Most company swag starts the same way. Pick a hoodie, add the logo, send it out. That’s it.
Reddit, on the other hand, has a little more to work with. The company has Snoo, its smiling alien mascot, plus a brand color so specific it’s literally called Orangered. That’s helped turn Reddit swag into something people actually look for outside the company, including on resale sites.
So, in this blog, we’ll take a look at what type of swag Reddit gives to its employees, moderators, advertisers, and event guests, why the Reddit mascot shows up so often, and what other companies like yours can take from it even without a mascot.
What is Reddit swag?
Reddit swag is the branded items the company creates for its employees, moderators, advertisers, and event guests. Most of it comes back to two parts of the brand: Snoo and Orangered, the color Reddit has used since 2005.
And while Reddit isn’t a small company anymore, its swag still feels personal. For one, Reddit’s workplace team refers to employees as Snoos in its own job postings. So when the company gives someone a Snoo plushie, the mascot already means something to the people getting it. That gives Reddit a big advantage. Its branding is tied to an identity that its employees already use inside the company.
What are some examples of Reddit swag?
Reddit doesn’t publish a public swag catalog, so most of what we know comes from what employees and partners have shared online, like on LinkedIn.
The Snoo plushie
The Snoo plushie is probably Reddit’s most recognizable swag item, and it’s one people actually ask for. In one of Reddit’s own LinkedIn posts, the company said it gave its employees the swag they’d been asking for most. The plushies quickly ended up in the hands, or paws, of employees’ dogs.
Snoo started as a sketch by one of Reddit’s co-founders and has been around since the site launched in 2005. Today, Reddit’s brand guidelines treat Snoo as a trademark, usually paired with Orangered. That consistency is a big reason Reddit swag is so recognizable. You can change the swag item without changing the character people already associate with the company.
Snoo is so well-known and loved by Reddit that the company even has guidelines for drawing Snoo, and they get pretty specific. Here are some rules they lay out:
Snoo communicates through the antenna, so you don’t put words in Snoo’s mouth
Snoo doesn’t have a gender and reproduces by mitosis
Snoo stays nonviolent and only holds a prop when dressed as a specific character
Snoo can have things like hair, eyebrows, teeth, or a thumb when the design calls for it, but never a nose, fingers, or toes
Commercial use is limited to Reddit and its licensed partners
The rules sound oddly specific until you look at the swag. A Snoo plushie, sticker, or subreddit graphic can all look completely different and still feel unmistakably Reddit. That makes the Snoo mascot much easier to use across swag without losing the brand along the way.
That’s what makes mascot swag so useful. If people already like the character, the item doesn’t need much explanation. If plushies are something you want to explore for your own company side, be sure to check out our step-by-step guide to custom plushie swag.
Reddit Roast and hand-painted mugs
For one end-of-year send, Reddit’s team built the box around coffee. It included a bag of Reddit Roast from an independent roaster, ceramic mugs hand-painted with the Reddit logo in orange, a stovetop moka pot, and custom packaging in Reddit orange. Reddit’s business marketing director called it a labor of love on LinkedIn, and it’s easy to see why.
The orange advertiser kit
Reddit UK also gave swag kits to its advertising partners. One example we saw on LinkedIn included a quilted orange tote bag with Snoo stitched across it, a black Reddit water bottle, a cable organizer, a notebook, and a tracker tag.
The water bottle is the part I’d steal. Instead of using only the main Reddit logo, it included branding for the specific subreddit that the partner worked with. That small change made the swag feel much more specific to the relationship instead of like the same kit sent to everyone.
5 Swag Lessons You Can Take From Reddit
You don’t need a mascot like Snoo to use any of this. What Reddit does well can carry over to almost any company swag program. That said, here are some lessons from Reddit swag that you can use for your own swag campaign:
Set rules for your mascot
If your brand has a mascot, decide what it can and can’t look like before you start putting it on swag. Reddit’s rules around Snoo might sound overly specific, but they keep the character consistent no matter who’s designing it or what it’s going on. That becomes especially useful once you’ve got multiple vendors producing apparel, plushies, stickers, or event swag.
Make your brand color recognizable
Orangered does a lot of the work for Reddit. You can spot an orange Reddit kit across a room before you’ve even seen the logo. If your company has a recognizable color, use it consistently across the product and packaging instead of changing the palette for every campaign.
Make the swag specific to who’s getting it
The subreddit-branded water bottle is a good example of this. Reddit could’ve stopped at the company logo, but adding the subreddit made the item specific to that advertiser. You can do the same with a team, region, customer community, or event. It’s a relatively simple way to make company swag ideas feel more personal without changing the swag itself.
Use smaller makers for the right sends
Reddit’s hand-painted mugs worked because they were part of a special end-of-year send. You probably wouldn’t need that level of customization for every campaign. Instead, save custom sourcing for the moments where the extra effort makes sense, like an executive send, company milestone, or holiday program. For everyday swag, a well-chosen swag item can still work perfectly well. And if you’re looking for unique swag ideas that surprise people, we’ve got you covered, too!
Pick items people already have a use for
Look at what keeps showing up in Reddit’s kits: mugs, water bottles, laptop sleeves, and cable organizers. They’re all things people can put into use right away. That’s important because ASI’s 2026 Global Advertising Impressions Study found that 78% of consumers keep a promotional product because it’s useful, while 85% remember the advertiser who gave it to them. As such, make your swag items practical and useful so they’ll be used repeatedly.
