In a world where employee engagement and company culture is crucial to business success, creating the perfect swag kit is a necessity. But it can be hard to know what to include in your swag kit. 

Whether you’re welcoming a new employee, celebrating a birthday, or planning a team holiday party, we’ve got you covered.

In this article, we delve into the benefits of swag kits and what to consider when putting together your own. We’ve also put together a list of our top picks to help you create the best company swag kits that your employees will love.

What is a company swag kit?

A company swag kit is a thoughtful and branded collection of items and merchandise that a company creates and gifts to employees.

Company swag kits serve many purposes, like enhancing brand visibility, promoting company culture, celebrating milestones, and expressing appreciation.

For welcoming new employees, branded swag can help foster a sense of belonging and elevate the onboarding process. It’s also a great opportunity to show how much you care about your employees. 

Swag kits can include a wide range of items, from office supplies to branded clothing, electronics, and other personalized items.

With PerkUp, it’s easy to put together the perfect swag kit from our catalog of excellent options. 

Benefits of company swag kits

The benefits of company swag kits are manifold. They’re a great way to build positive relationships with your employees, promote your brand, and create a sense of community and belonging. Let’s delve into why you should be using them:

Shows appreciation and recognition

Appreciation and recognition are key when it comes to employee engagement. And employee engagement is a key predictor of employee satisfaction, retention, and productivity. 

Shockingly, only 36% of employees feel engaged at work. Low employee engagement results in an increased risk of high employee turnover, which is incredibly costly. 

Highly engaged teams are also 14% more productive. Investing in employee engagement strategies is key to business success.

Company swag is a great way to show appreciation and recognition because you are providing things your employees need while also showing them that they are part of a team. This drives engagement, resulting in employees who are more committed to the company and perform better. 

We love company swag as a way to show employees recognition, whether you’re onboarding a new employee or celebrating a work anniversary.

Promotes your brand

We are influenced by things that we see regularly, even if we aren’t consciously aware of it. In advertising, this is referred to as the mere exposure effect. Simply seeing a brand repeatedly can impact how we see it, even if we aren’t looking at actual marketing material.

The more we are exposed to something, the stronger the connection we make with it. And for employees, company swag can increase the positive association they have with your company. If their favorite hoodie or tumbler has your logo on it, a positive association will form naturally.

Having your employees use and wear company-branded items in public makes others aware of your brand. In this way, company swag is an excellent advertising technique as well. 

Team building

Your first thought about team-building may be an activity rather than a gift. However, a great way to make your team-building strategy more effective is to couple activities with company swag.

Going on a team-building retreat where you and all of your coworkers are wearing matching company shirts increases the sense of community. To avoid making company swag feel like an annoying uniform, choose quality pieces, like a Nike Tech Basic Dri-FIT Polo.

Company swag is also an excellent method for passive team-building. After all, the goal of team-building activities is to foster teamwork and a sense of belonging. And you and your work bestie having matching water bottles encourages this!

5 things to consider when putting together a swag kit

A mistake that some companies make is choosing quantity over quality. They will include things like cheap pens and little decorative items that are useless and don’t reflect their brand.

When putting together a swag kit, focus on choosing good-quality items that your employees will want and use regularly. Here are a few things to consider:

1. Company culture and values

The items you include in your swag kit should reflect your company culture and values. For example, you could signal to your recipients that you care about the environment by focusing on sustainable company swag. This will create a positive impression of your brand among your employees and the wider public.

The quality of your swag also sends an important message to your employees. If you provide them with cheap or poorly-made swag, they will feel undervalued. Choosing high-quality materials with good construction helps with their impression of your company. 

2. Budget

Knowing your budget is important when it comes to putting together a swag kit. Some teams worry that they can’t create a great swag kit without blowing the budget.

But at PerkUp, we understand that companies of all sizes deserve the opportunity to spoil their employees with company swag.

Often, bulk orders are too expensive for smaller companies, especially if they don’t have over 50 employees. That’s why we offer a range of swag with a one-unit minimum order, accommodating companies of any size. 

We also offer swag items across all price ranges. Whether you can afford luxury items or have a tight budget, you’ll be able to find the ideal swag in our catalog.

We offer almost a hundred different items under $30, making it easy to find something that fits your price point, from office supplies to apparel and hats. 

3. Audience

Knowing your audience is also important when it comes to choosing what will work best in your swag kit. For example, if your company is focused on the outdoors and your employees love to go on adventures, a robust hiking backpack or insulated jacket will be a great fit.

Different employees will prefer different items, and it’s important to provide them with items that they will like and use. Luckily, our wide range means that you’ll be able to find the perfect piece of swag for any employee. And if you ever feel stuck, you could always give them a gift card for their favorite store.

4. Personalization

Personalization is another important factor in elevating your company swag kits from good to great. If your employees get a jacket or notebook with the company logo and their name on it, they are sure to feel like a part of the team.

The idea of personalizing every swag kit may sound tedious, but PerkUp offers many automation options. PerkUp integrates seamlessly with your Human Resources Information System (HRIS) software, making it easy to keep your employee directory up to date.

You can then use this information to offer personalization at scale. This is a win-win situation where you can use PerkUp’s powerful automation to make your employees feel special without spending hours handling gifting admin.  

You can also set up automated milestone celebrations and easily track employee birthdays. PerkUp makes implementing your employee recognition program a breeze. 

5. Functionality

When choosing your company swag kit items, stop and think about how useful they are to your employees. Providing useful gifts will show that you want to support them and understand what they need.

