Health products in the promotional products industry are in high demand no matter what time of year it is. Companies are increasingly emphasizing corporate wellness programs, offering incentives to get healthy. Staying fit, eating right and managing one’s health allows an optimal state of mind for work — and play. Hydration, pill trays, syringe pens, tote bags, health calendars, medical history organizers, first aid kits, running accessories, and essential oils are all go-to items in this burgeoning category.
Brandon Brown of SnugZ USA sees a large increase in wearable fitness technology, mindful eating and the use of herbal aromatherapy with essential oils. "People are doing this as their health and fitness comes front and center in their everyday busy lives," he reports. "People want to feel good naturally by exercising, eating right and using aromatherapy to relax and soothe."
Brown also observes a significant cultural shift regarding how people are managing their health. "A major driving factor is healthcare costs in the United States
. We spend two and half times more than the average OECD country. With looming costs over our heads, Americans are now looking at different ways of eating and exercising to sustain a long and healthy life," he says.
Kippie Helzel of CPS/Keystone agrees that wellness programs are becoming more prevalent. "We find more and more of our water bottles are being used for corporate employee wellness activities in addition to classic personal health and safety items like bandage dispensers, first aid kits, etc.," he states. "Personal health is a year-round goal, and with the increased awareness of food safety, caloric content and all, the reminders to drink water as a first choice doesn't have an expiration date. Not to mention the movement away from bottled water and the ecologic issue of disposal single-use bottles."
Another aspect of health and well-being is managing health and medicine. Sarah Sumner of Bay State Specialty Company is seeing many pill trays purchased for home care programs, such as CNAs and Hospices. "The trays have up to four separate compartments per day, so it is a good way for caretakers to know if medicine has been taken or not," she says. Compartments are especially important for patients with several caretakers, as they keep medicine organized and taken on time. "Keeping organized, safe, and making sure medicine is refilled on time are top of mind for these products," she states. Additionally, Sumner notes an increased demand for larger compartments in pill boxes and pill trays, in order to fit herbal vitamins and pills.
Nguyen adds that the company’s Sharp Mind Games are generating a lot of interest for senior health, hospice and doctors' offices. Notably new from Better Life Line are its line of syringe pens and highlighters in addition to NW3/4" lanyards. "The RBR-SC pull reel with sport clip is popular if the facility doesn’t allow lanyards even if they have breakaways," he states.
New items from Bay State Specialty Company include a Medical History Organizer, which is a vinyl pouch that holds medical history forms. This item features a ‘sticky’ backing that can applied to pretty much any non-porous surface, and is reusable. "An item like this is great to stick on the fridge or by the phone. The backing will stick to stainless steel, unlike magnets," Sumner describes. "These are also perfect to put in a child’s backpack, a gym bag, or pocketbook. This way, lifesaving information is on hand." Best sellers are the company’s pill trays and pill boxes.
Hydration is a top health trend in sustaining a healthy lifestyle, particularly with corporate wellness programs. According to Margit Fawbush of BIC Graphic, drinkware with additional functionality — such as smoothie shakers, fruit crushers or infusers — are gaining popularity. "Fitness and sun safety products are great promos for summer," she comments.
New health kits from BIC Graphic like the 40917 Sun Safe Kit are often well received, Fawbush says. The company also creates custom kits tailored to a client’s needs. The 40617 Shoe Wallet is a favorite for fundraising runs and wellness programs, which are now available in four new fashion colors to complement running shoes. Best sellers include the Cool Gear™ 20-ounce smoothie tumbler, which comes in clear/gray and clear/lime; the Cool Gear™ 24-ounce shaker bottle, available in clear/black and clear/blue and the Fruit Infusion 28-ounce Sport Bottle with a flip-top spout in a variety of color combinations.
A premium aromatherapy product line called ZEN is from SnugZ USA. Brown explains this collection uses therapeutic-grade essential oils offering the purest extraction of natural ingredients. "Aromatherapy seeks to balance, harmonize and promote the health of body, mind and spirit," he explains. The new Zen Collection offers seven blends and three single scents: Cloud 9, Exhale, Focus, Immunity, Invigorate, Tranquility, Karma, Peppermint. Lavender, and Lemon." These formulations are available in Dropper Bottle, Roller Ball, Bar Soap, Bath Salt, Bath Bomb, Candle, Reed Diffuser, and Electric Diffuser. "Demand has been high for the essential oil dropper bottles, roller bottles and diffusers," he adds. "Our soap and bath bombs have also seen a lot of attention."
Better Life Line tackles a number of health categories with its awareness calendars that focus on a different topic each month. Joe Nguyen notes the following trends: January: Cold and Flu, February: Healthy Heart, March: Nutrition, April: Earth Day, May: Hospitals and Nurses Week, June: Serve and Protect, July: Summer Health and Safety, August: Summer Safety, September: Women’s Health, October: BCA with Fire Safety, November: Movember-Men’s Health, and December: Diabetes Awareness.
For distributors, selling promotional health/wellness items to your customers makes good sense. "Every industry will benefit from the health of employees," Fawbush emphasizes. “Be sure your customers are aware of the ROI of keeping their people healthy, and the great opportunities available to personalize the tools that will help them to reach their goals. Remind customers that health means more than bandages. It is a holistic approach to a lifestyle of good choices. Drinkware, fitness products, sun safety, etc. all work together. Plan for a year-long schedule of giveaways, not just one-offs.”
Helzel believes that personal health care and wellness is an easy topic to suggest. "It’s also great when companies share their own wellness program activities with their customers via a promo that illustrates their philosophy and wellness values," he suggests.
Brown elaborates, "When we look at health and wellness trends across categories (food, travel, fashion, fitness, social, corporate benefits), Americans are interested in building lifestyle habits versus short term fixes as a viable solution to good health," he notes. "A much more holistic approach to taking care of ourselves is becoming mainstream. Natural is popular."
CASE STUDY: Sarah Sumner, Bay State Specialty Company
The 6-inch All-Week Pill Box was given to a traveling tours company that had set up tables at a local mall to promote the senior travel programs they offered. They put together small goodie bags filled with brochures, travel size items, and added these pill boxes. The representatives gave out these bags to everyone that stopped by their table to inquire about their services. Each pill box had their business name and logo printed on them.