Promoting American Pride, Sealing the Deal

Faster turnarounds and product safety concerns, not to mention patriotism and the political fervor from today’s political scene, have all contributed to a growing awareness of and demand for U.S.-made promotional products.

According to Amberlea Barnes of Drum-Line, personalization and customization are trending in this segment of the industry. “Marketing is getting more sophisticated, so promotional products will need to follow the trend of customizing for specific target groups,” she explains. “U.S.-made products fit this need well, because minimum order quantities for U.S.-made custom products are lower than imports. Inventory shortages are not a problem. We can turn orders faster, more reliably, and without the safety concerns of direct importing.

 “I think Americans are beginning to see that sourcing overseas has driven jobs out of our country and increased safety concerns,” Barnes continues. “Manufacturing in the United States is making a comeback, and consumers are more aware that their purchases matter. Promotional product distributors are in a unique position to drive business to U.S. manufacturers as companies of all sizes look to distributors for expertise and trust in sourcing products.”

Janine Cannici of Punch Products USA/VisionUSA also believes that the safety factor is a pressing issue. “Huge corporations outside of the promotional industry even struggle to realize fair labor practices and product safety while manufacturing overseas,” she notes. “Consumers in every industry are concerned about safe goods, especially when it comes to drinkware.”

The industry needs to work together to ensure that manufacturing stays in this country and products can be sold at reasonable prices, Gary Rosenberg at Compass Industries asserts. “Price, quality and availability still outweigh made in the USA for the mass market. There is still a strong segment that simply has to have the products made here, unions being the strongest of those.”  Gwen Brey of Beacon Promotions states succinctly, "Customers like American-made because the quality is better and business is kept in the country.”

New and unique are the buzzwords at All In One, Ed Koehler maintains. “Distributors are looking for the Wow factor, and being made in the USA is another price for the distributor. No longer is price the deciding factor as it once was.”

The Magnet Group’s Dan Jellinek adds that for his customers, U.S.-made, “Seals the deal.”

There is a plethora of new and best-selling U.S.-made products available in virtually every product category to wow your customers.

At Bay State Specialty Company, Josette Bosse points to the following as top-selling U.S.-made items: jar openers, multi-use measuring spoons, a measuring cup and spatula. New items include a bread loaf jar opener and a mini square jar opener. Ceramic Source has added new colors and shapes to its mug line, and Anna Ramos points out that two tones on mugs, custom colors and 3D relief are currently best sellers.

Magnets are also popular kitchen items, according to Jellinek of The Magnet Group. “A person goes to the refrigerator on average of 27 times a day,” he comments. “Multiply that by an average of four people in the home and your product/magnet/logo will be seen roughly 100 times a day and you paid less than 50 cents.” He adds that the company is constantly designing new magnet shapes and sizes, with mainstays being business card magnets, sports schedule magnets, calendar magnets and picture frame magnets.

Cannici at Punch Products USA/VisionUSA reports the company’s Made in the USA Access Canister has been a huge success in 2016. “It offers a huge 25-ounce capacity, gasket seal (to lock in freshness) and crystal clear elegance,” he notes. “We have seen orders from beauty companies to pet foods to groceries. It has so many uses and has really taken off.” Overall, Cannici is also seeing a surge in desktop items such as pencil caddies, apothecary jars and organizers.

Desktop items are notable U.S.-made sellers at Goldstar. “We brought in a couple on new items for the new year that have made in the USA components and they are off to a great start,” RJ Hagel says. 

Beacon Promotions also has success with writing instruments. “Not only is DriMark® American-made, but DriMark® is committed to safety as well,” Brey explains “They use 80 percent water-based inks and all products are non-toxic, non-flammable and all dyes and pigments are lead and heavy-metal free. Their products have a guaranteed one-year shelf life, have three times more ink than import items, and are inexpensive, eye-catching and useful giveaways. These are important safety features you won’t get with import items. With these features they are a better buy than an import item.”

Brey reports that the company’s popular TriMark® Highlighter body is available in a variety of colors: white, clear, reflex blue, black, translucent blue, and the new fun colors or red, lime green or yellow. “Advertisers love the new bright colors, as their ads stand out and get noticed,” she comments. “For the red, lime green and yellow the highlighter colors will always be yellow, green and pink. For the other body colors yellow will always be one of the highlighter colors, but the customer can choose the other two colors. The highlighter color choices are blue, pink, orange and green. Numerous color combinations can be created.”

All In One has added a number of U.S.-made pens to its offerings, like the Foldzflat pen, Heaven-scented pens, and Presidential pen. Koehler says best sellers are the Foldzflat pen, Heaven scented pen and the Snifty pen. “All of these pens are so unique and so different that many times they sell themselves,” he says. “The re-orders are fantastic too.”

Drum-Line has enjoyed success with its U.S.-made Personalized Image journals, which feature an individual’s name creatively embedded in the cover image. “Everyone likes to see his or her name in print, making this promotional item one that recipients keep,” Barnes elaborates. “The company submits a list of names and receives a unique, personalized journal for each person. This is great for employee recognition, conference attendees, or client gifts.” She adds that personalization is available on several journal styles, as well as 2017 planners and calendars. Best sellers include the company’s Impression journals, legal pads, scratch pads, and pocket memo books – all of which feature a logo on every sheet of paper.

