If you’ve organized a sales kickoff before, then you know it’s already one of the more expensive events your company will plan for the year. As a matter of fact, the Global Business Travel Association forecasts that meetings and events will cost $263 per attendee per day in 2026, and that doesn’t include the swag yet!
Compared to a normal company swag order, sales kickoff swag has more things you need to consider. For instance, aside from needing the right size for the apparel you’ll give to your sales rep, you also need to take into account that the hotel you booked may only accept packages within a specific delivery window. And if your location is outside the US, there’s also the question of how you can get your swag items to the venue.
That’s why choosing the right swag platform matters just as much as choosing what the swag will be. And so, for this guide, we compared five swag platforms for sales kickoffs based on the things that have the biggest impact on whether your sales kickoff swag actually gets where it needs to be on time: production timelines, minimums, size and address collection, regional fulfillment, venue delivery, and leftover inventory.
Now, if you’re still mapping out your sales kickoff, our guide to sales kickoff planning has much more in-depth information that you need to know about the full timeline, a sample agenda, a 10-point checklist, and a budget. Once you’ve read that, come back here to pick your swag platform.
What features should you look for in a swag platform for sales kickoff?
Most of the problems you run into with sales kickoff swag can start before your team arrives at the hotel. As such, when you’re comparing swag vendors, there are a few things you might want to check before you even start choosing the swag itself. These are order-by dates, venue delivery, size and address collection, regional warehouses, and storage for leftover swag. Let’s expound on each.
Order-by dates for every item
Different swag needs different amounts of production time. A custom award produced from scratch, for example, will need a much earlier deadline than a quarter zip that’s already sitting in a warehouse waiting to be decorated. That’s why you need to look for a platform that gives you an order-by date for each item rather than one generic deadline for the whole event.
If the swag companies you’re considering don’t publish standard lead times, ask for the production timeline, proofing time, and estimated transit separately. You also have to remember that sales kickoff planning often happens during the holiday rush, when suppliers and decorators are already handling a higher volume of orders.
Venue delivery, including kickoffs abroad
Hotels and convention centers usually don’t want your swag arriving whenever they happen to get there. This means that many venues will only accept deliveries during a specific window, and some may even charge handling fees per box. That means your swag platform should be able to keep the venue’s receiving dates on file and plan the delivery around them. This gets a little more complicated if your kickoff is happening in another country.
Our planning guide goes deeper into how to get swag to an international sales kickoff, but you generally have three options: you can produce or store the swag in the same country or region as the kickoff and deliver it locally, you can send everything from your home country to the venue, although that may create customs issues and require someone to act as the importer, or if you really have no other option, you can bring the swag in luggage, which only works for smaller quantities. Out of all three, the first one is the best option and the first you should consider. When you’re looking for swag platforms, that’s a feature you should look for.
Size collection before you order
Apparel sizing is another part of your swag order that becomes difficult quickly when you’re buying for 100 or 200 people. Instead of guessing how many small, medium, and large quarter zips you need, look for a platform that lets your reps choose their own size through a redemption page, pre-order page, or swag store. That gives you a much more accurate count before production starts and helps you avoid ending the kickoff with a box full of the sizes nobody needed.
Regional warehouses with duties covered
If your sales kickoff is outside your home country, where the swag is being sent from can have a big effect on the final cost, too. Now, if your kickoffs happen in several countries, check where each platform has warehouses or suppliers and ask who is responsible for duties before signing anything. Additionally, as we mentioned above, it’s important to make sure that your swag vendor for your sales kickoff can produce swag locally and store it until your event. If most of your team is outside the US, our comparison of swag platforms for global teams goes into regional coverage in more detail.
Storage for leftover swag inventory
Most sales kickoffs end with at least some extra swag because maybe someone couldn’t attend, or you ordered a few backup sizes. In any case, instead of sending all of that back to your office, look for a platform that can store your swag leftovers so you can use them again later.
What are the 5 best swag platforms for sales kickoffs?
The five platforms we’d compare for a 2027 sales kickoff are PerkUp, Avail Swag, SwagDrop, Swag Box, and Boxaroo.
