WEBVTT 00:00:02.329 --> 00:00:05.150 Welcome to the promo playbook, the podcast where 00:00:05.150 --> 00:00:07.650 suppliers come to win in the promotional products 00:00:07.650 --> 00:00:10.849 industry. We're your hosts, Lisa Faustik and 00:00:10.849 --> 00:00:13.910 Adrienne Barker, bringing you insider insights, 00:00:14.490 --> 00:00:17.170 expert strategies, and no fluff advice to help 00:00:17.170 --> 00:00:20.449 suppliers navigate the promo channel like pros. 00:00:21.210 --> 00:00:24.170 From marketing to distributors to mastering software 00:00:24.170 --> 00:00:27.370 onboarding, we cover it all. Whether you're new 00:00:27.370 --> 00:00:30.149 to the industry or ready to scale up, this is 00:00:30.149 --> 00:00:33.320 your playbook for success. Let's get started. 00:00:35.560 --> 00:00:38.880 Hey, everybody. Thank you for joining us again 00:00:38.880 --> 00:00:42.079 at the promo playbook. This episode, we're welcoming 00:00:42.079 --> 00:00:45.340 Brittany David from Snugs. We're so excited to 00:00:45.340 --> 00:00:47.719 have her here. She's the chief revenue officer. 00:00:48.259 --> 00:00:51.219 I'm joined by my co -host Kim Ballerine today, 00:00:51.219 --> 00:00:54.799 and we'll be asking Brittany a series of questions 00:00:54.799 --> 00:00:57.240 and getting into her big, beautiful brain about 00:00:57.240 --> 00:01:00.670 how she sees the industry. So Brittany, would 00:01:00.670 --> 00:01:03.429 you mind giving our audience your story, your 00:01:03.429 --> 00:01:06.670 background, how you got into promo and where 00:01:06.670 --> 00:01:11.629 you are today? You bet. So I went to Texas A 00:01:11.629 --> 00:01:15.450 &M University and I was interning at Verizon. 00:01:15.769 --> 00:01:20.129 So I graduated in the early 2000s back when you 00:01:20.129 --> 00:01:23.049 graduate. And if you didn't have a job, you looked 00:01:23.049 --> 00:01:25.930 on Monster or all sorts of things that don't 00:01:25.930 --> 00:01:28.230 exist today, trying to figure out what you were 00:01:28.230 --> 00:01:30.090 going to do to get out of your parents' house 00:01:30.090 --> 00:01:33.290 to make some money. So my easiest solution was 00:01:33.290 --> 00:01:36.230 to go back to Verizon and do DSL engineering, 00:01:36.530 --> 00:01:39.870 which my brain works pretty mathematically and 00:01:39.870 --> 00:01:41.989 science and all the stuff. So I was doing ones 00:01:41.989 --> 00:01:46.760 and zeros. But I did not love doing that. I thrive 00:01:46.760 --> 00:01:49.140 where things are creative and interpersonal. 00:01:50.159 --> 00:01:52.439 So I went to do event planning for the Gaylord 00:01:52.439 --> 00:01:57.079 Texan out in Grapevine, Texas, and then moved 00:01:57.079 --> 00:01:59.799 over to the Hilton Anatole doing events there. 00:02:00.120 --> 00:02:03.700 Well, along the way, Sage was doing their show 00:02:03.700 --> 00:02:07.180 at the Gaylord Texan and was looking for someone 00:02:07.180 --> 00:02:10.080 to help with their events in the marketing sector. 00:02:10.199 --> 00:02:13.300 And I liked what I was doing, but figured why 00:02:13.300 --> 00:02:16.479 not go work for a company that nobody understands 00:02:16.479 --> 00:02:19.020 what this industry is because it's totally hidden. 00:02:19.419 --> 00:02:21.800 And on top of that, no one really even understands 00:02:21.800 --> 00:02:24.759 what Sage is because back then Google was barely 00:02:24.759 --> 00:02:28.099 even a thing. I feel so old now, but it's like... 00:02:27.979 --> 00:02:30.400 trying to describe that Sage was kind of like 00:02:30.400 --> 00:02:32.759 a Google and this industry that nobody knew where 00:02:32.759 --> 00:02:36.240 to get products from, but great people over there. 00:02:36.280 --> 00:02:39.919 So I was at Sage for about five years and then 00:02:39.919 --> 00:02:42.599 moved over to Snugs, picked up, left Dallas, 00:02:42.819 --> 00:02:46.680 moved to Salt Lake City 15 years ago. So started 00:02:46.680 --> 00:02:50.500 off on the sales team doing national sales there 00:02:50.500 --> 00:02:54.180 and then became the VP of sales, worked on sales 00:02:54.180 --> 00:02:57.419 and marketing. which has led me to the position 00:02:57.419 --> 00:03:00.159 I'm in now. And I love the industry, and I love 00:03:00.159 --> 00:03:02.199 Snugs, and I love the team I get to work with, 00:03:02.300 --> 00:03:05.379 both here and customer -wise. So, yeah, enjoying 00:03:05.379 --> 00:03:08.620 it. Awesome. That is a great story. And I love, 00:03:08.719 --> 00:03:11.500 you know, that you're a woman, really, and a 00:03:11.500 --> 00:03:14.939 leadership role in promo. That's really exciting. 00:03:15.479 --> 00:03:18.620 Can you give us a little context related to Snugs? 00:03:18.699 --> 00:03:21.039 Like, what's your overall sales volume in the 00:03:21.039 --> 00:03:23.240 industry? Where do you fit within the landscape 00:03:23.240 --> 00:03:28.939 of suppliers? Yeah, so we ended 2025 just over 00:03:28.939 --> 00:03:33.360 92 million So when I started I think we are around 00:03:33.360 --> 00:03:37.800 28 or 29 million doing mostly lanyards and personal 00:03:37.800 --> 00:03:41.199 care with lip balm and sanitizer and then throughout 00:03:41.199 --> 00:03:44.159 the years just innovated into Different lines 00:03:44.159 --> 00:03:48.599 we could bring on ourself like aromatherapy Mints 00:03:48.599 --> 00:03:51.699 kind of like little ads and then back in 2022 00:03:51.699 --> 00:03:56.069 acquired, Sweden So it was huge in drinkware 00:03:56.069 --> 00:03:59.169 and bags and some other categories that we loved 00:03:59.169 --> 00:04:01.449 and figured instead of trying to do it all from 00:04:01.449 --> 00:04:05.270 scratch, maybe we can get our way into it with 00:04:05.270 --> 00:04:08.509 partnering with them. So now, yes, nuts is pretty 00:04:08.509 --> 00:04:12.770 much like soup to nuts promo from pens and bags 00:04:12.770 --> 00:04:16.389 and drinkware and low priced items, higher priced 00:04:16.389 --> 00:04:21.110 items, brands, definitely evolving every single 00:04:21.110 --> 00:04:23.740 seemingly day. But yeah, it's been a journey 00:04:23.740 --> 00:04:26.160 and, you know, what we look like today will probably 00:04:26.160 --> 00:04:28.980 still look different six or 12 months from now. 00:04:29.259 --> 00:04:33.100 Cool, cool. That's awesome. So 2022 bought SWEDA. 00:04:33.639 --> 00:04:36.720 Yeah. Yeah. So you saw, I think, an opportunity 00:04:36.720 --> 00:04:40.720 to expand your assortment by acquiring another 00:04:40.720 --> 00:04:46.500 company, which is exciting. One of the questions 00:04:46.500 --> 00:04:48.180 I had for you, because I was around the time 00:04:48.180 --> 00:04:51.199 of the pandemic, like, how did the pandemic change 00:04:51.199 --> 00:04:54.699 the way you Do business and go to market and 00:04:54.699 --> 00:04:57.540 even you know, you're you're the landscape of 00:04:57.540 --> 00:05:00.439 your employees How did that pandemic affect you 00:05:00.439 --> 00:05:04.980 and snugs? Yeah, the pandemic was chaos right 00:05:04.980 --> 00:05:08.439 and we went from a company where about half of 00:05:08.439 --> 00:05:11.439 our business was lanyard and trade show related 00:05:11.439 --> 00:05:14.759 and half of our business was personal care and 00:05:14.759 --> 00:05:18.000 so we got completely flipped upside down where 00:05:18.189 --> 00:05:20.790 If people weren't having events in person, they 00:05:20.790 --> 00:05:23.990 didn't eat a lot of lanyards, but everybody in 00:05:23.990 --> 00:05:27.709 the whole world wanted sanitizer. And fortunately, 00:05:28.069 --> 00:05:30.730 we made sanitizer and we still make sanitizer. 00:05:31.529 --> 00:05:35.610 So it was quite a process of figuring out how 00:05:35.610 --> 00:05:38.430 to be ahead and try to predict what customers 00:05:38.430 --> 00:05:41.629 are going to need next with what we had or where 00:05:41.629 --> 00:05:43.889 we were going to source it. So I think one thing 00:05:43.889 --> 00:05:48.079 was During that time we were super reactive to 00:05:48.079 --> 00:05:50.379 well, where are we going to find more alcohol? 