The PPAI Expo 2025 brought more than 10,000 suppliers and distributors to the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, Jan. 13-16. The largest and longest-running promotional products trade show, it’s a great barometer of the industry as the tide shifts towards more personalization, transparency, and experiential gifting. EM swapped our uncool ankle socks for cool-again crews with the Nike swoosh, grabbed our matte-finish coffee mug, and did the legwork on what’s trending in swag and corporate gifts.
Exploding Cake
It looks like a branded gift box. The recipient opens it, pulls a little tab, and boom! It’s confetti, sprinkles and cake deliciousness, and a company’s message that is now frosted with surprise and delight. Surprise Cake, which debuted on Shark Tank, arguably stole the show at PPAI, with attendees requesting the demo again and again. Exhibitor Dana Long said that the product is popular not just for birthdays but for company anniversaries, onboarding, store openings, an invitations to events. The packaging is fully brandable, and the sprinkles can match the brand colors. Most surprising use? “Someone had an idea to send it as an ‘I screwed up’ cake. I thought that was very creative,” Long said.
Everything Outdoors
Dominion Energy and Marriott Resort Virginia Beach Oceanfront are just some of the companies riding the wave of the sand-free quick-drying beach towel popularity. “We’re seeing hospitality brands, airlines, retail brands and universities ordering these towels seasonally and year-round,” said exhibitor Jordan Ettien with Pop! Promotions. Another hot item is pickleball paddles. “Pickleball is still doing great,” Ettien said. “Companies are using them to deliver creative messages like “Break up your day, go outside or You’ve been served.” Elsewhere on the floor, outdoor items ranged from lounge chairs that incorporate coolers to an entire lineup of golf-related merch.
Wellness
From lotions to body washes to candles and eye masks, companies are leaning into self-care items to connect with consumers, providing practical value and showcasing the commitment to customer well-being. “Our wellness line is booming,” said Heather Gaines with Numo. “A lot of people like to order kits comprised of several items. We decorate the items and the bag.”
Recycling and Upcycling
Many suppliers featured options billed as sustainable. For some suppliers, it’s offering items like washable paper, which continues to gain popularity in bags and packaging. Numo, for example, is seeing an increasing demand for its upcycling program where assets such as banners, billboards and tablecloths left over from trade shows are transformed into totes, pouches and hats—creating truly unique and responsible pieces that put companies’ values straight into the hands of their customers or employees.
Digital Passport Traceability
Offering the next step in sustainability, several companies, including Goldstar, Numo and Gemline, showcased products with Aware traceability. Typically seen in apparel, Aware uses blockchain technology to help create traceable, sustainable supply chains and digital product passports. A physical “tracer” particle is embedded into recycled fibers at the beginning of the production process, which can then be scanned at any point in the supply chain using a dedicated device to verify the authenticity and origin of the recycled material. Customers can scan a QR code on their tote or backpack and see its journey. How’s that for next-level transparency.
The Insiders’ Take
While sustainability is making serious inroads into the promo industry, the actual level of interest and commitment from brands incorporating sustainable promotional products into their programs can vary dramatically, said Maria Rudnev, owner of Las Vegas-based Pro-File Marketing. “There’s definitely a shift from quantity to quality, but clients are often budget-driven, and sustainability is not always their top priority. The real change takes time.”
Rudnev said that there’s also a huge gray area about what is considered sustainable, and companies don’t always know what that means to them. “Is it reusable? Recyclable? Traceable? Part of our job is to recommend products with a lower environmental impact, designed to last and avoid ending up in landfills.”
She is noticing the shift towards the experience of gifting (umm, exploding cake?) and retail-grade quality of products. In apparel, new embellishment techniques allow for creative personalization and decoration, taking cues from fashion with digital transfers, patches, and unique logo placements. Her top advice to companies ordering promotional items is to plan well ahead and work with an experienced partner who knows that, for example, you can’t ship power banks by air.
Claudia Sanchez and Dominique Yang with San Francisco-based Creative Marketing Concepts were scouting the show floor for sustainable products and women-owned businesses. “We work with a lot of minority brands and we like to support smaller shops,” Sanchez said. The most creative and unexpected object they’ve ever decorated? Laser-engraving a brick for Meta.
Photo credit: Anna Huddleston
More Trade Show Trends:
- NRF 2025: Five Exhibit Design Trends from Retail’s Big Show
- CES 2025: Newcomers, Block Parties and Heroes on the Show Floor