PerkUp is the best overall platform for sales kickoffs because it has warehouses and suppliers in the US, Canada, Mexico, the UK, EU, India, China, Hong Kong, Australia, and Dubai. That makes it easier to support both domestic and international kickoffs without automatically sending all of your swag across borders.
The other four platforms can still be a good fit depending on where your event is happening. Avail Swag is more focused on US event programs, SwagDrop works primarily across the US and Canada, Swag Box has its strongest setup in the UK and EU, and Boxaroo operates from Singapore and Spain.
Here’s the short version.
Platform | Ships from | Minimums | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
PerkUp | The US, Canada, Mexico, the UK, Europe, India, China, Hong Kong, Australia, and Dubai | 1 unit for On Demand swag; bulk varies by item | Best overall, with delivery to 65+ countries and event swag management tools |
Avail Swag | Not published; its receiving address is in Charlotte, North Carolina | Not published | Event calendars that stay in the US |
SwagDrop | Pittsburgh and Toronto | Most packs start at 25 units | Teams based only in the US and Canada |
Swag Box | Sheffield, England, and Choisy-le-Roi, France | 10 units, with 50 or more advised | Kickoffs that stay in the UK and EU |
Boxaroo | Singapore and Spain | Generally, 100 units per product | APAC and Europe sales kickoffs with a locked headcount |
PerkUp: Best overall for sales kickoff swag and beyond
PerkUp is a swag management platform for global teams, with warehouses and suppliers in the US, Canada, Mexico, the UK, Europe, India, China, Hong Kong, Australia, and Dubai and delivery to more than 65 countries. For sales kickoff events, you can use PerkUp to manage the main event order, ship swag to different locations, cover late additions with On Demand, and store anything left after the event.
With PerkUp, you can choose between bulk swag with 2.5 million options and On Demand swag with 1,000 items and a one-unit minimum. PerkUp’s event management tools also allow you to add the venue details and monitor the receiving window, order-by dates, and shipment status for the event.
If you have a sales kickoff overseas and some of the swag items can’t be produced locally through PerkUp’s global warehousing and supplier network, then fret not, as duties are prepaid wherever possible. And if an eligible customs charge still comes through, PerkUp reimburses it, too!
PerkUp’s features useful for sales kickoff
Order-by dates for every item: PerkUp gives each swag item an order-by date based on its production time, origin, and proofing requirements. This makes it easier to see which swag needs approval first.
One bulk order can be split across several locations: If you need part of the order at the venue and another portion at an office or different event location, PerkUp can split the inventory and track each shipment separately. The event page shows whether each one is On track, Needs attention, At risk, or Delivered.
Swag items and kits can be produced ahead of time: If everyone is getting the same swag items and kits, PerkUp can produce and assemble them in bulk, store the finished kits, and send them from the warehouse closer to the event date. A typical bulk order takes around five weeks before the order is shipped.
On Demand can cover lower quantity needs: If you need only a couple of swag items, say for executives or winners, you can also go for On Demand, which has a 1-unit minimum order. It’s also a perfect option for apparel swag that needs sizing.
Stored swag can be delivered more quickly when needed: Express and Priority shipping are available for eligible swag already stored in PerkUp’s US warehouses.
Other notable features of PerkUp
Swag stores can combine bulk and On Demand: You can put both On Demand and bulk swag into one store
Localized gift cards: PerkUp also offers 5,000+ localized gift cards if you want employees to have another option. With PerkUp, the value of the gift card is automatically converted to your recipient’s local currency.
Integrations and automated milestone gifting: PerkUp supports more than 200 integrations, including HRIS, Slack, SSO, and Amazon Business, so beyond kickoffs, you can also handle automated milestone gifting for new hires and work anniversaries.
Design agency and custom sourcing: PerkUp’s in-house designers can prepare mockups, while its custom sourcing feature helps if you want something outside the catalog, including matching Pantone colors on swag for your kickoff theme.
Send leftover swag to warehouses: With PerkUp’s warehousing, you can return the swag you have left over from the event to the warehouse.