00:05:50.639 --> 00:05:52.620 Where are we gonna find thickening agents like 00:05:52.620 --> 00:05:55.819 carbomer and sanitizer? Holy cow, we're gonna 00:05:55.819 --> 00:05:58.060 run out of label media who was thinking about 00:05:58.060 --> 00:06:00.540 that and so much was reacted to demands where 00:06:00.540 --> 00:06:04.500 I think our team has come Become a lot stronger 00:06:04.500 --> 00:06:07.519 on trying to anticipate what could be the next 00:06:07.519 --> 00:06:09.480 challenge, right? We don't have a crystal ball, 00:06:09.540 --> 00:06:12.160 but we know that if we communicate with each 00:06:12.160 --> 00:06:15.139 other um trying to kind of figure out what these 00:06:15.139 --> 00:06:18.120 things could be to have a better discussion as 00:06:18.120 --> 00:06:21.699 soon as we can and then align on all hands on 00:06:21.699 --> 00:06:24.240 deck instead of having everybody work in silos 00:06:24.240 --> 00:06:27.240 of it's their job it's all of our job especially 00:06:27.240 --> 00:06:30.300 when we get into crisis mode and it's really 00:06:30.300 --> 00:06:34.000 helped us drive innovation right so we had sanitizer 00:06:34.000 --> 00:06:37.230 but who knew that people would use lanyards with 00:06:37.230 --> 00:06:39.569 two hooks on them to create things to hold their 00:06:39.569 --> 00:06:42.170 masks on at the time, right? And just like so 00:06:42.170 --> 00:06:45.470 many suppliers, how could we get into PPE, whether 00:06:45.470 --> 00:06:49.069 we were making masks or different things like 00:06:49.069 --> 00:06:51.350 signage that we hadn't been into, but that was 00:06:51.350 --> 00:06:55.410 truly value driven. So yeah, I think we've created 00:06:55.410 --> 00:06:58.980 great kind of works working together with. our 00:06:58.980 --> 00:07:00.779 current team, but also with other partnerships, 00:07:00.899 --> 00:07:03.639 whether it be other suppliers that we lean on 00:07:03.639 --> 00:07:06.560 or collaborate with, and really fostering those 00:07:06.560 --> 00:07:09.339 relationships where, yes, we're competitors, 00:07:09.600 --> 00:07:12.540 but we all can be friendly and play in the sandbox. 00:07:12.680 --> 00:07:14.839 And how can we truly collaborate to make all 00:07:14.839 --> 00:07:17.680 of us stronger versus being in single channels? 00:07:18.620 --> 00:07:22.230 I love that. viewpoint, and I'm so glad you brought 00:07:22.230 --> 00:07:24.910 that up, the partnership aspect. Kim, I'm going 00:07:24.910 --> 00:07:27.810 to invite you to sort of share your thoughts 00:07:27.810 --> 00:07:31.250 on what you've seen in terms of partnerships, 00:07:31.589 --> 00:07:34.009 suppliers working with each other. You know, 00:07:34.110 --> 00:07:38.329 what are your thoughts on that? Yeah, well, I'm 00:07:38.329 --> 00:07:39.949 going to put a pin in that only because I actually 00:07:39.949 --> 00:07:41.629 wanted to follow up. I have a follow up question 00:07:41.629 --> 00:07:45.110 actually on the pandemic, because I'm curious 00:07:45.110 --> 00:07:48.589 if you're seeing this too. you know, I love the 00:07:48.589 --> 00:07:51.170 innovation and sort of your product line and 00:07:51.170 --> 00:07:53.889 having to sort of flip things a little bit. And, 00:07:53.970 --> 00:07:55.910 you know, you're always being reactive, but at 00:07:55.910 --> 00:07:58.649 the same time, how are you being creative to 00:07:58.649 --> 00:08:02.129 fit the solutions and finding solutions to the 00:08:02.129 --> 00:08:04.889 immediate problems, whether it's sanitizer masks, 00:08:05.230 --> 00:08:11.050 but from a even broader industry perspective 00:08:11.050 --> 00:08:16.050 with like technology, any of that, I feel like 00:08:16.189 --> 00:08:19.889 maybe I feel like the pandemic helped on the 00:08:19.889 --> 00:08:23.990 speed up technology in this industry. And I'm 00:08:23.990 --> 00:08:27.569 curious if you, you know, if Snugs saw that, 00:08:27.810 --> 00:08:30.430 and if you've seen even some of your internal, 00:08:30.889 --> 00:08:32.870 now as we look at some of the trends happening 00:08:32.870 --> 00:08:36.529 today, even from print on demand to the online 00:08:36.529 --> 00:08:41.129 gifting platforms to companies that are sort 00:08:41.129 --> 00:08:46.200 of. almost merging or a dual supplier distributor 00:08:46.200 --> 00:08:53.200 type relationship. My gut is that because we 00:08:53.200 --> 00:08:59.340 are so dispersed through the pandemic, we relied 00:08:59.340 --> 00:09:03.139 on technology that really forced this industry 00:09:03.139 --> 00:09:07.980 to almost take three giant steps forward, as 00:09:07.980 --> 00:09:12.960 opposed to maybe half steps prior. Do you feel 00:09:12.960 --> 00:09:17.000 that same way? Oh, totally. I feel like tech 00:09:17.000 --> 00:09:19.480 is kind of survival of the fittest now. And for 00:09:19.480 --> 00:09:21.759 people who can't keep up with those demands, 00:09:22.320 --> 00:09:25.919 they're going to reap what they didn't. So if 00:09:25.919 --> 00:09:29.879 that makes sense, I think that if you, if you 00:09:29.879 --> 00:09:32.679 can't keep your tech game strong, you fall behind 00:09:32.679 --> 00:09:35.759 exponentially faster. And one thing is just consumer 00:09:35.759 --> 00:09:38.769 driven expectations. As consumers, we expect 00:09:38.769 --> 00:09:40.929 things to be fast. We expect them to be easy. 00:09:41.029 --> 00:09:43.149 We expect them to be accurate. We don't want 00:09:43.149 --> 00:09:45.250 to talk to someone about the things that we don't 00:09:45.250 --> 00:09:48.389 want to talk about. And so I think that in general, 00:09:48.570 --> 00:09:51.629 the way we behave is so tech -driven, whether 00:09:51.629 --> 00:09:55.009 it's right in front of your face, realized or 00:09:55.009 --> 00:09:58.350 not. So with that, even from speed to be able 00:09:58.350 --> 00:10:01.009 to respond to customers, but all the way through 00:10:01.009 --> 00:10:03.690 profitability too, right? I think the way that 00:10:03.690 --> 00:10:06.370 we eliminate touches or we find out how can we 00:10:06.370 --> 00:10:08.350 keep up is you've got to be able to improve your 00:10:08.350 --> 00:10:11.990 processes. And so much of that is IT driven. 00:10:12.850 --> 00:10:15.769 I think it's a lot easier to access data right 00:10:15.769 --> 00:10:19.509 now where AI was a thing we talked about two 00:10:19.509 --> 00:10:23.009 and three years ago when it was robots and this 00:10:23.009 --> 00:10:25.330 thing in the future and what is it going to look 00:10:25.330 --> 00:10:28.940 like in Ready Player One. And now every day, 00:10:29.019 --> 00:10:31.179 I think they just released a new version of Chat 00:10:31.179 --> 00:10:35.399 GPT. I think it's 5 .4 yesterday or today. And 00:10:35.399 --> 00:10:37.980 how quickly that's been evolving and just figuring 00:10:37.980 --> 00:10:41.179 out how can you become an expert at something 00:10:41.179 --> 00:10:43.600 you used to have to pay somebody to be an expert 00:10:43.600 --> 00:10:46.700 at by being able to understand prompting and 00:10:46.700 --> 00:10:50.519 different tech pieces. So even from, I guess, 00:10:50.899 --> 00:10:54.179 education. on that and educating yourself. Like, 00:10:54.200 --> 00:10:57.740 obviously, I didn't study AI in college 20 years 00:10:57.740 --> 00:11:01.000 ago, but I sure have become a student in the 00:11:01.000 --> 00:11:05.379 last probably 6, 12, 18 months because that is 00:11:05.379 --> 00:11:07.460 evolving and it's something that I need to know, 00:11:07.659 --> 00:11:09.940 I think, to be responsible for my job and as 00:11:09.940 --> 00:11:12.779 an innovator, but also in the world. And I think 00:11:12.779 --> 00:11:16.940 that until people feel that somewhere externally, 00:11:17.259 --> 00:11:19.379 whether it's a push from a job or whether it's 00:11:19.379 --> 00:11:21.659 something as a consumer, I think there's going 00:11:21.659 --> 00:11:24.779 to be a huge divide in how people have adopted 00:11:24.779 --> 00:11:27.600 and embraced and learned to utilize it versus 00:11:27.600 --> 00:11:29.820 pushing back. And it's this evil thing. It's 00:11:29.820 --> 00:11:32.320 taking all of our jobs. I think you got to let 00:11:32.320 --> 00:11:34.539 that narrative go pretty fast and figure out 00:11:34.539 --> 00:11:36.679 how you use it for the better and not for the 00:11:36.679 --> 00:11:39.879 worse. Yeah, technology. I mean, we are promo 00:11:39.879 --> 00:11:44.240 companies that are not just utilizing technology. 