What is PerkUp? And how did it come to life?

Founded by Thomas Mirmotahari, Cameron Soregaroli, and Kevin Pierce in 2020, PerkUp is a swag and gifting platform designed to simplify the way you gift employees, clients, prospects, investors, and partners, as well as manage marketing events. PerkUp aims to streamline the entire swag process for your HR and/or marketing teams by managing your swag’s customization, storage, and shipping. 

What are PerkUp’s main features?

When your team is spread across countries or continents, the logistics of swag and gifting become complex fast. PerkUp solves that. How? Let’s break it down.

Largest global catalog

PerkUp boasts the largest catalog of swag, gifts, and gift cards, offering On Demand swag, bulk swag, swag kits, over 60,000 locally sourced gift options, and more than 5,000 gift cards. Just imagine having access to this wide array of options! This vast selection ensures that you can tailor your swag and gifting campaigns to suit your recipients’ diverse preferences, no matter where they are in the world.

65+ countries reached

PerkUp’s global reach isn’t just a feature—it’s the foundation of its operation. With strategically located warehouses in the US, the UK, Europe, India, Hong Kong, and Australia, PerkUp can send out swag quickly and with low cross-border shipping costs. And because of this extensive global network, PerkUp can easily source its swag items locally, meaning your recipients will receive high-quality, culturally relevant swag. This localized approach also reduces carbon emissions, which makes it a more sustainable choice if you have global teams. PerkUp’s global supplier and fulfillment network also allows it to easily ship On Demand swag to international recipients.

200+ HRIS, CRM, and SSO Integrations

PerkUp can integrate with over 200 integrations to automate gifting for various occasions like new hire onboarding, birthdays, and work anniversaries, making it easier to recognize your employees. HRISs like Workday, Rippling, and Paylocity, can be used to automate swag gifting without manual tracking, while SSOs such as Okta can guarantee safe login measures.

Plus, the platform’s Slack integration is great for work anniversary reminders, helping your team recognize milestones without missing a beat. Lastly, PerkUp’s Amazon Business integration also allows your employees in the US and Canada to redeem their rewards on anything from Amazon with free Prime shipping.

Enterprise-ready swag management platform

As mentioned, PerkUp is designed to simplify swag distribution and global gifting. Real-time reporting to track orders, inventory, and redemptions is also available, which ensures that you or your HR teams can manage your swag and gifting campaigns efficiently.

Localized and customized swag store

With PerkUp, setting up swag stores is simple and fully customizable. Its region-specific tailoring of swag stores especially sets it apart from other platforms. For this, you can create dedicated swag stores customized not just by team, occasion, or event, but also by region. This allows you to offer locally sourced swag items that resonate with your recipients in Mexico, India, or any other location. Such a level of localization ensures your swag feels personal, enhancing engagement and brand connection.

But that’s not all! PerkUp also lets you combine both On Demand swag and bulk swag options in one swag store. Together, these features enable you to tailor your swag orders for whatever works for you and your recipients.

What does PerkUp offer?

Earlier, it was mentioned that PerkUp has the most extensive catalog of swag, gifts, and gift cards. But what exactly does this entail? What does it mean for you? Let’s find out!

Swag

One of PerkUp’s many strengths is the variety and flexibility of its swag offerings. Whether it’s for one person or hundreds, PerkUp simplifies swag gifting with its various options.

You’ll find a wide selection of branded swag from recognizable names like Nike, Stanley, and The North Face, as well as white-label swag, which allows for complete personalization without major brand logos. Both types can be tailored based on your budget without sacrificing quality. Even with modest budgets, PerkUp ensures that your swag is well-made and aligned with your brand.

And, if you need reassurance before placing a large order, PerkUp also offers sample orders, so you can feel confident about the swag you’re sending before committing to a larger batch.

500+ international On Demand swag options

For any events, marketing or otherwise, swag is a key part of creating lasting engagement and leaving an impression on your audience. As such, PerkUp offers basic and premium options from brands like Nike, Stanley, YETI, The North Face, Sport-Tek, and Eddie Bauer.