This allows for greater connection and stronger positive regard for your company. It also prevents your swag from being thrown in the back of someone’s cupboard and gathering dust.

Focus on including items that your employees are likely to use every day, like a water bottle or AirPods case.

The 6 best company swag kit ideas

When putting together a company swag kit, it’s easy to be overwhelmed by all of the possible choices. So we’ve broken it down into the top categories, with a few specific options for each category.

1. Branded apparel

You can’t put together a company swag kit without including some apparel. A shirt is a great starting point for a swag kit, whether you choose a simple cotton t-shirt or something from a familiar athletic brand like Nike or Adidas.

Shirts are one of the easiest items for employees to easily wear around the office, but outerwear is another great choice. We have the ideal outerwear options for every employee’s preferences, from fleece vests to stylish denim jackets.

If you’re putting together a swag kit for a company retreat, you can tailor your apparel choices to the climate you’ll be in. For example, if you’re heading to the mountains in winter, the North Face ThermoBall Trekker Jacket will protect your team from the elements.

Another classic choice is a hoodie. You could go for a classic black hoodie or try something more colorful like the Comfort Colors Garment-Dyed Hoodie, which comes in a whopping 18 colors.

2. Office supplies

Office supplies are one of the best swag kit fillers. They are endlessly functional and help keep your employees organized. Having a branded work notebook will also help them feel part of the team.

We love office supplies for employee welcome kits, but they make great gifts for all occasions. No one ever has enough pens, and a Paper Mate Inkjoy Gel Pen is sure to make jotting down notes smoother.

It’s also important to remember the important but less fun stationery, like rulers, hole punches, and scissors. Providing your employees with the stationery they need is another way of showing how you support them. 

But office supplies don’t just include stationery and can actually be a good chance to prioritize employee wellness. Think about including items like ergonomic laptop stands and blue light glasses to reduce the physical strain of office work.

3. Accessories

When putting together your company swag kit, don’t neglect accessories. Simple things like socks or phone cases are a unique and fun way to provide your employees with useful swag items.

Including smaller accessories is a great way to capitalize on small but frequent brand exposure. Your employee won’t think about the company every time they put on their socks, but the mere exposure effect still occurs. 

Another smart idea is to include a laptop sleeve or earphone case in your swag bag. These are useful items and will be used frequently. Make sure that the swag is made from good materials and is durable. 

4. Drinkware

There’s a whole world of drinkware options that make excellent additions to company swag kits. Drinkware is ideal because it can be used at home, in the office, and in between the two. 

Being able to use it in many different contexts makes drinkware a versatile and desirable piece of swag. However, most people have received a cheap plastic bottle with a company logo stuck on it. 

That’s not the kind of drinkware we are talking about here. PerkUp’s drinkware catalog includes a range of drinkware from great brands. You could give your employees a temperature-control mug that keeps their drink at the perfect temperature, or you could opt for a classic stainless steel water bottle. 

Tumblers are also a great choice for drinks on the go, and we love the CamelBak tumbler. It’s versatile and can be easily used with hot or cold drinks. It has a tapered design made with cup holders in mind. Cold drinks will stay cold for 10 hours, and hot drinks will stay hot for five hours. 

You can also give your employees drinkware designed for after work, like this wine tumbler. This serves as a reminder that you see them not just as an employee but also as a person with a life outside of work.

5. Homeware

When we think of company swag kits, we often focus on things that can be used in the office. While these are great, you can also expand your thinking and consider including some homeware items. 

Something like a gorgeous sherpa blanket with some subtle branding is an unusual but good piece of company swag. With items like this, the key is to make the branding subtle enough that it doesn’t make the blanket gaudy.

You want your employees to be able to use this like any other blanket, so it’s important to keep a sleek, classic look. Now, every time your employee snuggles up on the couch with their blanket, they will think positively about your company. 

6. Bags

Bags are one of the most useful gifts you can give anyone. Whether you’re going hiking, shopping, or commuting to the office, you need a bag to put things in. 

Our swag marketplace offers a large collection of bags, allowing you to match the right bag to your employees. When it comes to choosing a bag, here are our top choices:

A tote bag is a great starting point. They’re easy to throw a few items in when on the move. Tote bags are also an eco-friendly alternative to single-use grocery bags.

A good backpack is an absolute essential, and it offers many different functions. Something like the OGIO® Command Pack is the perfect sleek backpack for commuters.

If you know your employee loves the outdoors, consider a backpack like the North Face Stalwart Backpack. This will work perfectly for city use, but it also doubles as a great backpack for exploring the outdoors.

For a unique and stylish look, the Topo Designs Heritage Canvas Rover Pack is specifically designed to transition from the city to the mountains. It’s durable, fits everything you could need, and will make your employee feel valued.

At the smaller end of the bag spectrum, we have the Champion Fanny Pack. While this may not fit the most, it’s the perfect bag for quick errands and traveling light.

Final thoughts

Now you have everything you need to put together the ultimate company swag kit. We’ve provided a wide range of options, and not every swag kit needs every single item. You can take our ideas and customize them for your employees.

Organizing swag kits is a breeze with PerkUp. After choosing items from our catalog, we handle all the shipping and distribution. 

PerkUp also offers powerful HRIS software integration, keeping track of employee information and allowing you to automate personalized gifts for workplace milestones and birthdays.

To unlock the power of PerkUp and supercharge your employee engagement, book a demo today!