00:11:44.519 --> 00:11:47.059 The people who are promo companies that are also 00:11:47.059 --> 00:11:48.820 tech companies are the ones that I see winning 00:11:48.820 --> 00:11:51.980 right now. And I think even in a traditional 00:11:51.980 --> 00:11:55.980 model with supplier, distributor, end user, I 00:11:55.980 --> 00:11:59.980 see a lot of pushback on online companies who 00:11:59.980 --> 00:12:02.299 they don't care how the supply chain works. If 00:12:02.299 --> 00:12:05.299 they can utilize technology and whether that's 00:12:05.299 --> 00:12:07.960 ad spend and marketing and targeting different 00:12:07.960 --> 00:12:10.139 customer bases, they don't care whose customer 00:12:10.139 --> 00:12:12.759 it is. They just want to be able to provide solutions 00:12:12.759 --> 00:12:15.850 in an innovative way. to create their own business 00:12:15.850 --> 00:12:17.990 models. And so even on that distributor side, 00:12:18.129 --> 00:12:21.909 we see a ton of e -commerce companies just brushing 00:12:21.909 --> 00:12:24.649 it right now and ones that maybe you hadn't even 00:12:24.649 --> 00:12:28.710 heard five years ago. So I don't think that means 00:12:28.710 --> 00:12:31.450 that there's this major disruption in the channel 00:12:31.450 --> 00:12:34.789 and old school distributors, how we see them 00:12:34.789 --> 00:12:36.970 are going to go away. But I do think you have 00:12:36.970 --> 00:12:39.509 to be able to provide value. And I think how 00:12:39.509 --> 00:12:42.740 you utilize technology. is a huge value proposition 00:12:42.740 --> 00:12:46.559 just across the board right now. And I asked 00:12:46.559 --> 00:12:48.419 that too, because a lot of our listeners are 00:12:48.419 --> 00:12:51.080 suppliers just starting out and they're trying 00:12:51.080 --> 00:12:55.799 to either they are just entering the promo space 00:12:55.799 --> 00:12:59.360 and your traditional sort of retail wholesale 00:12:59.360 --> 00:13:03.220 brand, or they've been in and they're trying 00:13:03.220 --> 00:13:06.580 to figure out how to scale. And our council is 00:13:06.580 --> 00:13:09.460 always like, you want to get the least amount 00:13:09.460 --> 00:13:12.379 of touches, like to make it worth, you know, 00:13:12.480 --> 00:13:14.220 worth the time, with the effort that makes it 00:13:14.220 --> 00:13:18.860 more profitable. And so we were always sort of 00:13:18.860 --> 00:13:22.139 preaching, you know, back end, like, what does 00:13:22.139 --> 00:13:23.740 your back end look like? What does that order 00:13:23.740 --> 00:13:25.799 management look like? How are you receiving orders? 00:13:25.860 --> 00:13:28.259 How are you communicating? And what does that, 00:13:28.259 --> 00:13:31.960 what does that tech stack look like? And sometimes 00:13:31.960 --> 00:13:34.700 I think, you know, depending on where you are 00:13:34.700 --> 00:13:38.000 in your journey, you're like, well, You know 00:13:38.000 --> 00:13:41.519 Susie can just take the order and handle it and 00:13:41.519 --> 00:13:45.080 yes, that's true to a certain degree and then 00:13:45.080 --> 00:13:48.820 it becomes not sustainable and I think technology 00:13:48.820 --> 00:13:52.000 has just You know when I got into this industry, 00:13:52.139 --> 00:13:54.460 you know ten years ago if I looked at from a 00:13:54.460 --> 00:13:56.960 process from a Into ten years ago and I look 00:13:56.960 --> 00:14:01.419 at it today. It's There's so much change and 00:14:01.419 --> 00:14:04.240 most of that change has come in the last like 00:14:04.240 --> 00:14:09.750 four years so I just wanted to ask that follow 00:14:09.750 --> 00:14:11.409 up question because that is something we talk 00:14:11.409 --> 00:14:15.710 to our supplier partners about all the time is 00:14:15.710 --> 00:14:17.990 that tech stack and automation and embracing 00:14:17.990 --> 00:14:22.730 technology and looking for partners, right? You 00:14:22.730 --> 00:14:24.649 don't have to always build it yourself. What 00:14:24.649 --> 00:14:27.250 partners are out there in the industry that can 00:14:27.250 --> 00:14:30.610 give you that technology edge. And so that goes 00:14:30.610 --> 00:14:32.929 back to your question, Lisa about partnering 00:14:32.929 --> 00:14:35.480 with other people in the industry. being able 00:14:35.480 --> 00:14:38.720 to sort of bring those different pieces out there, 00:14:39.200 --> 00:14:42.159 you know, whether it's a tech platform, you know, 00:14:42.159 --> 00:14:45.620 and a supplier or distributor, you can link with 00:14:45.620 --> 00:14:48.399 technology, everyone can link together for the 00:14:48.399 --> 00:14:50.860 I like to say for the greater good, you know. 00:14:51.480 --> 00:14:55.440 Yeah, yeah. So so connecting those dots, you 00:14:55.440 --> 00:14:58.039 know, we do have some software clients in our 00:14:58.039 --> 00:15:01.820 portfolio like cover and out gauge where they 00:15:01.820 --> 00:15:05.220 have really cool products that you know, could 00:15:05.220 --> 00:15:08.120 work with suppliers and distributors. And we're 00:15:08.120 --> 00:15:10.259 sort of working on how do we get everyone to 00:15:10.259 --> 00:15:13.559 talk to each other and be open -minded and listen 00:15:13.559 --> 00:15:17.179 to the amazing things that are happening. So, 00:15:17.379 --> 00:15:19.399 for my follow -up question to you, Brittany, 00:15:19.580 --> 00:15:23.960 what can you share, like peek behind the curtain 00:15:23.960 --> 00:15:29.000 that Snugs is doing in the tech world to innovate? 00:15:30.289 --> 00:15:33.610 Yeah, I mean, I think one thing that isn't necessarily 00:15:33.610 --> 00:15:37.549 innovating today, but that I would highly encourage 00:15:37.549 --> 00:15:41.190 and that we take use of is promo standards. I 00:15:41.190 --> 00:15:44.429 think that integration and APIs are imperative. 00:15:44.690 --> 00:15:47.929 And while that doesn't solve everything, it is 00:15:47.929 --> 00:15:50.769 a source to be able to have a set of data that 00:15:50.769 --> 00:15:53.289 we're trying to standardize, right? That suppliers 00:15:53.289 --> 00:15:57.909 and distributors can consume. We're using AI 00:15:57.909 --> 00:16:01.210 and probably every facet of our business, right? 00:16:01.269 --> 00:16:05.710 It was easy, relatively speaking, to create marketing 00:16:05.710 --> 00:16:10.149 or use it for the very surface levels. But I 00:16:10.149 --> 00:16:14.370 mean, from order entry to artwork to ease of 00:16:14.370 --> 00:16:17.789 business to chat. And I think when people think 00:16:17.789 --> 00:16:21.049 AI, they think taking the human out of it, which 00:16:21.049 --> 00:16:23.929 isn't completely true of how we're automating. 00:16:24.149 --> 00:16:27.230 We're not looking to. take people out of it. 00:16:27.409 --> 00:16:29.450 We're trying to expedite the things that don't 00:16:29.450 --> 00:16:32.289 really need a human built into it and utilize 00:16:32.289 --> 00:16:35.629 humans better and smarter to add value where 00:16:35.629 --> 00:16:39.769 they can. And so I think we're looking at from 00:16:39.769 --> 00:16:43.090 reporting and it's not just utilized in IT, where 00:16:43.090 --> 00:16:45.049 I would say even my perspective several years 00:16:45.049 --> 00:16:48.049 ago is how is IT driving this part of our business? 00:16:48.129 --> 00:16:50.370 What do we need to understand from IT? And really 00:16:50.370 --> 00:16:52.830 it was just understanding the capabilities better. 00:16:53.070 --> 00:16:55.850 And while they might spearhead some project management, 00:16:56.269 --> 00:16:59.529 we're utilizing it in every single department. 