Starbucks took a drink that went viral in 2016 and gave it a wardrobe. The Pink Drink Vibes collection hit stores July 7 — bottles, a strawberry-print cold cup, hair clips, a belt bag, everything $14.95 to $34.95. A pink Glass Bearista follows July 13, and if that name rings a bell, it's because fans of the original waited in overnight lines and literally fought over it. The smart part? None of this is about drinkware. It's a product's aesthetic — pop pink, strawberry red — turned into things you wear and carry. Your client has a Pink Drink somewhere. Merch the fandom, not the logo.
Super7 and Peanuts are running an Adopt-a-Puppy pop-up across from San Diego Comic-Con, July 23–26, and the star isn't Snoopy — it's the mechanic. Fans "adopt" 8-inch plushes of Snoopy and his five siblings (yes, Snoopy has siblings), each packed in a pet-carrier box with an adoption certificate and a puppy bandana made with Best Friends Animal Society. You write your new friend's name on the certificate yourself. (Mascot photo ops and giveaways too, obviously.) Again nobody invented a new product here, it's a plush. The adoption framing turned a purchase into a ceremony. The certificate probably costs a dime but it's doing all the work.
Inc. just named the thing we've been watching all year: the B2B apparel boom. Mortgage lender Rate is selling $86 leggings. Figma has moved 135,000+ items and sells out at its own conference. Palantir's $239 chore coat went viral and merch sales grew 64% last year. These aren't merch closets — they're apparel brands, with real fabrics, real design, and seasonal drops. Real talk tho: this is our industry's home turf, and the clients are already asking. Corpcore isn't coming, it's here.
The next 15 years of promo get their own premiere. Join us Wednesday, August 19 for a virtual event hosted by Bobby Lehew and Kara Parkinson, built around two conversations: the next era of the promo industry (with PPAI's Drew Holmgreen, Fairware's Denise Taschereau, Gemline's Jonathan Isaacson, and commonsku's own Catherine Graham) and the next era of merch as a marketing channel. Because merch isn't stuff, it's media. Attend both panels or divide and conquer with your team — register now and submit your questions for the panelists.
☕ Tim Hortons put a coffee slushy on a Croc, making the QSR shoe collab officially a genre.
🐉 Japan's beef-bowl giant Yoshinoya and Dragon Quest switched their collab merch to made-to-order to shut down scalpers, leaving resellers nothing to flip.
🏈 New Bills receiver DJ Moore bought all 27 of his own shirts at a local mall and gave them away to fans, the cheapest brand campaign of the summer.
🎸 Rush launched an official t-shirt to fund Venezuelan earthquake relief, more proof that merch is the fastest fundraiser in music.
💍 Fan-made Taylor Swift x Travis Kelce wedding merch was everywhere before the couple even said "I do" at MSG on July 3.
🎾 Marta Kostyuk's two-in-one Wilson dress went viral at Wimbledon and sold out mid-tournament, court-to-closet at record speed.
✂️ BSN SPORTS and adidas are outfitting Sport Clips stylists at nearly 1,800 stores nationwide in a multiyear deal, a team-sports giant moving onto corporate apparel turf.
👖 Levi's made its Paris couture debut with Christelle Kocher. The 501 just walked couture week.
🚨 Nearly $350K of a band's merch was stolen during their Paris shows, two arrests, and a reminder that tour merch is cash-dense inventory. Lock that truck.
🔮 We're looking 15 years ahead on August 19 — register for our virtual premiere and submit questions for the panelists.