👋 Welcome back to This Week in Print-on-Demand Episode #71, where swag meets culture.

NEWS & NUGGETS: A DASH OF INDUSTRY INSIGHTS

🧮 Hiring is up, but it’s picky: according to ADP, private employers added 63,000 jobs in February, with healthcare, education, and construction leading the charge. This was the best monthly gain since July of 2025. Source.

🧥 Costco just turned a “designer hoodie” mass market: Costco Canada started selling Off-White logo hoodies for $60 in select locations. Naturally, when a premium designer brand goes mass market, it sparks some debate about the future of the brand’s direction. Source.

💿 Spice Girls Merch: As the Spice Girls approach the 30-year anniversary of Wannabe, collectors are paying serious money for vintage merch. From 1997 dolls and Polaroid cameras to rare promotional items. Before you toss that old “Girl Power” gear, it might be worth checking… your childhood memorabilia could be worth hundreds (or even thousands). Source.

🌍 Tariff whiplash: According to Reuters, a temporary global import tariff could move to 15% (from 10%) as soon as this week. Moments like this are a good reminder to keep an open mind about sourcing swag locally, it can help you avoid the added cost and uncertainty of importing products. Source.

🎉 Giveaway Winner Alert: Shout-out to the winners from last week, Maria (Liliana) Martinez and Renee Stevens, who scored the Puffer Moon Bag from GOT BAG. We’ve got another giveaway below!

WEEKLY POLL + GIVEAWAY

Giveaway Alert: Fansee Ai Sunglasses by Rupt

Fansee AI Glasses don’t ask for attention...they demand it. Capture life in first-person with an 8MP camera, shoot video, snap photos, get instant AI image recognition, take crystal-clear calls, play music, and store it all with 16GB of built-in memory.

Details:

• Several lucky readers will score the Fansee Ai Sunglasses by Rupt

• Winner announced in next week’s newsletter.

👉 To enter, just answer this week’s poll below.

CLIENT SPOTLIGHT

🤝 Meet Old Wisconsin

Old Wisconsin has been building its identity out of Sheboygan’s sausage culture since 1947, starting as a small shop before expanding into its first plant in 1953. The brand leans into craft and heritage, pointing to slow, hand-crafted sausage-making as part of its DNA, and traces major growth moments through acquisitions and facility expansions across the decades.

📣 Our Collaboration

Excited to welcome Old Wisconsin Sausage to the Brand Sauce community.

They’re kicking things off the right way with one of our favorite launch programs: a company store gift card drop.

It’s a simple, powerful way to get the whole team exploring the store and celebrating the launch together.

Huge shoutout to Heather Baryenbruch and Alex Koeppen for bringing this to life.

Thoughtful leaders like this are exactly why these launches are so much fun to watch unfold. 👏

Welcome aboard, Old Wisconsin!

🤝 Connect With Old Wisconsin

Shoot me a note at [email protected] to get connected with the team.

WEEKEND UPDATE

Around the Water Cooler With Ross AKA The P.O.D. Guy

Kinsley, Madison’s daughter and my step-daughter, turned five this week. She’s the youngest in our Brady Bunch, and like everyone tells you, the years really do fly by faster than you expect.

When I first met Madison, Kinsley was only nine months old. She was this tiny little thing who would curl up between us in bed and fall asleep. I changed her diapers, gave her bottles, and slowly learned what it meant to love a child who wasn’t biologically mine, but quickly felt like she was.

Most mornings, Madison was exhausted, so I’d take Kinsley out of her crib, bring her downstairs, give her a bottle, change her, and we’d just spend time together while the rest of the house slept. Those quiet mornings with her are some of my favorite memories.

Kinsley has never been the best sleeper. Her sister Ryleigh slept twelve hours a night as a baby. Kinsley slept nine. Those three hours felt very real at the time.

Now she’s five, and she has become our spicy, feisty little firecracker. She has a big personality and a strong spirit. But she’s also still the one who runs over for hugs, crawls into my lap, and gives me those long, lingering cuddles. I hope that part of her never changes.

When I got divorced, I never imagined I’d get to experience life with a baby again. Kinsley gave me that unexpected gift. Watching her grow, from that tiny baby into a confident, joyful little girl, has been one of the greatest blessings in my life.

Happy Birthday, Kinsley. Your mom and I know you’ll keep getting older. But no matter how big you get, you will always be our baby.

👥 Connect on Social Media

Not following Ross & Brand Sauce on social media yet? Let’s change that. Click the links below to stay connected for fresh ideas, behind-the-scenes content, and exclusive updates 👇

• Ross’s LinkedIn

• BrandSauce LinkedIn

• BrandSauce YouTube Channel

⏪ Previous Episodes

In Print-on-Demand | EP #70, we explored how appreciation, connection, and smart swag strategies are shaping modern workplace culture. From Employee Appreciation Day playbooks and new research showing work friendships drive engagement to the growing trend of across-the-board merit raises, this edition unpacks what HR teams are navigating right now. We also spotlighted Body By Heart’s intentional company store strategy, announced a new GOT BAG Puffer Moon Bag giveaway, and heard Ross reflect on how shared experiences build the kind of bonds that last a lifetime.

In Print-on-Demand | EP #69, we explored what meaningful appreciation actually looks like, from Delta’s $1.3B profit-sharing payout to the growing conversation around heartbreak leave and workplace empathy. We previewed our upcoming Masterclass on company store technology, spotlighted Teledyne’s precision-built branded store, and gave readers a shot at upgrading their workspace with a Sound Saber monitor speaker. And in this week’s Water Cooler, Ross shared a powerful reminder from a 200-person Shabbat dinner in Miami that connection, not algorithms, is what really brings people together.

In Print-on-Demand | EP #68, we leaned into smarter hiring, smoother swag experiences, and the systems behind both. From why candidates are skimming job posts to what makes HR transformation actually work, this edition explored clarity over clutter. We also spotlighted Patch My PC’s on-demand store, previewed POD Conference 2026 with Ross taking the stage, and asked a simple question: What if a better user experience is the real competitive edge in swag?

In Print-on-Demand | EP #67, we connected the dots between culture, commerce, and a little Super Bowl chaos. From planning ahead for Employee Appreciation Day and smarter company store strategies to $10M ad slots and MrBeast’s $1M giveaway moment, this edition explored how brands are investing in attention and recognition. We also spotlighted Janux Therapeutics’ on-demand store, teed up POD Conference 2026, and asked a simple question: what if swag actually made work better?

THAT’S A WRAP

That’s everything worth knowing this week in swagland!

Until next time, stay saucy! 👋

– Ross & the Brand Sauce Team

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