00:16:59.590 --> 00:17:02.929 And it's insane if you can get leadership together 00:17:02.929 --> 00:17:05.329 and just start the discussion and build some 00:17:05.329 --> 00:17:08.250 curiosity where people are taking it just to 00:17:08.250 --> 00:17:11.190 improve our business. So it's pretty cool. But 00:17:11.190 --> 00:17:14.730 yeah, I mean, I would say AI, AI, AI is what 00:17:14.730 --> 00:17:17.690 we're living, breathing every day that is helping 00:17:17.690 --> 00:17:20.809 innovate on tools that we didn't have six months 00:17:20.809 --> 00:17:24.059 ago or 12 months ago. Great, great. Thank you 00:17:24.059 --> 00:17:26.779 for that insight. And Kim and I are in full support 00:17:26.779 --> 00:17:30.279 of promo standards also. Although it is out of 00:17:30.279 --> 00:17:33.299 reach sometimes for new suppliers coming into 00:17:33.299 --> 00:17:37.099 the industry, we work towards that. There's got 00:17:37.099 --> 00:17:40.859 to be a way. We're shocked at how many people 00:17:40.859 --> 00:17:44.299 still email their orders to suppliers and suppliers 00:17:44.299 --> 00:17:47.660 then rekey the whole order into the system. But 00:17:47.660 --> 00:17:51.180 that's a topic for another day. That's a loaded 00:17:51.180 --> 00:17:54.099 one. Yeah, yeah. We work really hard on that, 00:17:54.400 --> 00:17:57.079 on opening people's minds to the benefit. You 00:17:57.079 --> 00:17:59.619 know, like get that under your belt first. Like 00:17:59.619 --> 00:18:03.200 get ready and build your foundation kind of thing. 00:18:04.559 --> 00:18:09.039 So I love hearing all that tech innovation. I 00:18:09.039 --> 00:18:12.430 think one of the things that we love about Snugs 00:18:12.430 --> 00:18:16.210 and about, you know, your visioning is your partnerships 00:18:16.210 --> 00:18:21.190 with other suppliers. So we were wanting to ask 00:18:21.190 --> 00:18:23.549 you to share, like, what are some of the most 00:18:23.549 --> 00:18:26.950 successful partnerships you've instituted in 00:18:26.950 --> 00:18:29.529 the past couple years, either with brands or 00:18:29.529 --> 00:18:31.869 other suppliers, things that you feel comfortable 00:18:31.869 --> 00:18:35.829 sharing? Yeah. You know, it's interesting, I 00:18:35.829 --> 00:18:39.390 think, on... Often the brand side and the supplier 00:18:39.390 --> 00:18:42.130 side is it usually starts from a relationship 00:18:42.130 --> 00:18:44.670 you built that you weren't building to try to 00:18:44.670 --> 00:18:47.150 get anything out of it. There are people that 00:18:47.150 --> 00:18:50.430 were friends or people along the way that you 00:18:50.430 --> 00:18:53.349 aligned on values or conversations that you had 00:18:53.349 --> 00:18:56.289 in the past that have just evolved. So I would 00:18:56.289 --> 00:18:59.609 say a great supplier that's in the industry that 00:18:59.609 --> 00:19:02.869 they are a supplier that you would find in Sage 00:19:02.869 --> 00:19:05.650 or ESP that we also offer their products is totally 00:19:05.650 --> 00:19:09.220 bamboo. And David Chen and I had been friends 00:19:09.220 --> 00:19:12.500 for forever. We had been on this kind of brand 00:19:12.500 --> 00:19:14.759 partnership and kind of some supplier to supplier 00:19:14.759 --> 00:19:18.940 partnerships. And for him and where their company 00:19:18.940 --> 00:19:22.000 has we all the same customers to some extent. 00:19:22.099 --> 00:19:24.400 Right. But we don't all have the same customers. 00:19:24.400 --> 00:19:26.880 And so it's one of those, you know, is there 00:19:26.880 --> 00:19:29.519 an opportunity for us to help grow their big 00:19:29.519 --> 00:19:33.009 their brand that's also beneficial to them? that 00:19:33.009 --> 00:19:35.289 doesn't interfere with what they're doing. And 00:19:35.289 --> 00:19:37.470 so we were able to partner with them. That's 00:19:37.470 --> 00:19:40.309 a win -win for our customers, their customers, 00:19:40.529 --> 00:19:44.670 our brand, their brand. It's been awesome. We 00:19:44.670 --> 00:19:48.490 also have, I guess, the honor of partnering with 00:19:48.490 --> 00:19:51.710 Thermos. So we did that pre -pandemic. They are 00:19:51.710 --> 00:19:55.950 an outstanding flagship tried and true brand 00:19:55.950 --> 00:19:58.450 in retail that has just kind of stood the test 00:19:58.450 --> 00:20:02.250 of time. And we see them having fun retro designs, 00:20:02.710 --> 00:20:05.289 tried and true designs and innovation on drinkware 00:20:05.289 --> 00:20:07.890 technology or colors or different things that 00:20:07.890 --> 00:20:11.509 they have great people. They understood. promo, 00:20:11.730 --> 00:20:15.170 and so it was easy to jump into a relationship 00:20:15.170 --> 00:20:17.250 that's mutually beneficial with them. They don't 00:20:17.250 --> 00:20:19.990 want to be in promo. They don't want to tackle 00:20:19.990 --> 00:20:22.250 artwork and all of the crazy things. I think, 00:20:22.349 --> 00:20:24.789 Kim, you said earlier, coming from the research 00:20:24.789 --> 00:20:28.910 side, retail and promo could not be any more 00:20:28.910 --> 00:20:32.650 different when it comes to marketing and go -to 00:20:32.650 --> 00:20:35.950 -market strategy and buybacks and contractual 00:20:35.950 --> 00:20:40.400 obligations, margin. you know, all of those different 00:20:40.400 --> 00:20:44.519 intricacies. So we put a major emphasis on bringing 00:20:44.519 --> 00:20:48.119 on brands that align with snubs in promo, probably 00:20:48.119 --> 00:20:51.220 in the last year. So we just launched puffin, 00:20:51.339 --> 00:20:54.180 which are kind of like rinkware can coolers that 00:20:54.180 --> 00:20:57.319 are so cool. And the people over there have got 00:20:57.319 --> 00:21:01.960 to be the nicest people that I have interacted 00:21:01.960 --> 00:21:06.079 with and have utmost integrity and understand 00:21:06.079 --> 00:21:08.970 the business. And it's easy to have conversations 00:21:08.970 --> 00:21:11.109 of how we could partner with them. Or we entered 00:21:11.109 --> 00:21:15.390 into a partnership with Nomadic, which has super 00:21:15.390 --> 00:21:19.730 cool luxury high -end looking backpacks and travel 00:21:19.730 --> 00:21:24.289 gear with amazing design and detail and have 00:21:24.289 --> 00:21:26.769 been super fun. They're in our backyard in Utah. 00:21:27.009 --> 00:21:29.990 And so I think finding the right people and being 00:21:29.990 --> 00:21:34.250 able to align on expectations of the gate. I'm 00:21:34.250 --> 00:21:37.809 a very transparent person. I will never play 00:21:37.809 --> 00:21:40.230 to try to pretend I'm the smartest person in 00:21:40.230 --> 00:21:43.390 the room or that I have all of this secret sauce 00:21:43.390 --> 00:21:46.789 that nobody can figure out. Right. So the easier 00:21:46.789 --> 00:21:49.789 I think you can stop playing a game and truly 00:21:49.789 --> 00:21:51.930 be able to talk about numbers and be comfortable 00:21:51.930 --> 00:21:55.130 about margin and understand what expectations 00:21:55.130 --> 00:21:58.269 to figure out if it aligns or if it doesn't. 00:21:58.269 --> 00:22:01.170 And you don't take it personally if it doesn't. 00:22:01.170 --> 00:22:03.460 I mean, we've had plenty of conversations with 00:22:03.460 --> 00:22:06.559 brands where it didn't work out. And I think 00:22:06.559 --> 00:22:09.799 it is so good to know that upfront rather than 00:22:09.799 --> 00:22:13.140 to play a game or a guessing game of where you 00:22:13.140 --> 00:22:15.059 should be and then let a partner down that they 00:22:15.059 --> 00:22:16.599 could have aligned with somebody else that would 00:22:16.599 --> 00:22:18.839 have worked out better or likely both of them. 00:22:19.880 --> 00:22:22.319 But I would say just being able to have transparent 00:22:22.319 --> 00:22:25.380 conversations and trust in the beginning makes 00:22:25.380 --> 00:22:29.470 navigating contracts and alignments and expectations 00:22:29.470 --> 00:22:33.390 so much easier. And it makes it extra easy to 00:22:33.390 --> 00:22:36.230 have cool brands and cool people with cool products. 