturer
- Monitor your inventory
Here are a few general steps to consider as you start creating branded merchandise:
1. Establish your merch goals and budget
Decide how you want your merchandise to help: Do you want it to boost employee satisfaction? To increase brand awareness by encouraging user-generated content and social media shares? Or, do you want it to incentivize high-value purchases? How you answer these questions will help determine the merchandise to develop, and how to position and distribute it.
It’s also good to start with a budget since that will inform many of your merchandising choices. For example, say you have a limited budget and aim to cultivate customer loyalty with free branded merch. Perhaps you can afford a sticker—but not a tote bag—for every customer.
2. Generate product ideas
Brainstorm branded merchandise ideas aligned with your goals, budget, values, and brand personality. For example, to boost employee morale, you might create a practical product to elevate your employees’ work experience, like a travel mug for their morning coffees. To encourage word-of-mouth marketing, you might choose a product consumers can use daily, like a tote bag or bucket hat.
3. Choose a method of distribution
The next step is figuring out how to distribute your branded merch. Here are a few ways to get it into the world:
- Employee event giveaways. Distribute branded merch to employees at events like conferences and all-hands meetings.
- Trade shows. Help potential customers remember your company by giving out merch at trade shows and conferences.
- Influencer gifts. If influencer gifting is part of your marketing strategy, consider including branded merch in your packages. If you’re lucky, the merch may end up in influencer content, too.
- Loyalty programs. Incentivize loyalty program sign-ups or commemorate birthdays and membership milestones by distributing exclusive merch to members.
- Contests and giveaways. Try distributing merch via online giveaways or user engagement campaigns on social media.
- Customer gifts. Consider gifting branded merch alongside purchases or using it to incentivize bigger orders.
4. Design your branded merchandise
As you design your branded merch, keep your budget, planned distribution method(s), and your company’s visual identity and brand guidelines top of mind.
See how Good Girl Snacks’ t-shirts, sweatshirts, and hats mirror the company’s irreverent brand voice and colorful visual identity.
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5. Find a manufacturer
There are several production options. For straightforward items like water bottles, consider a print-on-demand company like Printful or Printify. These services can brand everything from shirts to pens, and allow smaller runs so you don’t have to fund and store large orders.
For complex designs, partnering with a branded merch agency like Canary Marketing can get you design and branding support for a range of high-quality products.
6. Monitor your inventory
If you’re bulk-buying branded merchandise for employees, consider company growth projections so you order enough for today’s—and tomorrow’s—team.
Keep an eye on inventory and order new batches when supplies run low. Ecommerce platforms like Shopify offer user-friendly inventory management tools that alert you when stock is low.
Branding merchandise ideas FAQ
What are the bestselling merch items?
Popular merch includes t-shirts, hats, sweatshirts, tote bags, and mugs. Technology accessories like Rhode’s lip-tint-holding phone case have also been bestsellers.
What are some good giveaway items?
Branded bags, pens, water bottles, and tech accessories such as phone cases and charging cords are all good items to give away.
How to come up with merch ideas?
You can generate merch ideas by determining your branded merchandise goals, budget, and distribution method(s). Then, brainstorm unique products that align with your brand identity, mission, and values.
Why is branded merchandise important?
Branded merchandise is important because it can place your brand before new customers while fostering brand loyalty among existing ones.
Can my company sell its branded merchandise?
Yes, your company can sell its branded merchandise, but remember that customers will only be willing to buy your merch if you’ve built brand equity or if your merch can stand on its own. For example, customers might be willing to buy branded merch with a funny slogan, even if they’re unfamiliar with your company.
Is branding merchandise a marketing strategy?
Yes, branding merchandise is a marketing strategy that can complement other strategies, such as social media and event marketing. Branding merchandise can also be part of a larger marketing strategy, like generating word of mouth or user-generated content.