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Key Takeaways<\/p>\n
\u2022 At ASI Show Fort Worth, America250-themed Made-in-USA commemorative goods took center stage.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Sensory, experiential and participatory promo were also popular, including scent-based branding, evolving fidget products and DIY kits that turn promo items into memorable experiences.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Innovation in sustainability continued to accelerate, with transparent eco-impact products and upcycled tech items.<\/p>\n
At this year\u2019s ASI Show Fort Worth, exhibitors and attendees alike took advantage of meaningful networking opportunities while discussing the latest and greatest promo products. Pops of color, creative displays and free samples reeled attendees into supplier booths. Every exhibitor offered something a little bit different, but when it came to hard goods and non-apparel items, there were a few clear trends.<\/p>\n
America250-Themed Goods Were Impossible To Miss<\/p>\n
America will be celebrating the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in a few months, and suppliers across the floor showed they were ready to get in on the action.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re seeing a huge demand for our products thanks to America250,\u201d said Aisha Ahmed, founder of Liberty Cards (asi\/67340), a supplier of playing cards, chips and jigsaw puzzles manufactured out of Grand Prairie, TX. \u201cThere are a lot of people expressing interest in Made-in-USA products.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Cards, chips and puzzles from Grand Prairie, TX-based Liberty Cards (asi\/67340)<\/p>\n
Stephen Barron, principal at Bandera Leather (asi\/37698), a domestic manufacturer of luxury leather goods, said America250 has given Bandera a competitive advantage.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re new to promo, but we are a licensed America250 vendor,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re seeing people want to invest in quality America250 products because they\u2019re commemorative. You can pass them down to your kids.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The officially licensed America250 collection from Bandera Leather (asi\/37698)<\/p>\n
Bandera\u2019s exclusive America250 collection features, among other items, wallets, notepads and coasters.<\/p>\n
Engaging the Senses<\/p>\n
Sensory products and experiences were another popular trend across the show floor.<\/p>\n
Rob Brucato, co-founder of Inluro (asi\/62823), said smell is the strongest of the five senses, citing a whole range of studies. \u201cCompanies shouldn\u2019t just do visual branding,\u201d he said, exhibiting his company\u2019s bath, body and candle products. Inluro offers 350 scents, ranging from \u201ctraditional to obscure,\u201d according to Brucato.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Katrina Marshall, founder of Artistic Toys & Promotions (asi\/37122), showcased a new sensory toy line that incorporates fidget features. She displayed plush toys like a stuffed elephant with ears made of memory foam and a koala bear with a fidget popper as a belly.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese give a nice fidget for autistic support classrooms, physical and occupational therapy groups, even dementia or memory care units,\u201d she explained. The fidget category continues to evolve and thrive, with fidget ESP searches growing 29%<\/a> in 2025 compared to the previous year according to ASI Research.<\/p>\n Promo Products as Experiences<\/p>\n The hobby economy is growing, and the promo industry is taking note. The U.S. Arts & Crafts industry<\/a> reached $51 billion in revenue in 2025, and 71% of consumers now identify as crafters.<\/p>\n Promo brands see this trend as an opportunity. Why gift employees or customers a product when what they really want is to make one themselves?<\/p>\n It\u2019s an opportunity that Numo (asi\/74710) is now capitalizing on through a new offering it\u2019s calling \u201cparticipatory promo.\u201d The brand\u2019s colorful booth featured carefully curated kits that allow end-users to build their own pens or notebooks.<\/p>\n The Participatory Promo collection from Numo (asi\/74710) lets end-users create their own promo items.<\/p>\n \u201cThe boxes are all done in-house and they work well for events such as client meetings or trade shows,\u201d said Mari Plasic, chief marketing officer at Numo. \u201cCompanies can also rent equipment to deboss leather so they can further customize and personalize the products.\u201d<\/p>\n Sustainable Promo Is More Crowded Than Ever<\/p>\n Sustainability has been a hot topic in promo \u2013 and everywhere else, for that matter \u2013 for several years now. To differentiate themselves from their competition, brands must constantly innovate and get creative about products that are better for the environment. A number of exhibitors on the show floor brought products that offered new and different ways of approaching sustainability.<\/p>\n Take Ocean Bottle, a popular drinkware line now also being offered through ETS Express (asi\/51197). With every bottle or flask purchased, 1,000 plastic bottles are removed from the ocean.<\/p>\n \u201cA portion of the items on the bottle come from materials in the ocean,\u201d explained Kathryn Millholland, the Southern regional sales manager at ETS Express, which is also a Counselor Best Place to Work<\/a>. \u201cWhen you scan the bottom of the bottle, you can find out exactly where the materials were collected.\u201d<\/p>\n At a time when greenwashing has made it hard to trust corporate sustainability efforts, transparent tracking provides buyers the data they need to justify their investments in sustainable promo.<\/p>\n Tech Reimagined<\/p>\n As technology advances, promo suppliers are finding new ways to enhance their product offerings. Numo debuted a line of sustainable power banks in collaboration with hardware brand gomi<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cGomi means garbage in Japan, and these power banks are made of harvested e-bike batteries,\u201d Plasic explained. \u201cThe external components are screwed, not glued, so it\u2019s repairable for life.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Cosmo Promos\u2019 (asi\/46755) AI-translating earbuds allow people to communicate across languages. The product features real-time translation in two different modes, with access to more than 90 languages in conversation mode (earbud-to-earbud), and more than 140 languages in public mode (earbud-to-phone).<\/p>\n And speaking of phones, Thread Farm (asi\/91145) exhibited an interactive smartphone case called Coverride that features a built-in LCD screen.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re introducing this to the promo industry first, because there\u2019s a method to our madness,\u201d said Nilo Jones, co-founder and head of design at Thread Farm.<\/p>\n Once a brand sends their logo to Thread Farm, Jones and his team will create a specific, customized design for the phone case.<\/p>\n \u201cIf there are any videos they\u2019d like to showcase, we can pre-program it directly on the screen,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Now that it\u2019s in the end-user\u2019s hands, they can register their phone through Coverride and upload their own videos.<\/p>\n \u201cUsers can select which video or photo they want to engage with based on their mood,\u201d Jones said.<\/p>\n
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