00:22:36.289 --> 00:22:40.930 So it's been fun. Yeah, I think the transparency 00:22:40.930 --> 00:22:43.970 piece is key. And Kim and I have been working 00:22:43.970 --> 00:22:47.069 on that too, in terms of helping our partners 00:22:47.069 --> 00:22:50.450 know what their costs are. Understand what your 00:22:50.450 --> 00:22:52.990 product costs so that we can help you keystone 00:22:52.990 --> 00:22:55.759 the pricing. for either a supplier partnership 00:22:55.759 --> 00:22:58.920 or the industry. And we can't stress that enough 00:22:58.920 --> 00:23:02.000 to our listeners that know where your landed 00:23:02.000 --> 00:23:06.940 cost is. That's a great place to start. Kim, 00:23:06.940 --> 00:23:10.099 you've put together some great strategic partnerships. 00:23:10.279 --> 00:23:13.440 What have you seen as roadblocks to success through 00:23:13.440 --> 00:23:19.049 that? I mean, I agree with Brittany. excuse me, 00:23:19.089 --> 00:23:21.369 a lot of it is just the transparency, right? 00:23:21.430 --> 00:23:23.890 Not every partnership is a perfect partnership 00:23:23.890 --> 00:23:27.589 and that's okay. You can still be friends. Like 00:23:27.589 --> 00:23:31.670 we are in an industry of just relationships everywhere. 00:23:32.089 --> 00:23:35.490 But I think being upfront on what that expectation 00:23:35.490 --> 00:23:39.549 is both on the supplier side and on sort of the 00:23:39.549 --> 00:23:42.130 brand side or the supplier distributor, like 00:23:42.130 --> 00:23:45.829 wherever you are sort of in the food chain is 00:23:45.829 --> 00:23:49.900 really important. you know, sometimes their margins 00:23:49.900 --> 00:23:53.240 aren't there, right? And I think that's sort 00:23:53.240 --> 00:23:58.440 of the biggest difference on retail brands getting 00:23:58.440 --> 00:24:03.099 into promo is they're very used to that retail 00:24:03.099 --> 00:24:06.079 price, wholesale price, 50 % boom. Like, what 00:24:06.079 --> 00:24:08.579 do you mean I have a sliding scale? What do you 00:24:08.579 --> 00:24:10.960 mean you need less than this? What do you mean 00:24:10.960 --> 00:24:13.000 I've sold to you and then you sell to somebody 00:24:13.000 --> 00:24:15.410 else and then they sell to somebody else? No, 00:24:15.470 --> 00:24:17.130 no, no. I sell the one person that goes to the 00:24:17.130 --> 00:24:20.529 end user, right? So there's a lot of layers in 00:24:20.529 --> 00:24:23.869 that. But I also think just being very upfront 00:24:23.869 --> 00:24:27.950 on expectation on both sides. It's not always 00:24:27.950 --> 00:24:30.690 just the supplier that has to be upfront, but 00:24:30.690 --> 00:24:34.549 the expectation as the brand of, well, what are 00:24:34.549 --> 00:24:37.329 you hoping to get out of this market so we can 00:24:37.329 --> 00:24:42.029 level set together? And then the other is being 00:24:42.029 --> 00:24:45.180 a full partner. You know, I have, you know, I've 00:24:45.180 --> 00:24:47.380 worked with suppliers, Gemline, I've talked about 00:24:47.380 --> 00:24:49.960 on this, you know, on our podcast, we went to 00:24:49.960 --> 00:24:52.859 market through Gemline, who is a fantastic partner. 00:24:53.180 --> 00:24:57.759 And I'm in contact with them constantly. But 00:24:57.759 --> 00:25:01.859 I know they work with brands that they talk to 00:25:01.859 --> 00:25:04.539 once a year. And I'm always like, God, like, 00:25:04.539 --> 00:25:07.319 that's so interesting that you only talk to, 00:25:07.319 --> 00:25:10.000 you know, this brand once a year or certain brands 00:25:10.000 --> 00:25:13.019 once a year. I think that's a missed opportunity. 00:25:14.039 --> 00:25:16.839 and you really want them to be an extension of 00:25:16.839 --> 00:25:19.779 your team, right? Like to me, I always felt like 00:25:19.779 --> 00:25:22.559 they were part of my team. Like we were all together. 00:25:22.700 --> 00:25:26.180 We would get on our phone, we knew personal stuff, 00:25:26.180 --> 00:25:29.819 but we would get down to like brass tacks and 00:25:29.819 --> 00:25:32.940 that's where you could have those honest, transparent 00:25:32.940 --> 00:25:36.240 conversations, which, you know, I am the same 00:25:36.240 --> 00:25:38.980 way, Brittany. I'm like. If it's not going to 00:25:38.980 --> 00:25:40.319 work, it's not going to work. And that's great. 00:25:40.660 --> 00:25:43.960 That's fine. We're still good. I can still get 00:25:43.960 --> 00:25:46.779 up with drinks later. Let's just not spin our 00:25:46.779 --> 00:25:50.119 wheels on a contract that we're going to spend 00:25:50.119 --> 00:25:55.819 three hours on to still say no. So I agree. I 00:25:55.819 --> 00:25:58.900 think that transparency, and really at the end 00:25:58.900 --> 00:26:00.859 of the day, people buy things from people they 00:26:00.859 --> 00:26:06.819 like. So being forthright and excited about a 00:26:06.819 --> 00:26:09.480 partnership is what's going to get everyone else 00:26:09.480 --> 00:26:13.079 excited in the chain too. Cool, cool. Great, 00:26:13.079 --> 00:26:15.259 great comments. Couple things to add to that 00:26:15.259 --> 00:26:19.299 I think is timing. Sometimes timing might not 00:26:19.299 --> 00:26:22.380 work. Transparency isn't there. You can't put 00:26:22.380 --> 00:26:25.980 the square peg in the round hole, but a year 00:26:25.980 --> 00:26:29.160 later, two years later, could be a totally different 00:26:29.160 --> 00:26:33.039 story. So building, maintaining relationships, 00:26:33.240 --> 00:26:35.559 as the three of us know in the industry, is the 00:26:35.559 --> 00:26:38.759 main thing. And then inventory management. We've 00:26:38.759 --> 00:26:41.559 worked with clients that just couldn't get the 00:26:41.559 --> 00:26:44.460 inventory mix to work, didn't have the tech set 00:26:44.460 --> 00:26:47.940 up to manage multiple channels pulling from the 00:26:47.940 --> 00:26:51.380 same inventory. What does that look like? And 00:26:51.380 --> 00:26:56.619 promo isn't the one to get rid of your old inventory 00:26:56.619 --> 00:27:01.160 in. We need fresh... up to the moment, accurate 00:27:01.160 --> 00:27:04.279 inventory of relevant products. That's what we 00:27:04.279 --> 00:27:08.220 champion with our partners, and I'm guessing 00:27:08.220 --> 00:27:12.559 you do the same, Brittany. So for product development, 00:27:12.740 --> 00:27:16.740 I've always thought about the way Kim and I think 00:27:16.740 --> 00:27:19.660 of these supplier partnerships as a way for our 00:27:19.660 --> 00:27:23.799 industry to keep fresh, because it's so hard 00:27:23.799 --> 00:27:27.450 for a new company to break into promo. you know, 00:27:27.490 --> 00:27:32.349 to gain a foothold, to get noticed. So we see 00:27:32.349 --> 00:27:35.230 a lot of times the supplier partnership as that 00:27:35.230 --> 00:27:39.970 path to brand building. How do you see that, 00:27:40.289 --> 00:27:43.490 Brittany? Yeah, it's interesting because I think 00:27:43.490 --> 00:27:46.190 as we look at product development, we look at 00:27:46.190 --> 00:27:49.470 it in our normal channel, right, of just bringing 00:27:49.470 --> 00:27:52.730 in product that we either manufacture or decorate 00:27:52.730 --> 00:27:56.220 or we look at the retail side and they... work 00:27:56.220 --> 00:27:58.579 a little bit differently, where if a brand doesn't 00:27:58.579 --> 00:28:00.640 have brand equity, to me, they're not a brand. 00:28:01.240 --> 00:28:03.920 I just sat in on a conference yesterday, and 00:28:03.920 --> 00:28:07.319 it was the founder of Liquid Def talking about 00:28:07.319 --> 00:28:10.000 his story and how they were created. But if it 00:28:10.000 --> 00:28:14.900 was just another water company in a can, it's 00:28:14.900 --> 00:28:16.900 the marketing and the brand that gained them 00:28:16.900 --> 00:28:19.240 a following. They're still selling water. Right. 