How PerkUp Turns a Swag Idea Into Something You Can Actually Send
A good swag idea is only half the work. Someone still has to source it, approve the samples, produce it, store it, and get it to the right people. That’s where PerkUp comes in! It’s a swag management and corporate gifting platform built for teams spread across different countries, and it covers everything from one-off sends to fully custom mascot programs (like Snoo).
Custom sourcing - This is the big one for mascot swag. Some ideas simply don’t exist in a catalog yet, so PerkUp’s custom sourcing covers fully custom items like custom plushies, specialty swag, and the packaging that goes with them. Your customer success manager manages the project, while PerkUp’s in-house designers handle the artwork and proofs. You can request a sample first, approve it in person, then move into bulk production, warehousing, and delivery once you’re happy with it.
Swag flexibility - PerkUp supports bulk swag, On Demand swag, swag stores, swag kits, event swag, and gift cards from the same account. What’s more is that the catalog includes 1,000+ On Demand items with a 1-unit minimum, thousands of bulk options, and more than 5,000 gift cards. For a mascot program like Reddit’s, that gives you room to use bulk for the fully custom items and On Demand or gift cards for smaller sends.
Regional warehouse and supplier network - PerkUp has warehouses and suppliers in the US, Canada, Mexico, the UK, Europe, India, China, and Australia, and ships to 65+ countries. Orders are fulfilled regionally whenever possible, which can keep more shipments domestic instead of sending everything from one country. Duties are prepaid wherever possible, and regional fulfillment also cuts down how far each order has to travel. PerkUp is also a Pledge 1% member and Stripe Climate partner, making its regional fulfillment part of its broader sustainability commitments.
Automated milestone gifting through integrations - PerkUp connects with 200+ integrations, including HRIS platforms like Workday, Rippling, and Paylocity. This is especially useful for your swag programs tied to employee data or that require recurring shipments. A date in your HRIS can trigger work anniversary gifting, so your team doesn’t have to track every milestone manually. PerkUp also connects with Slack, SSO providers like Okta, and Amazon Business.
Design agency - Every account includes access to PerkUp’s in-house design team. They can help with the swag itself, packaging, and artwork so the branding stays consistent across all of your swag campaigns. That matters even more with mascot swag, where small changes can make the character look completely different from one item to the next.
Companies that used PerkUp to create their custom plushie
Companies have already used PerkUp’s custom sourcing process to bring their own mascots to life.
Vectra AI
Vectra AI used PerkUp to turn its mascot into a custom plushie instead of another standard branded item. Projects like that run through custom sourcing, which covers products outside the regular catalog. PerkUp can handle the sampling, production, warehousing, and delivery from there.
Udemy
Udemy, meanwhile, created a custom koala plushie for its team. The process is similar to what makes Reddit’s Snoo swag work so well: start with a character people already recognize, get the design right, then produce and warehouse enough inventory so it’s ready when you need to send it.
Build Recognizable Swag
Reddit’s swag works because the brand is easy to recognize before you even get to the logo. Snoo does a lot of that work, and Reddit keeps the character and color consistent across everything it makes.
You don’t need a huge budget to do the same thing. Start with one part of your brand people already know, then use it consistently across the swag instead of reinventing the look for every campaign.
If you already know what you want to make and need help sourcing it, sampling it, and shipping it across different countries, book a demo. PerkUp can help take it from idea to production and fulfillment!
Frequently Asked Questions
Can PerkUp make a custom mascot plushie that isn’t in a standard catalog?
Yes, PerkUp can fully customize swag for you! Its custom sourcing feature covers swag items outside the standard catalog, including fully custom plushies. Your dedicated customer success manager manages the process, while PerkUp’s in-house designers handle the artwork and proofs before anything goes into production.
What’s the minimum order for custom swag like custom plushies?
On Demand swag has a 1-unit minimum, but fully custom items work differently. Bulk minimums vary by product and decoration method, and often start around 25 to 50 units. Custom plushies usually run through bulk because they need custom sampling and production before the final order can be made. PerkUp offers both, and you can discuss these options with your customer success manager or during a demo call.
Can we run On Demand items and bulk swag kits from the same account?
Yes, and so much more! PerkUp lets you manage bulk swag, On Demand swag, swag stores, event swag, swag kits, and gift cards from the same account. What’s more is that with PerkUp swag stores, you can combine bulk and On Demand swag, so you can have a mix of swag items that are held in inventory and those that are produced only when ordered.
Which countries can PerkUp ship company swag to?
PerkUp ships to 65+ countries, with warehouses and suppliers in the US, Canada, Mexico, the UK, Europe, India, China, and Australia. Orders are fulfilled regionally whenever possible, so something going to Berlin can ship from Europe instead of crossing over from the US. When cross-border shipping is needed, duties are prepaid wherever possible, and eligible unexpected customs fees are reimbursed in full.
Who designs the artwork if we don’t have an in-house designer?
Every PerkUp account includes access to an in-house design agency. They can help with logo placement, color matching, custom packaging, kit layouts, and reusable templates so your swag stays consistent across different sends.