The ability to buy On Demand swag, where you can purchase a minimum of one item, is especially convenient if you want to send out swag without holding inventory or the upfront cost of bulk swag orders. Moreover, choosing On Demand swag will not only cut down on wasted items but also support more sustainable gifting by only producing swag items as they are needed.

10,000+ global bulk swag

Prefer to stock up? PerkUp’s bulk swag options are also great, specifically if you’re a company with large-scale events or consistent gifting needs. Bulk swag allows you to pre-order and ship swag in large quantities whenever you need to. And thanks to PerkUp’s extensive global warehouse and supplier network in regions like the US, EU, Mexico, China, and India, you can easily have your swag items warehoused near your recipients’ locations and shipped out on your schedule. This flexibility and global reach are advantageous when you’re managing multiple events across different regions and want to ensure you get exactly what you need without waiting weeks for shipments.

Swag kits

For more curated gifting, PerkUp’s swag kits give you the power to combine swag items into kitted packages for a more memorable unboxing experience. You can order swag kits in bulk and have them stored in a warehouse until you need them to be shipped out. What makes having these swag kits warehoused so great is the fast fulfillment times. Since your kits are already stored and ready to go, they can be shipped out within a few business days, which is perfect for occasions like new hire onboarding.

More than 60,000 gift choices

With a vast selection of 60,000 gift options, PerkUp’s gifting catalog offers you a wide variety of amazing gifts for any occasion or recipient.

All gifts within the PerkUp catalog are localized by country, meaning you will find culturally relevant items for your recipients. On top of that, PerkUp offers a variety of thoughtfully curated collections, such as baby gifts, wedding gifts, and birthday gifts, for personal celebrations, as well as professional milestone collections like work anniversary gifts. You can choose to send a specific gift or offer items from such collections where your recipients can pick their preferred item, making the gifting experience even more personal.

5,000+ gift cards

Suppose you prefer to give your recipients the freedom to choose, or you simply want to avoid physical swag. In that case, PerkUp also offers over 5,000 gift cards from top and premium global brands like UberEats, Netflix, and Amazon. These digital gift cards are globally accessible and will allow your giftees the chance to select what they genuinely want. Additionally, they are localized by country, so you can rest assured that your recipient will receive a gift card that they can actually enjoy.

Perk Card

PerkUp’s gift card options also include the Perk Card, which is a unique alternative to traditional gift cards. This prepaid Visa card is like a debit card where you or your team can spend the funds allocated for them. It also works in over 200 countries, without any foreign exchange fees, ensuring your recipients can enjoy a seamless experience. To use the Perk Card online, all your recipients need to do is enter the card information on the store’s checkout page! What’s more, they can also add their Perk Card to Apple Wallet or Google Pay, which is great for in-store transactions.

How does PerkUp ensure seamless swag management?

PerkUp has various management tools that can make your swag management easier and more streamlined. 

Platform permissions will vary per collection. This means that if you have a swag collection for a summer internship program, its users, budgets, visibility, and specific swag items will be different from a collection for newly onboarded employees. With these, you won’t have to worry about adjusting your permissions every time. They also make it easy for you or your department to manage specific swag collections without interfering with anyone else’s.

But what permissions do you have, exactly? To simplify things, just imagine you’re the admin user of your company’s swag store within the PerkUp platform. You’re responsible for making sure everything runs smoothly. With PerkUp, you have the tools to do just that. Here’s what you control:

Budget permission

The first one is the budget. As an admin user, you can set a specific budget for your team’s various swag store collections. You have full control over team permissions, including how budgets are managed across different teams and departments.

One key feature of PerkUp is the ability to assign a specific budget for each swag send. For example, a company, team, or department can allocate a dollar amount—let’s say $100—for each recipient to spend. Your or your team’s recipients then have the freedom to choose multiple items that add up to their budget, whether that’s three swag items or five. 