00:28:19.840 --> 00:28:22.339 There's nothing special about their water, no 00:28:22.339 --> 00:28:24.960 offense, like with death, right? It's the marketing 00:28:24.960 --> 00:28:27.980 and that excitement that then drives value and 00:28:27.980 --> 00:28:31.380 consumer buy -in and love for a brand that's 00:28:31.380 --> 00:28:33.680 created. So people who come into the industry 00:28:33.680 --> 00:28:37.579 as a brand, but they're not doing well in retail, 00:28:37.819 --> 00:28:40.319 they don't have a customer base, they don't have 00:28:40.319 --> 00:28:43.220 recognition, they don't have this following, 00:28:43.680 --> 00:28:48.039 it's a lot harder to pay. promo with having all 00:28:48.039 --> 00:28:50.940 of the different margins in it to make money 00:28:50.940 --> 00:28:54.019 for a brand that doesn't have brand equity. And 00:28:54.019 --> 00:28:57.720 so there has to be, in my opinion, a focus on 00:28:57.720 --> 00:29:01.599 those brands focusing on their brand, their operations, 00:29:01.859 --> 00:29:04.579 what their value propositions are, the product 00:29:04.579 --> 00:29:07.579 they deliver, the marketing to allow the promo 00:29:07.579 --> 00:29:11.369 side. to kind of just be in tandem on their recognition, 00:29:11.490 --> 00:29:13.569 being able to push them and find them to the 00:29:13.569 --> 00:29:17.609 right and buyer ultimately, etc. On the innovation 00:29:17.609 --> 00:29:21.829 of, I guess, more traditional promo, it's hard 00:29:21.829 --> 00:29:24.569 because we are a lagging industry, right? Very 00:29:24.569 --> 00:29:28.569 rarely do you see something created in promo 00:29:28.569 --> 00:29:31.829 that is that innovative that you haven't seen, 00:29:31.849 --> 00:29:34.150 right? You go to China, China doesn't innovate. 00:29:34.319 --> 00:29:36.859 It's the people on the design team that are like, 00:29:37.079 --> 00:29:39.480 let's tweak that or let's use these color palettes 00:29:39.480 --> 00:29:43.019 or let's put a patent because you could utilize 00:29:43.019 --> 00:29:45.960 this type of product and kind of tweak some things. 00:29:46.019 --> 00:29:49.140 So I feel like promo is lagging on the innovation. 00:29:49.619 --> 00:29:52.779 So those who are quick to follow on what is trending. 00:29:53.069 --> 00:29:56.470 whether it be TikTok or somewhere in retail, 00:29:56.910 --> 00:29:59.369 to kind of be a fast follow is usually where 00:29:59.369 --> 00:30:02.009 we find more of that innovation that people buy 00:30:02.009 --> 00:30:05.789 into and being able to source in a very smart 00:30:05.789 --> 00:30:09.430 way. Because, yes, you have opportunities for 00:30:09.430 --> 00:30:12.869 higher value and higher priced items, but the 00:30:12.869 --> 00:30:16.890 majority of what this industry still sells is 00:30:16.890 --> 00:30:20.329 usually pretty inexpensive. And as things get 00:30:20.329 --> 00:30:22.950 tighter, whether it's the economy, you still 00:30:22.950 --> 00:30:26.170 have very value driven products out there that 00:30:26.170 --> 00:30:28.630 I truly think can provide value. It's not that 00:30:28.630 --> 00:30:30.569 they're just cheap and crappy. They just might 00:30:30.569 --> 00:30:33.730 be a lesser cost depending on budget, which doesn't 00:30:33.730 --> 00:30:36.470 mean there's not a huge opportunity or other 00:30:36.470 --> 00:30:39.230 higher priced items, too. But especially as you're 00:30:39.230 --> 00:30:41.369 talking about items that are traditionally given 00:30:41.369 --> 00:30:44.750 away and not necessarily the merch that is then 00:30:44.750 --> 00:30:46.670 repurchased, I think that there's different price 00:30:46.670 --> 00:30:51.089 points to be cognizant of. What is your what 00:30:51.089 --> 00:30:53.769 is next? like your sort of sweet spot for your 00:30:53.769 --> 00:30:57.390 customer in terms of price point. Yeah, our number 00:30:57.390 --> 00:30:59.670 one selling product is a white tube lip balm 00:30:59.670 --> 00:31:02.829 that sells for under a dollar. And so we have, 00:31:02.829 --> 00:31:05.289 I mean, still you're under a dollar, under two 00:31:05.289 --> 00:31:09.589 dollar items that are giveaways far exceed from 00:31:09.589 --> 00:31:12.109 the volume. It's interesting, too, because we've 00:31:12.109 --> 00:31:14.849 seen a major shift in drinkware, where drinkware 00:31:14.849 --> 00:31:17.630 used to have, I would say, pre pandemic and probably 00:31:17.630 --> 00:31:23.900 even up until the early 2020s. um higher priced 00:31:23.900 --> 00:31:27.200 items great margin and then all of a sudden the 00:31:27.200 --> 00:31:30.220 door opened and people looked at PPAI and ASI 00:31:30.220 --> 00:31:32.539 and looked and hey apparel is the top category 00:31:32.539 --> 00:31:35.660 slowly there behind is drinkware and it seems 00:31:35.660 --> 00:31:38.180 like anybody who was smart and paying attention 00:31:38.180 --> 00:31:40.839 said we should look at drinkware if we weren't 00:31:40.839 --> 00:31:43.859 already in there and so then you had so many 00:31:43.859 --> 00:31:46.920 other suppliers offering drinkware instead of 00:31:46.920 --> 00:31:48.900 just right you would traditionally think of. 00:31:49.539 --> 00:31:51.519 So I still think that there's a huge opportunity. 00:31:51.619 --> 00:31:54.299 We have like bags and drinkware in areas that 00:31:54.299 --> 00:31:57.099 are still higher revenue, but less volume piece 00:31:57.099 --> 00:32:02.839 count wise. So. Great, great insight on that. 00:32:02.880 --> 00:32:05.700 So we love the topic of innovation and promo 00:32:05.700 --> 00:32:10.759 and we work on that a lot in finding brands and 00:32:10.759 --> 00:32:13.680 innovators and inventors who have new products 00:32:13.680 --> 00:32:16.759 that we can bring to the industry. So that's. 00:32:16.650 --> 00:32:20.509 really fun, but to your point, is very difficult 00:32:20.509 --> 00:32:24.009 to build that brand and get that foothold. So 00:32:24.009 --> 00:32:27.789 we love seeing that suppliers are more and more 00:32:27.789 --> 00:32:30.809 working together. And then for a supplier, they 00:32:30.809 --> 00:32:33.089 don't have to bring in the inventory themselves. 00:32:33.470 --> 00:32:35.569 If it's a good partner, it gets drop shipped. 00:32:35.769 --> 00:32:38.490 It's all good. You know, it's a win -win across 00:32:38.490 --> 00:32:41.589 the board. But we're going to switch gears away 00:32:41.589 --> 00:32:47.190 from that to the on -demand discussion. So, you 00:32:47.190 --> 00:32:50.710 know, we think about, Kim and I think about on 00:32:50.710 --> 00:32:54.750 demand in the way of MOQ of one, but also up 00:32:54.750 --> 00:32:59.990 to many. So we've seen, and I think you touched 00:32:59.990 --> 00:33:03.150 on this earlier, Brittany, that the space is 00:33:03.150 --> 00:33:05.869 getting crowded. E -commerce companies, tech 00:33:05.869 --> 00:33:09.750 companies, everybody's rushing in to be able 00:33:09.750 --> 00:33:13.539 to function in a... on -demand space that built 00:33:13.539 --> 00:33:17.119 its own channel separate from promo, you know, 00:33:17.180 --> 00:33:20.619 for the past 20 years, really, with, you know, 00:33:20.759 --> 00:33:24.240 Zazzle and Shutterstock and companies like that. 00:33:24.819 --> 00:33:28.279 So tell us what your vision is for that space. 00:33:28.380 --> 00:33:31.339 Like, how do you see that affecting Snugs and 00:33:31.339 --> 00:33:36.799 the industry overall? Yeah, so MOQ of one, POD, 00:33:36.880 --> 00:33:39.619 we talk about all the time and have been talking 00:33:39.619 --> 00:33:44.160 about all the time. And for us, it's that conversation, 00:33:44.160 --> 00:33:47.279 I guess, of how do you make One Piece profitable? 