Reporting: PerkUp’s reporting tools let you look at inventory, spend, and redemptions by country, department, or team.
Dedicated Customer Success Manager: Every PerkUp account comes with a dedicated Customer Success Manager who you can work with when you’re planning timelines, items, sourcing, or fulfillment for the kickoff.
Security and sustainability: PerkUp is SOC 2 Type 2 certified, is a member of Pledge 1%, and partners with Stripe Climate.
Where PerkUp falls short
There’s no South America warehouse or supplier coverage: PerkUp doesn’t currently have a warehouse or supplier network in South America, so it can’t support a kickoff in Brazil with local fulfillment.
Our PerkUp platform deep dive explains how and why PerkUp is the best platform for sales kickoff events and swag.
Avail Swag: Best for event calendars that stay in the US
Avail Swag was founded in 2008 and is based in Charlotte, North Carolina. For sales kickoffs, its event tools are probably the main reason to consider it. That’s because Avail lets you add a receiving window to each event, which tells the platform when the venue is willing to accept deliveries. This is useful if your hotel won’t hold the boxes for several days before the event or charges for anything that arrives too early. You can also reuse an existing event setup for future shows, which makes more sense for companies that run several US events throughout the year.
Avail, however, doesn’t seem to be suitable for international sales kickoffs. The company mentions warehousing but doesn’t publish a list of warehouse locations beyond the Charlotte receiving address, and its terms say that shipping, taxes, and duties are the customer’s responsibility. The lack of clarity on this can make it seem like it’s suitable if you only have US events.
Avail Swag’s features useful for sales kickoff
Reusable event kits: You can save an existing event kit, load it into a future event, and adjust the contents depending on what that event needs.
Scheduled fulfillment from stored inventory: If the swag is already in an Avail warehouse, you can schedule the shipment ahead of the kickoff.
Branded selection pages: Your reps can choose the swag they want, including apparel size and color, before you finalize the order.
Other notable features of Avail Swag
Three types of swag stores: Avail offers fulfillment stores with stocked inventory, temporary pop-up stores, and On Demand stores where swag is made after someone orders.
Kitting: You can add things like cards, brochures, stickers, and other inserts to the same package.
Inventory tracking: The Avail app shows live inventory and SKU counts.
Integrations: Avail lists Salesforce, HubSpot, Slack, Workday, BambooHR, and other tools.
Where Avail Swag falls short
Pricing and minimums aren’t published: The site doesn’t list swag pricing, storage fees, or minimum order quantities, so you’ll need to request a quote before you can accurately budget the kickoff.
Warehouse locations aren’t clear: The company mentions warehouses, but the site only lists one receiving address in Charlotte.
Duties are your responsibility: Avail’s terms state that shipping, taxes, and duties are paid by the customer.
Our Avail Swag review covers its stores and pricing in more detail!
SwagDrop: Best for teams based in the US and Canada
SwagDrop has been in business since 1992, originally under the name Promotion Resource Group and later rebranded to SwagDrop in 2022.
For sales kickoffs, one of its more useful tools is the pop-up shop. This is a temporary online store where your reps can choose the swag or apparel they want before production starts. If sizing is one of the main things you’re worried about, this gives you a way to collect everyone’s choices without chasing them through a spreadsheet. SwagDrop says a pop-up shop takes around one to two weeks to build.
The company also fulfills separately in the US and Canada. US orders ship from Pittsburgh, while Canadian orders ship from Toronto, which means orders in either country can stay domestic rather than crossing the border. That setup works well for a sales team split between the US and Canada, but coverage becomes more limited if your sales kickoff venue or reps are elsewhere.
SwagDrop’s features useful for sales kickoff
Bulk event delivery: Swag can be sent to one event location or split across several venues.
Swag packs: Most packs start at 25 units, and SwagDrop can assemble, store, and send them to your recipients ahead of the sales kickoff.
Other notable features of SwagDrop
On Demand stores: Stores can include your company logo and welcome message, plus spending limits and order tracking.
On Demand swag: Similar to PerkUp, SwagDrop also offers On Demand swag with a 1-unit minimum order.
