How to Set Up a Custom Company Swag Store in Under an Hour

Why Print-on-Demand Is the Right Model for Company Swag Stores

The traditional company swag process requires committing to a minimum order (usually 24-48 pieces), paying for items before you know what sizes employees want, storing boxes of branded apparel somewhere, and manually distributing to team members in the right sizes. You run out of XL in week two.

Print-on-demand eliminates every one of those steps. Your company swag store exists online. Employees click the link, select their size, and the item is printed and shipped to their home. No inventory ever touches your office.

The practical benefits for a company:

• No size waste: You stop guessing how many XL vs S vs M to order. Each employee orders their own size.
• No minimum orders: A team of three can order the same way a team of 300 does.
• No fulfillment work: HR does not manage a swag closet or track who got what.
• Always in stock: Your store never runs out. An item is printed on demand every time someone orders.
• Scales automatically: Add new employees, seasonal campaigns, or new product styles without reordering or reprinting.

Step-by-Step: Setting Up Your Company Swag Store

Setup takes under an hour if you have a company logo file ready.

Step 1: Create your account
Go to shops.beargrips.com/signup. Free plan requires no credit card. The Done-For-You VIP plan ($109/month) has a dedicated advisor build and maintain everything for you.

Step 2: Upload your logo
A PNG or SVG file with a transparent background works best. If your logo is only available on a white background, the design team can remove it during setup.

Step 3: Choose your product lineup
Select 3-10 products to start. Common corporate swag store starting points:

• One hoodie (Comfort Soft Hoodie, Unisex Champion Performance Hoodie, or Classic Zip-Up Hoodie)
• One or two tee styles (Airlume Cotton Athletic Tee for everyday wear, Men's Moisture-Wicking Tee for an athletic option)
• One hat (Classic Rope Hat or Premium 5-Panel Baseball Hat)
• One quarter-zip or polo for a more polished option

Step 4: Set pricing
Decide how you want pricing to work for your program:

• At-cost (employee benefit): Set the store price equal to base cost. Employees pay for their own swag at no markup. You cover nothing.
• Subsidized: Set price lower than base cost. Company absorbs the difference as a benefit.
• Standard markup: Add $10-15 per item. Revenue from sales offsets the cost of the program.

Step 5: Share the store link
Add the link to your onboarding checklist, Slack, company intranet, or email signature. Done.

Company Swag Store Cost: Free Plan vs VIP, and When VIP Pays Off

The Free plan is $0/month and supports three live products. The Self-Service VIP plan is $59/month and unlocks 200 products with the lowest per-item base prices. Here is the math on when VIP pays for itself through per-item savings alone.

For teams ordering fewer than 90 hoodies per year, the Free plan (three products, higher base price) makes more financial sense. For teams consistently above that volume, VIP recovers its cost through savings alone, and the additional 197 product slots let you build a more complete swag store.

The Done-For-You VIP plan ($109/month) includes a dedicated advisor, monthly product updates, professional mockups on all color variants, and optimal pricing recommendations based on real sales data. For HR teams that do not want to manage the store themselves, the time savings often justify the additional $50/month.

What Products to Include in a Company Swag Store

Start with three to five products. Adding too many options at launch leads to decision paralysis (employees do not order) and a cluttered store experience. Build a tight, curated set and expand as you learn what people actually buy.

A strong corporate swag store starting lineup by company culture:

Tech / startup:

• Comfort Soft Hoodie or Champion Performance Hoodie (the default company swag item in tech)
• Airlume Cotton Athletic Tee (everyday wear)
• Adjustable Cotton Lifestyle Hat (clean, minimal)

Professional services / consulting:

• Men's or Women's Performance Polo (meetings, client site days)
• Men's Performance Quarter-Zip Pullover (polished cold-weather layer)
• Premium 5-Panel Baseball Hat (travel-friendly)

Fitness / health / wellness:

• Men's Moisture-Wicking Tee or Ladies' Moisture Wicking Tee (athletic wear the team actually uses)
• Men's Signature Athletic Shorts or Women's High-Waist Pocket Leggings (movement apparel)
• Comfort Soft Hoodie (post-workout layer)

Once you identify the three to five products that move, you can add seasonal updates, new colorways, and expanded styles without disrupting the core lineup.

How to Distribute Company Swag Without Managing Fulfillment

Distribution is the part of company swag programs that traditionally requires the most internal effort: tracking orders, sorting sizes, shipping to remote employees, managing returns. Print-on-demand removes all of it.

Three distribution models for company swag stores:

Self-serve (employees order themselves): Share the store link. Employees go to the store, pick their items, enter their address, and order. Best for remote teams and companies that offer swag as a benefit rather than distributing a fixed kit.

Admin-ordered kits (you order for each employee): HR or ops places individual orders through the store using each new hire's home address. Best for onboarding kits where you want every employee to receive a specific set of items.

Budget-code programs: Provide each employee a credit code or reimbursement policy for a set dollar amount. Employees spend up to their budget in the store and pay anything over out of pocket. No manual tracking of who received what.

All three models work without any fulfillment infrastructure. Items print on demand, ship from a US facility, and arrive in approximately one week.