00:33:47.660 --> 00:33:51.119 Or how are you okay with not having One Piece 00:33:51.119 --> 00:33:54.779 profitable and using it as, but we believe that 00:33:54.779 --> 00:33:57.740 it is a good entryway to something else that 00:33:57.740 --> 00:34:02.440 is profitable. I really currently don't see anyone 00:34:02.440 --> 00:34:06.220 in promo winning at MOQ of One. The conversations 00:34:06.220 --> 00:34:08.940 I have is it's a necessary evil. And for me, 00:34:08.940 --> 00:34:11.840 I'm like, is it that necessary? Like, or are 00:34:11.840 --> 00:34:14.420 you hoping that it's a gateway drug to something 00:34:14.420 --> 00:34:17.340 else? I think the companies that are going to 00:34:17.340 --> 00:34:22.840 win at MOQ of one are tech companies where their 00:34:22.840 --> 00:34:25.639 product, whether it's vertical and they're truly 00:34:25.639 --> 00:34:30.019 manufacturing it with no margin cuts in between 00:34:30.019 --> 00:34:33.340 or whether they don't own the inventory and they 00:34:33.340 --> 00:34:35.820 are truly just a tech platform. Because as soon 00:34:35.820 --> 00:34:38.920 as you start putting in different cuts with margin 00:34:38.920 --> 00:34:42.039 like our supply chain has, you immediately cut 00:34:42.039 --> 00:34:44.679 it down. You're looking at landed good cost. 00:34:44.880 --> 00:34:47.019 Then you're trying to eliminate what is an entry 00:34:47.019 --> 00:34:49.059 or an artwork or what are all of those costs 00:34:49.059 --> 00:34:51.440 associated with it. And there's only so much 00:34:51.440 --> 00:34:54.480 that you can cut out on top of that as a marketing 00:34:54.480 --> 00:34:57.880 strategy, right? Is it truly a necessary evil? 00:34:58.019 --> 00:35:00.039 So it's a byproduct of what someone's looking 00:35:00.039 --> 00:35:02.159 for, or are you truly trying to push that as 00:35:02.159 --> 00:35:06.739 your value proposition? So I mean, they had conferences 00:35:06.739 --> 00:35:09.420 a few weeks ago about this, everybody had talked 00:35:09.420 --> 00:35:12.239 to you about it. We do offer some products that 00:35:12.239 --> 00:35:14.320 are M .O .Q. of one that makes sense. Like if 00:35:14.320 --> 00:35:16.659 you're selling a two or three hundred dollar 00:35:16.659 --> 00:35:19.539 cooler or two or three hundred dollar bag, it's 00:35:19.539 --> 00:35:22.340 a lot easier to look at that than one lip balm 00:35:22.340 --> 00:35:25.699 that cost eighty cents. Right. And so even by 00:35:25.699 --> 00:35:29.139 decoration method and the technology that rips 00:35:29.139 --> 00:35:33.179 from an order entered straight down to, you know. 00:35:33.500 --> 00:35:36.539 where it's printed. And I hear that conversation 00:35:36.539 --> 00:35:39.820 a lot from screen printing and decorators that 00:35:39.820 --> 00:35:42.460 are on kind of they're kind of in the promo side, 00:35:42.460 --> 00:35:44.639 but really they focus on maybe having a screen 00:35:44.639 --> 00:35:47.039 print shop to really figure out how to utilize 00:35:47.039 --> 00:35:50.059 technology for those one -offs. So do I think 00:35:50.059 --> 00:35:52.619 there's space for it? Yes. Do I think people 00:35:52.619 --> 00:35:55.300 love to have one piece? Yes. Would I love to 00:35:55.300 --> 00:35:57.239 have someone give me a million dollars tomorrow? 00:35:57.519 --> 00:36:01.599 Also, yeah. That's because you want it. I don't 00:36:01.599 --> 00:36:04.699 know that everybody needs to offer it. I think 00:36:04.699 --> 00:36:07.360 if it can be a competitive advantage, amazing. 00:36:07.659 --> 00:36:10.059 That's what we are looking at is can we make 00:36:10.059 --> 00:36:12.360 it make sense? Is it a competitive advantage? 00:36:13.699 --> 00:36:15.800 I think we have a lot more questions than we 00:36:15.800 --> 00:36:18.500 have answers, but we have a lot of people looking 00:36:18.500 --> 00:36:21.940 at it from IT to myself to operations to figuring 00:36:21.940 --> 00:36:25.860 out. Where would we want to play in it? Is it 00:36:25.860 --> 00:36:27.559 stuff we want to manufacture? Is it stuff that 00:36:27.559 --> 00:36:32.000 we want to outsource? So I guess lots of dialogue, 00:36:32.079 --> 00:36:34.880 Lisa. Lots of dialogue we've been having for 00:36:34.880 --> 00:36:38.920 a long time to decide if that aligns currently 00:36:38.920 --> 00:36:42.300 or if that aligns future state to where we are 00:36:42.300 --> 00:36:44.400 as a business or should we be focusing on other 00:36:44.400 --> 00:36:46.840 things that give us value that don't put us behind 00:36:46.840 --> 00:36:49.380 the curve? Mm -hmm that aren't a distraction 00:36:49.380 --> 00:36:52.219 like you could see it as a distraction Potentially, 00:36:52.219 --> 00:36:55.659 you know or right some folks have said is it 00:36:55.659 --> 00:36:58.260 all hype right now, you know, like what where 00:36:58.260 --> 00:37:03.119 is it? And how did this sort of alternative universe 00:37:03.119 --> 00:37:07.920 of on -demand companies? Build that channel successfully 00:37:07.920 --> 00:37:10.340 and profitably and what can we learn from them 00:37:10.340 --> 00:37:13.260 or what? How can we be them or how can we partner 00:37:13.260 --> 00:37:18.530 with them? So all really interesting topics to 00:37:18.530 --> 00:37:22.369 be niggling on and picking apart. Well, and it's 00:37:22.369 --> 00:37:25.110 just further merging of the retail world and 00:37:25.110 --> 00:37:27.769 the promo world, right? It's your expectation, 00:37:27.769 --> 00:37:30.969 right? Thank you, Etsy, for the MOQ of one and 00:37:30.969 --> 00:37:34.610 thank you, Amazon for the immediate free shipping 00:37:34.610 --> 00:37:37.530 with, you know, get everything in 24 hour concept. 00:37:38.150 --> 00:37:41.210 So I do think we're seeing more of that merging 00:37:41.210 --> 00:37:45.269 of the consumer trends. You talked earlier that, 00:37:45.269 --> 00:37:50.199 you know, It's more of a lagging industry. You're 00:37:50.199 --> 00:37:53.039 not necessarily having something new come to 00:37:53.039 --> 00:37:56.519 market, this huge innovation out of promo. But 00:37:56.519 --> 00:37:58.519 I do think over the past couple of years, we're 00:37:58.519 --> 00:38:02.019 seeing more of that convergence of the consumer 00:38:02.019 --> 00:38:05.860 trends and promo. I remember we first started, 00:38:05.920 --> 00:38:09.239 it was black, white, Navy. That's the drinkware 00:38:09.239 --> 00:38:13.000 options. Nobody wanted color. Now, everybody 00:38:13.000 --> 00:38:16.440 wants color. You're like, wait. I'm sitting pink 00:38:16.440 --> 00:38:20.179 and purple and blue and black and silver. All 00:38:20.179 --> 00:38:23.440 those two at company, that didn't happen five 00:38:23.440 --> 00:38:28.920 years ago. So I think just that the low minimums, 00:38:28.920 --> 00:38:35.260 MOQ of one, is just a byproduct of some of that 00:38:35.260 --> 00:38:39.559 too. And programs and people wanting to order 00:38:39.559 --> 00:38:42.789 online through stores, I mean, I can definitely 00:38:42.789 --> 00:38:47.530 make a case of relevancy. And I understand where 00:38:47.530 --> 00:38:50.869 the demand is. I think it's, can you play there? 00:38:50.949 --> 00:38:52.690 Do you want to play there? Can you make money 00:38:52.690 --> 00:38:56.070 off of it? Does it make sense? So many questions. 00:38:57.510 --> 00:39:01.250 Yeah. And we look at too a lot the hyper personalization 00:39:01.250 --> 00:39:04.289 aspect of it, adding somebody's name and variable 00:39:04.289 --> 00:39:07.539 data. And then that even takes that consumer 00:39:07.539 --> 00:39:10.219 experience even more into promo where someone 00:39:10.219 --> 00:39:14.360 gets it with their actual name on it. So we're 00:39:14.360 --> 00:39:17.139 keeping our eye on that. So believe it or not, 00:39:17.300 --> 00:39:20.159 we're like 45 minutes already into our podcast. 00:39:20.199 --> 00:39:24.159 Did that fly by or what? So I had some other 00:39:24.159 --> 00:39:26.539 questions for you, but I think I'm going to maybe 00:39:26.539 --> 00:39:28.820 we'll have you on another time. But I'd love 00:39:28.820 --> 00:39:32.019 to jump ahead just. a little bit about you, Brittany. 00:39:32.400 --> 00:39:34.820 Tell us about your family. Do you have pets? 00:39:35.119 --> 00:39:37.280 What's your world like? What's your life like? 00:39:38.340 --> 00:39:43.199 I have one pet. I have a ragdoll cat named Wicket. 00:39:44.179 --> 00:39:49.739 I am a dog person. I inherited a cat because 00:39:49.739 --> 00:39:51.980 I dated a guy a while ago that liked cats, and 00:39:51.980 --> 00:39:53.820 I traveled too much to have a dog, and so it 00:39:53.820 --> 00:39:57.039 was a happy medium. This cat is freaking awesome. 00:39:57.769 --> 00:39:59.889 love them to death. I always thought there were 00:39:59.889 --> 00:40:01.710 crazy cat ladies and hopefully I don't become 00:40:01.710 --> 00:40:04.929 one of them. But yeah, just one little pet and 00:40:04.929 --> 00:40:09.530 it's just me. Oh, that's cute. We both have dogs. 00:40:09.650 --> 00:40:13.110 Kim and I have multiple dogs, which is a good 00:40:13.110 --> 00:40:16.570 thing or a bad thing. I'm not sure. Yeah, I'm 00:40:16.570 --> 00:40:18.889 not either. How do you like them online, Brittany? 