10,000+ swag options: The SwagDrop catalog includes brands such as Herschel, CamelBak, The North Face, and Hydro Flask.
Where SwagDrop falls short
The platform is built around the US and Canada: SwagDrop describes itself as a gifting partner for these two countries, while its EU launch is still listed as coming soon.
Its stores don’t connect directly to HRIS platforms: SwagDrop says its On Demand stores don’t have direct HRIS or e-commerce integrations.
Stores have a minimum spend: Pop-up shops and On Demand programs each start at $5,000.
Our SwagDrop review goes deeper into the platform’s features.
Swag Box: Best for kickoffs in the UK and EU
Swag Box is a UK swag company founded in 2018 and operates a head office and distribution hub in Sheffield, England, along with another warehouse in Choisy-le-Roi outside Paris. That makes the platform particularly useful if your sales kickoffs are within the UK or EU. Swag Box says sending from these two warehouses means deliveries within those regions can avoid customs duties, import taxes, and border delays.
If the kickoff is somewhere else, you’ll have a little more to account for because duties and taxes outside the UK and EU aren’t included by default.
Swag Box’s features useful for sales kickoff
Direct event delivery: Swag already stored in the UK or EU warehouse can go straight to the sales kickoff venue.
Pre-order and redemption pages: Employees can submit apparel sizes before you start production.
Swag kits: You can create your own kit or choose one of Swag Box’s preset boxes.
Other event materials: Swag Box also supplies pop-up banners and branded event furniture, which can be useful if you want to source more than just the swag from one company.
Other notable features of Swag Box
Swag stores: Stores include coupons, low-stock notifications, and order tracking.
On Demand swag: You can add made-to-order options to stores instead of holding everything in inventory.
Storage for swag from another vendor: Existing inventory can be brought into the platform’s warehouse.
Premium brands: The catalog of Swag Box includes The North Face, Patagonia, Berghaus, and Columbia.
Where Swag Box falls short
Duties outside the UK and EU aren’t included: Swag Box can prepay them and bill you afterward, but they aren’t built into the initial price.
The company operates only two warehouses itself: Swag Box doesn’t have any other warehouse locations listed, so you don’t have as much of a global reach if you have a need for international swag deliveries outside your sales kickoff.
There’s no published standard lead time: The Swag Box site doesn’t give one regular production timeline for custom swag.
Boxaroo: Best for APAC and Europe sales kickoff with a locked headcount
Boxaroo is based in Singapore and operates two warehouses of its own. Its Singapore warehouse serves APAC, while its Spain warehouse covers EMEA, the UK, and the US. For a sales kickoff, this setup can work well if you already know how many people you’re buying for and can commit to the inventory before production starts.
The main limitation is flexibility. Boxaroo generally requires you to order and pay for inventory upfront, which means it’s less suited to a sales kickoff where headcount is still changing, or people continue joining the company after the main order is approved.
Boxaroo’s kickoff features
Event delivery: Boxaroo can ship directly to event locations on your request.
Custom and preset kits: You can either build your own box or start from an existing kit.
Redemption pages: Growth and Enterprise plans let employees choose apparel sizes.
Return to Inventory: Leftover event swag can go back into inventory for users who avail the Growth and Enterprise plans.
Other notable features of Boxaroo
Recognizable brands: Available options that Boxaroo offers include Patagonia, Hydro Flask, Stanley, and The North Face.
Managed stores: Boxaroo handles production, inventory, shipping, and sales tax for swag stores.
Storage for swag from another vendor: You can store your swag from a different platform, but it comes with an additional fee.
Design support: Boxaroo provides mockups and a final quote before production of your swag items.
Where Boxaroo falls short
Inventory has to be ordered upfront: Boxaroo generally requires 100 units per swag item and design. That said, orders between 50 and 99 can be placed with a surcharge.
Some categories can’t be stored or shipped: Electronics, battery-powered items, food, and beverages are excluded under Boxaroo’s storage and shipping policy.
Duties are billed afterward: Boxaroo pays customs duties and taxes first, then adds them to your final shipping invoice.