Separately, PerkUp also allows you to manage overall budgets at the department or team level, controlling how much each group can spend on swag sends. This not only prevents overspending but also gives you a clear view of how swag budgets are being used across your organization.

Swag permission

You, as the admin, also have complete control over the visibility of your swag items in your swag stores. You can choose to make specific swag available to all users or keep certain items hidden, visible only to admins, certain managers, or teams. This way, you can tailor your recipients’ shopping experience, manage access based on role or use case, and ensure the right people see the right swag at the right time.

User role permissions

Different roles equal different levels of access. So, as an admin, you can also set specific roles for different members of your team. It means that you can grant specific users limited access, such as browsing and ordering only, while giving others more control over your swag store management, approvals, or budgeting. With this flexibility, you can rest assured that your team has the right level of access based on their responsibilities.

Tracking & reporting

PerkUp gives you real-time visibility into your swag, gifting, rewarding operations, and usage. Need to report on order history? Check your dashboard and download the data. Have to monitor a swag item’s shipping status? Head over to your account. You can also view your swag inventory levels and generate reports on swag redemption, ROI, spending trends, and more.

PerkUp’s reporting also includes usage across different teams, departments, and even regions. You can filter usage data by country, department, or specific teams to see who’s sending swag, who’s receiving it, what items are popular, and how much is being spent. With such insights, you can further optimize your budgeting and make more informed decisions to maximize the impact of your swag programs.

What’s it like to warehouse swag with PerkUp?

Cost-effective global warehousing fees

PerkUp offers one of the most cost-effective warehousing rates in the industry. Its pricing structure is straightforward, where it charges for an item depending on its size. Additionally, PerkUp has no warehousing receiving fees, further lowering your warehousing costs.

Even better is that you’re charged on a per-month basis for the swag items stored at the start of each month, so there’ll be no surprise fees if your item volume changes in the middle of the month. This means you only pay for what’s in the warehouse during that billing period. 

Such an approach is a significant advantage over other platforms that bill every six months and charge you for six months’ worth of storage on everything in the warehouse at billing time. For instance, you could end up paying for items stored for just a few weeks but would still be billed for half a year. With PerkUp, you avoid this cost inefficiency by paying monthly, keeping your warehousing expenses aligned with your actual inventory.

International fulfillment

Fulfillment is where the PerkUp experience shines. Once your items are ready to go, they’re picked, packed, and shipped efficiently through the platform’s global network. With strategic warehouse locations across continents, swag and gifts reach recipients faster and with fewer cross-border delays, all without the premium costs other platforms typically charge. Moreover, PerkUp also ships your swag and gifts with duties prepaid (whenever possible) to minimize customs issues.

What makes shipping with PerkUp different from competitors?

Sustainable, lower shipping costs

PerkUp’s global warehouse and supplier network makes it simple to ship swag and gifts locally. Since most swag items are delivered domestically (meaning the swag comes from within the same region as the recipient’s location), shipping is much more affordable. This also helps avoid long lead times typically associated with international logistics.

All customs and fees are covered

Hate surprise charges? Then you’re gonna love PerkUp. PerkUp works hard to minimize unexpected duties, taxes, and customs fees by paying them whenever possible. While some countries have regulations that affect how these fees are handled, PerkUp’s process is designed to keep surprises to a minimum and make your international gifting hassle-free.

Savings up to 30%

Sourcing items within the same region as the recipient doesn’t just cut down on time; it also brings real cost savings. By avoiding international transit and customs fees, PerkUp helps you save up to 30% on total swag and gifting costs. Just imagine where else you can use such savings!

US, UK, Europe, India, and Asia Pacific shipping

PerkUp supports both On Demand and bulk swag shipping across major regions, including the US, UK, Europe, India, and Asia Pacific. So, you don’t have to stress about sending a single gift to a VIP client in Japan or coordinating hundreds of conference kits across Europe because PerkUp can and will handle it quickly and efficiently.

What can you expect from PerkUp’s pricing model?