00:40:19.190 --> 00:40:22.150 Like, what do you do for fun? What are your hobbies? 00:40:22.889 --> 00:40:28.070 I love yoga and I actually became a yoga teacher 00:40:28.070 --> 00:40:32.690 a few years ago. So I love just getting into 00:40:32.690 --> 00:40:36.010 that piece of it. I love the breath work associated. 00:40:36.130 --> 00:40:39.110 I love the movement. It is just for me, it's 00:40:39.110 --> 00:40:42.269 such a healthy habit and it is such a good way 00:40:42.269 --> 00:40:45.690 to balance not only like work and busy life, 00:40:45.710 --> 00:40:49.469 but also perspective of just pausing and kind 00:40:49.469 --> 00:40:51.389 of getting back to some pretty basic things. 00:40:51.789 --> 00:40:55.639 But Yoga is probably one of my favorite things 00:40:55.639 --> 00:40:58.360 that I do in my spare time. I like to ski. Our 00:40:58.360 --> 00:41:01.360 snow has been terrible this winter in Utah. The 00:41:01.360 --> 00:41:03.440 East Coast got it all. I was like, you need to 00:41:03.440 --> 00:41:06.280 come out East to visit us because we have pretty 00:41:06.280 --> 00:41:10.599 high snow. I'm jealous. But I am. I also love 00:41:10.599 --> 00:41:13.500 live music and I love going to concerts. So I 00:41:13.500 --> 00:41:16.139 am excited that since we've had no snow, that 00:41:16.139 --> 00:41:18.300 means hopefully we will have lots of sunshine 00:41:18.300 --> 00:41:21.679 and room for outdoor concerts all summer long. 00:41:22.269 --> 00:41:24.510 Yeah, because you made a big move to you. So 00:41:24.510 --> 00:41:27.690 you said 15 years you've been in Utah. Yeah. 00:41:28.090 --> 00:41:29.949 You know, I thought I'd be here for two or three 00:41:29.949 --> 00:41:32.670 and it was a stop along the way somewhere and 00:41:32.670 --> 00:41:36.190 decade and a half later, here I am. Yeah. Yeah. 00:41:36.289 --> 00:41:38.610 Well, the skiing has been great in the Northeast. 00:41:39.389 --> 00:41:41.750 Kim and I, you're both looking at our backyards 00:41:41.750 --> 00:41:44.269 with still like four feet of snow in them. It's 00:41:44.269 --> 00:41:50.929 crazy. So how about D? Are you a big reader? 00:41:51.130 --> 00:41:56.829 Do you like to read? I do. I gosh, I just finished. 00:41:57.070 --> 00:42:00.510 I finally listened to the Mel Robbins book. Let 00:42:00.510 --> 00:42:04.349 them read another book. I do a lot of audible 00:42:04.349 --> 00:42:06.349 and right now I just started kind of turning 00:42:06.349 --> 00:42:09.630 into more of the autobiography. So I've got a 00:42:09.630 --> 00:42:12.949 whole bunch that I had saved from, I guess, spare. 00:42:12.949 --> 00:42:16.750 I think the Prince Henry one. Michelle Obama. 00:42:17.110 --> 00:42:19.989 But yeah, Marie, like I've got a whole list that 00:42:19.989 --> 00:42:22.369 I'm getting into next. I kind of go through compartments, 00:42:22.409 --> 00:42:24.989 but the books that I'm reading kind of bedside 00:42:24.989 --> 00:42:28.210 right now. I just started Under the Dome, which 00:42:28.210 --> 00:42:30.889 I had started a while ago. Stephen King book. 00:42:30.969 --> 00:42:33.630 And then I just didn't finish. And so my brother 00:42:33.630 --> 00:42:35.889 was teasing me at Christmas. He's like, gosh, 00:42:35.989 --> 00:42:38.489 freaking finish a book. And then there's a book 00:42:38.489 --> 00:42:41.210 called The Food Lab. And I read it before it's 00:42:41.210 --> 00:42:43.710 by this guy named Kenji. He's the chef. And he 00:42:43.710 --> 00:42:47.130 grew up I think somewhere in Asia and his parents 00:42:47.130 --> 00:42:51.650 were like lawyers and doctors and his whole family 00:42:51.650 --> 00:42:54.530 was going into this pattern. And he as a kid 00:42:54.530 --> 00:42:57.429 worked in a kitchen and loved food and the science 00:42:57.429 --> 00:42:59.750 behind it. So it really goes through and it talks 00:42:59.750 --> 00:43:04.349 more about the science behind ingredients and 00:43:04.349 --> 00:43:06.369 why things work. Like you could boil an egg, 00:43:06.369 --> 00:43:08.309 but should you put salt in the water or not? 00:43:08.329 --> 00:43:10.389 How long should you put it in for? Do you need 00:43:10.389 --> 00:43:12.869 an ice bath afterwards and not just tips and 00:43:12.869 --> 00:43:16.420 tricks, but really getting into The science of 00:43:16.420 --> 00:43:20.519 how food is created how you it's to me I'm a 00:43:20.519 --> 00:43:22.699 big nerd and it's really fascinating to learn 00:43:22.699 --> 00:43:24.900 that kind of that sciency piece. That's cool. 00:43:25.239 --> 00:43:30.460 Yeah That sounds fun. Yeah, how about you Kim? 00:43:30.519 --> 00:43:34.239 What do you have on your table these days? All 00:43:34.239 --> 00:43:36.179 right. I'm gonna buck the trend because I am 00:43:36.179 --> 00:43:40.420 NOT a huge reader. Okay Yeah, I mean, I like 00:43:40.420 --> 00:43:43.460 I do have one that I just picked up the things 00:43:43.460 --> 00:43:46.480 we leave unfinished, which my daughter gave me, 00:43:46.480 --> 00:43:49.159 which I've heard is very good. It has been sitting 00:43:49.159 --> 00:43:52.239 not on my bedside, but next to my computer on 00:43:52.239 --> 00:43:55.199 my desk for about four weeks now. I will eventually 00:43:55.199 --> 00:44:00.800 get to it. And I am a Hildebrand fan because 00:44:00.800 --> 00:44:03.579 I love Nantucket and they're quick, easy beads. 00:44:04.019 --> 00:44:07.889 So If I'm not engaged in the first 20 pages of 00:44:07.889 --> 00:44:10.989 a book, I set it down. And I have been known 00:44:10.989 --> 00:44:14.789 to go almost all the way through books and just 00:44:14.789 --> 00:44:18.510 be like, I either am not starting to like the 00:44:18.510 --> 00:44:22.309 ending or something, and I cannot finish it with 00:44:22.309 --> 00:44:24.710 a couple chapters left, which my girlfriends 00:44:24.710 --> 00:44:27.250 are like, how can you do that? Nobody does that. 00:44:27.269 --> 00:44:29.349 I was like, I don't think about it again. I didn't 00:44:29.349 --> 00:44:31.550 like it. And I moved on. But you got halfway 00:44:31.550 --> 00:44:33.869 through it. I was like, and I didn't like it. 00:44:33.929 --> 00:44:39.829 So I stopped. So yeah, it's not my, I'm getting 00:44:39.829 --> 00:44:42.289 more into it now that I don't have a lot of children 00:44:42.289 --> 00:44:46.010 at home, but I had four children and I have four 00:44:46.010 --> 00:44:48.469 children, but they're now older when they were 00:44:48.469 --> 00:44:51.849 younger. If I had like an hour, it wasn't reading. 00:44:52.070 --> 00:44:57.329 It was just like, yeah. Well, thank you, Brittany. 00:44:57.469 --> 00:45:00.489 I love the yoga aspect. I feel like our industry 00:45:00.489 --> 00:45:04.369 is so frenetic, chaotic, you know, all these 00:45:04.369 --> 00:45:07.570 things going on that peacefulness, meditation 00:45:07.570 --> 00:45:10.349 and yoga are all good things to kind of like 00:45:10.349 --> 00:45:13.789 just bring the mind back to, you know, a level 00:45:13.789 --> 00:45:15.989 set. So thank you for sharing those insights 00:45:15.989 --> 00:45:20.610 with us. I love this conversation. I would love 00:45:20.610 --> 00:45:24.010 to have you on again. Audience, thank you for 00:45:24.010 --> 00:45:26.050 tuning in. We're going to wrap up now because 00:45:26.050 --> 00:45:30.070 we're getting close to the hour. So stay curious, 00:45:30.250 --> 00:45:32.909 stay successful. We'll see you next time on the 00:45:32.909 --> 00:45:37.889 promo playbook. Thanks, everybody. Thanks for 00:45:37.889 --> 00:45:40.530 tuning into the promo playbook. If you found 00:45:40.530 --> 00:45:43.690 value in today's episode, be sure to subscribe 00:45:43.690 --> 00:45:46.690 and leave us a review. Got a topic you'd love 00:45:46.690 --> 00:45:49.269 us to cover? Connect with us on LinkedIn. We 00:45:49.269 --> 00:45:52.820 want to hear from you. Until next time, stay 00:45:52.820 --> 00:45:56.519 smart, stay strategic and keep growing your supplier's 00:45:56.519 --> 00:45:56.840 success.