Choosing the Right Platform for Your Sales Kickoff
The best swag platform for your kickoff will depend a lot on where the event is happening and how much flexibility you need around the order.
PerkUp is our overall choice when your kickoff needs to work across several regions or when you know the order is going to keep changing. That’s because you can use bulk swag for the main kickoff order, On Demand swag for lower quantity orders, swag kits if everyone is opening the same box, and warehousing for anything before and after the event.
If all of your events stay in the US, Avail Swag is worth looking at because of its receiving windows and reusable event setup.
For teams split between the US and Canada, SwagDrop gives you domestic fulfillment in both countries and pop-up shops that can help you collect sizes before production.
Swag Box makes more sense if your sales kickoff is in the UK and EU, while Boxaroo is better suited to APAC and European programs where your headcount is already finalized, and you can commit to inventory upfront.
Wrapping Up
Before deciding what swag to order, start with four things: your event date, where the kickoff is happening, how many employees you expect, and whether everyone will actually be attending in person. Once you know those, it becomes much easier to see which platform fits the event and which ones would create more work for your team.
From there, you can start choosing the actual swag. Our 10 sales kickoff themes can help with the overall direction, while our sales kickoff swag ideas include the quarter zips, vests, and other swag teams are looking at for 2027. Both of these can help you better plan your sales kickoff for 2027.
If you already have your date and rough headcount, book a demo with PerkUp to see how we can make your sales kickoff event a success!
Frequently Asked Questions About Swag Platforms for Sales Kickoffs
What are the best sales kickoff swag platforms?
PerkUp, Avail Swag, SwagDrop, Swag Box, and Boxaroo are the best swag platforms for sales kickoffs, with PerkUp as our best overall option. The biggest difference between them is where they can fulfill the swag.
PerkUp has warehouses and suppliers in the US, Canada, Mexico, the UK, Europe, India, China, Hong Kong, Australia, and Dubai, so a kickoff in another country has a better chance of getting its swag from within the same region. PerkUp also delivers to more than 65 countries. Avail Swag doesn’t publish warehouse locations beyond the Charlotte receiving address. SwagDrop is focused on the US and Canada. Swag Box operates warehouses in England and France, while Boxaroo ships from Singapore and Spain.
If your entire kickoff stays in one of those regions, one of the smaller platforms may be enough. If your events happen in different countries throughout the year, regional coverage becomes much more important.
What platforms can I use for sales kickoff gifts and swag?
PerkUp can handle both the main team swag and individual gifts for top performers. For example, you might order quarter zips or vests in bulk for everyone attending the kickoff, then use On Demand for 1-unit swag needs. On Demand has a one-unit minimum, while custom bulk swag takes around five weeks before the order is shipped.
If the gift or award you want isn’t already in the catalog, PerkUp also has a custom sourcing feature where you can also create something specifically for your kickoff, including matching the design to your event’s Pantone colors.
How do swag platforms compare on pricing for a sales kickoff?
They charge in different ways, so look at the full cost of the order rather than only comparing the item price. SwagDrop requires a $5,000 minimum spend for pop-up shops and On Demand programs. Boxaroo and Swag Box offer monthly plans, while Avail Swag doesn’t publish its standard swag pricing. With PerkUp, On Demand pricing is all-inclusive, which means the listed price covers the item, decoration, shipping, taxes, and duties, with every available apparel size at the same rate. Bulk swag generally gives you a lower cost per unit, while storage and shipping are shown separately before you place the order.
What should finance and fintech sales teams look for in a kickoff swag platform?
Start with security and spend controls. Your security team may ask for a SOC 2 report before approving a new platform, and PerkUp is SOC 2 Type 2 certified. For finance, look for the ability to set budgets and permissions by team so the final kickoff order stays within what was approved. You should also give yourself extra time if the artwork needs to go through legal, compliance, or brand review. Those approvals happen before production, so they need to be part of your timeline rather than added after the vendor gives you its lead time.
Wise and Chainalysis are two fintech companies that use PerkUp for swag, and our swag ideas for fintech companies blog includes more options for that audience.