Granular cost breakdown

On PerkUp’s platform, you will see all the listed fees that you will need to pay for your swag order. Such costs would typically include the individual item price, total price, set-up fee (if applicable), bundling fee (for swag kits), shipping, warehousing rate, domestic or international rates, and even the taxable amount. PerkUp’s breakdown of all your costs ensures that you know how much you need to pay and why. So whenever you place an order or have swag items warehoused, there’ll be no surprise fees on your invoices!

Tailored prices

PerkUp’s pricing isn’t one-size-fits-all. Instead, it adapts based on what your company actually needs. This then allows PerkUp to tailor its offerings to your swag needs, so you’re only paying for what makes sense for your team, not for features you won’t use.

Delivery duty paid

Customs fees? Localized tax compliance? Import taxes? PerkUp handles these whenever and as much as possible. This means that in most cases, neither you nor your recipients will face extra charges for international swag deliveries. While some countries’ regulations may require a different process, PerkUp strives to make cross-border gifting as stress-free as possible.

How does PerkUp automate gifting for new hires, anniversaries, and birthdays?

Effortless built-in automation

Ever missed an important employee milestone? Forgot to send a welcome kit to a new employee? 

With PerkUp, missing out on onboarding, work anniversaries, and birthdays is a thing of the past. PerkUp makes employee milestone gifting as simple and easy as possible with built-in automation. 

For new employees, for instance, we can use new hire details in advance to ensure their welcome kit lands on their doorstep before their first day, so they feel part of the team right from the start. You can also create separate automations that are based on your team’s location, department, country, or even tenure! This enables you to send different swag items or gifts depending on where your recipient is or what milestone they’re celebrating.

Once set up, your swag or swag kits will be sent automatically. You won’t even need any reminder, manual tracking, or follow-ups! PerkUp ensures that each moment is celebrated, on time and on brand.

How does PerkUp simplify event swag management?

Centralized system for marketing swag

Managing swag for events shouldn’t feel like you’re managing a second event, and with PerkUp, it doesn’t.

If you or your marketing team are running events throughout the year, whether it’s a handful of trade shows or a weekly calendar of events, PerkUp can be your central hub for managing swag for each and every event.

With PerkUp, you can upload all your upcoming events on the platform, monitor delivery windows and production timelines, and get real-time updates on which swag has been delivered and which ones are still in progress. Each event logged into the platform will also include key details such as the venue location, deadlines, shipping status, and relevant holidays that could affect swag production or delivery. Even better, you can add addresses and notes, so it’s easier to determine where your swag will be shipped. You can even view everything in a calendar format to help you map out your entire quarter or year at a glance. 

Additionally, you can plan the swag items that you want to send in advance; you simply need to set up an advanced order in the platform, and you’re good to go. Everyone who has access to your swag account will also be able to see these orders so they can stay in the loop, especially if it’s a department-wide event or campaign.

How does PerkUp act as your extended design team?

Creative and reliable design agency

PerkUp also offers you a personal design team for your swag and gifts. Need to add your logo to a t-shirt? No problem. Want to customize a swag kit to fit your branding? Done!

With PerkUp’s design agency, an expert team works as an extension of yours, closely collaborating with you to create fully customized swag items and kits that reflect your brand. This means that you will not only get a finished product or a completed custom design, but you’ll also be an active participant with PerkUp’s design agency team guiding you in bringing your design vision to life.

This hands-on support is especially valuable if you lack in-house design expertise, want to avoid inconsistent branding across swag, or wish to skip the inefficiencies of manually managing design and approval processes. You don’t have to worry about any of these, as PerkUp’s design agency will provide ready-to-use customizable templates to maintain brand consistency and ensure efficient workflows that save time and simplify approvals. With PerkUp, you’re not just ordering swag, you’re also designing it with a team that works alongside you every step of the way.

What makes PerkUp an eco-friendly swag platform?

95% reduction in CO₂ emissions through local fulfillment

By leveraging a global network of warehouses, PerkUp ensures that swag and gifts are sourced and shipped locally whenever possible. This localized approach minimizes long-distance shipping, thereby reducing transportation-related carbon emissions. For instance, a package from New York to Paris has a 2.92 kg CO₂ per kg while sending from Berlin to Paris will only have 0.16 kg CO₂ per kg, which saves 2.76 kg CO₂ per package.