Two new retail exclusive products are generating buzz at Webb Company. “We are proud to represent the hottest retail lip balm product voted by over 50,000 retail consumers, Softlips® Cube and Classic Stick,” Webb enthuses. “These brands fall under the Mentholatum Company, which has been manufacturing in the USA for over 125 years!” The company has created green-colored, beer-flavored lip balms for St. Patrick’s Day, State Fair peppermint flavor, and mini donut and French fry flavors. The company’s other exclusive product is SafeHands® Hand Sanitizer, which Webb explains is a non-alcoholic, unscented, foaming pump sanitizer that truly moisturizes your hands instead of leaving them dried and cracking. 

At Compass Industries, a number of U.S.-made items are performing well. Rosenberg says that Mag-Lites is showing a strong push into LED lighting and those have been selling great, with the company introducing full wrap imprint capabilities to Mag-Lites. Additionally, Leatherman tools have a strong market where price is also not an issue. “They added a small Leatherman called The Squirt that has been extremely popular so far this year,” he comments. “Leatherman has also added a number of new items showing a great deal of versatility to their products. They have added carabiners to a number of their items which allows for ease of carrying. Our Buck knives continue to show camo and color as well as new and stronger blades to their knives.”

For those looking for garments, Nino Phimphachanh at Expert Brand reports that the company has added TriTec™ (Performance Tri-Blend) collection to its catalog. “This collection features USA-made products that offer a fashion cut, as well as a performance technical Tri-Blend fabric with a super soft feel,” he elaborates. A few examples include the Women’s TriTec™ Deep V-Neck Tee and the Men’s TriTec™ Long Sleeve Tee. Best sellers in the USA-made products category include the company’s women’s Distance Singlet, men’s SS Natural Feel Jersey Crew and men’s Natural Feel Jersey Training Short, Phimphachanh adds.

Customer education is vital when selling these items. “Educate end buyers about customizing products,” Barnes of Drum-Line says. “It’s easier than it may seem, yet will set you as a distributor apart from your online and catalog competitors selling cookie cutter products on price alone.” Ramos of Ceramic Source also speaks to the importance of custom items. “Distributors need to show their clients custom capabilities and not wait for the customers to tell them what is needed,” she comments.

Make sure these products are featured prominently on your website, urges Rosenberg at Compass Industries. “We have a section on our website for Made in the USA products,” he says. “We show them at trade shows as a feature, especially at end-user shows. Special offers around July 4^th, Memorial Day and for certain, Labor Day, are important.”

Bosse of Bay State Specialty Company adds that trade shows are prime events to generate interest in these products. “People are generally happy to receive a ‘free’ product,” she comments. “However, when you tell them that it’s USA made, that’s when you catch their interest and they start to examine the item and think of potential customers.”

Goldstar’s Hagel also weighs in. “Besides the obvious that 'Made in USA' creates domestic jobs, one of the biggest advantages of buying U.S.-made product is in the ability to turn around orders quickly and efficiently,” he states.

Finally, Cannici of VisionUSA notes that offering American-made to clients can never be considered a negative. “It shows the extra attention to detail and concern for product safety and can be used to distinguish yourself with your client. Add instant value to your services by presenting American-made while eliminating safety and compliance concerns and inventory issues!

This 6' Flat, four-sided table cover from Aprons, Etc. is economical, re-useable and our best wrinkle resistant cover. USA printed and sewn. Using water-based eco-friendly inks, the logo and color are embedded into fabric .

Straighter, longer shots are the key to success in golf. Take advantage of the all new Bridgestone e6, available from Ball Pro, the softest multilayer golf ball on the market, designed to improve your accuracy and your game.

This large pet ID Tag (heart shape) from BIC Graphic is available with stock background on one side with other side for imprint. Great for vets, doggie daycares, pet shops, groomers and more.

Carolina Made carries Bayside’s Made in USA jumbo tote bag. It features 100% cotton canvas, 12 oz., natural 22” web handles, 9 1/2” drop. Size: 21” W x 14” H x 5” D. 10 Colors.

GAME Sportswear's U.S.-made style 5000 Varsity Jacket features a Melton wool body with quilted lining (nylon available as a custom order), set-in genuine leather sleeves with coordinating pockets, a non-pill, high-memory, wool knit collar, cuffs and waistband, and inside wallet pocket and snap front.

Add some flavor to your brand at your upcoming event! This fruit infuser tumbler from Makana Line is a 21-ounce mason jar with a spill resistant lid, removable infuser basket and straw with O-ring. Place fruit inside the infuser to add flavor to your water.

MV Sport’s USA Tri-Blend T-shirt is fashioned from 3.8-oz. 50% polyester/37% cotton/13% rayon combed ringspun tri-blend jersey.

This custom jacquard woven beach towel (34” x 60”, 20.0lb./doz.) from Pro Towels is all terry hemmed, 100% cotton and features the rich look of jacquard weaving.

The new SALSA Journal Collection from The Book Company features colorful two-tone journals with innovative imprintable bookmarks, an exclusive for the promotional products industry.  They come in six colors where the page edges, endpages, bookmark, elastic closure and pen loop are all color matched.

Now available from Victorinox Swiss Army, the Epicurean U.S.A.-shaped cutting board is heat resistant to 350 degrees, knife friendly and diswasher safe.