The Backpack: Issue #75

• Trend Alert: Fast food's festive takeover!
  
• What's new in commonsku: 2025 recap + 2026 preview
  
• Can’t Miss Content: From Cooper to Crocs (it's a lot)
  
  

Holiday Merch Smackdown: Fast Food Goes Festive

The fast-food holiday merch wars are heating up, and honestly? Everyone's winning. Taco Bell brings the heat with bold graphics and wearable sass that screams "I know what I want." Seriously, their purple colorway matching both the logo and (somehow) Christmas wrapping paper vibes is luxe. McDonald's leans into nostalgic classics with a surprisingly twist—think cozy, collectible, bright and proud-to-wear-it vibes. Meanwhile, Baskin-Robbins serves up sweet, playful pieces that feel like a sugar rush you can style. The takeaway? QSR brands are no longer phoning in seasonal drops—they're building fan-first collections with legit design chops.

Merch or didn’t happen: Trashed Panda

Merch is the new social proof. Case in point (pun intended): racoon breaks into local liquor store, gets trashed, passes out —splooted drunk— next to toilet. Survives. And some smart folks in Richmond created a merch program to raise more than $180,000 “for the local animal shelter that helped sober him up.” Get your trashed panda tee here. It’s like the lil’ guy had some Griswold in him. Merry Christmas?

50 Years, Infinite Memes: Microsoft's Anniversary 

Microsoft turned 50 and celebrated with limited-edition merch that's a hard lean into nostalgia. The real flex? Windows XP-themed Crocs in that blissful desktop wallpaper aesthetic—you know, the one that defined an era before tabs ruined our lives. 😂 Add in Xbox Crocs for the gamers, Microsoft's proving that heritage drops don't have to be boring. They're building collector cred while the rest of tech plays it safe. Cool promotion vid too. One question tho: Do you think their quasi-boring merch phoned it in or stayed true to the Microsoft brand?

Truck Yeah! Pop-Up Shops Hit the Road

Brick-and-mortar? So 2023. The real action is on wheels. This is a trend we keep seeing, mobile merch moments. Barbie's got a pink truck tour rolling coast to coast, serving merch drops at every stop—and it's just the latest brand to realize that merch + mobility = momentum. Pop-up trucks let brands meet fans where they are, create Instagram-worthy moments, and sell out inventory before the next city even knows they're coming. It's experiential retail with zero lease commitments and maximum buzz. From festivals to stadium parking lots, these rolling shops turn every location into a limited-time event. If your clients aren't thinking mobile merch moments yet, maybe you’re missing the convoy.

Vegas Calling: PPAI Expo 2026

January 12-15, 2026. Vegas. PPAI Expo. We'll be in the mix with platform demos, distributor hangouts, and enough good coffee to survive the chaos. If you're looking for commonsku intel, solid conversation, or just a reason to escape the trade show floor for a minute, we're your crew. Check out where we'll be and grab your spot before things fill up.

The Backpack 2025 Trends Report

We tracked 2,000+ merch stories this year. We crunched platform data from 930 distributors and 5,700 users. And we landed on eight trends that explain why merch officially became fashion in 2025. The through-line? Brands that understood the why (culture, values, community) dominated. The ones still thinking "logo on a tee"? They got outpaced by creatives selling worlds, not products. It's all in our 2025 Recap, but here's a jump to the eight trends!

🎙️ Alex Cooper (yep, that Alex Cooper) just ripped the ceiling off of what a pop-up experience could look like.