Sustainable products

PerkUp ensures its swag and gift products are sustainably made, prioritizing items crafted from recyclable or recycled materials. This commitment helps reduce waste and lowers the environmental impact of your corporate gifting, ensuring that you can gift responsibly without compromising on quality or design.

1% for the Planet collaboration

PerkUp is a proud member of 1% for the Planet, wherein it commits to donate 1% of its revenue to environmental non-profit organizations. This partnership supports efforts to protect our planet, allowing PerkUp’s clients to contribute to sustainability through their swag choices.

Stripe Climate

Through its partnership with Stripe Climate, PerkUp also allocates a portion of every swag purchase toward supporting innovative carbon removal technologies. Such a commitment further demonstrates PerkUp’s commitment to reduce environmental impact.

PerkUp is perfect for…

… HR leaders recognizing global teams 

Let’s be real, it can be challenging to recognize employees who are from Asia or Europe if your company is US-based. Aside from the locations, the time zones and cultures can vary significantly. That’s why PerkUp is an excellent choice if your company wants to send swag and gifts to global teams. With the platform’s locally sourced gifts and global warehouses spread across the world, you can ship swag directly to your team without any logistical headaches like customs delays or fulfillment errors.

… managers upgrading employee incentives

If you’re a team leader or manager who wants to show appreciation to your team through means other than monetary, then swag or gifts can be a good solution. Swag and gifts with PerkUp are even better. This is because PerkUp’s global swag and gifting catalog are so vast that you’ll never run out of options to choose from. Physical gifts that are localized to your recipient’s location? Check. Branded swag delivered right to your employee’s doorstep with no issues? You got it. Digital options like gift cards for remote teams? Yup! Choosing PerkUp can make upgrading your employee incentives much easier, even if they’re in the US or otherwise.

… marketing teams preparing for large-scale, global events

Many swag management platforms offer great solutions for managing swag for employees and clients. But only PerkUp provides a comprehensive event swag management system where you can streamline your swag for any occasion or event. If you have a marketing event planned, say in the UK, you can easily upload your company’s upcoming events on PerkUp’s platform, where you can monitor delivery and production and receive real-time updates on your swag items’ status. This eliminates the hassle of switching between your swag vendor and event planning tools, saving you time and simplifying coordination.

… teams focused on maintaining customer loyalty and strengthening partnerships

What’s great about PerkUp is that it’s not solely focused on employees. With PerkUp, you can extend your swag store beyond internal teams to include clients, prospects, partners, and investors, allowing them to choose the swag or gifts they truly want. This personalized approach helps deepen relationships and makes every interaction feel meaningful.

… organizations needing an all-in-one swag and event management platform

While most swag platforms stop at printing, PerkUp goes further. The platform ensures that you and your team are supported in every possible way when it comes to swag and gifting. From expert design collaboration and customer support to budget control and user permission to global warehousing and international fulfillment, PerkUp is with you every step. Even your marketing swag can be easily managed using PerkUp’s platform. Essentially, everything is managed in one intuitive platform so that your swag doesn’t become another system you need to manage.

Which companies chose PerkUp? 

And why you should, too.

PerkUp powers swag and gifting for leading companies that care about brand integrity, global scalability, and seamless execution. A few of the names on that list are Microsoft, Wise, Product Hunt, Spring Health, Cornerstone On Demand, ChowNow, and Hiro. These companies trust PerkUp because of the platform’s reliable global shipping, On Demand and bulk swag options, localized gifts and gift cards, easy marketing event swag management, automated gifting, and a dependable design agency team, among many other amazing features.

So, if you’re looking for any of these, then PerkUp is what you need.

We hope this helped you learn more about PerkUp! If you want to check out how PerkUp makes a difference when it comes to swag and gifting for employees, clients, partners, and investors, then make sure to book a demo today.