PPAI Media is looking back on the year’s most impactful news and trends in a four-part series on the stories that shaped the branded merchandise industry over the past 12 months.

In the final entry, we share articles that covered executive orders, tariff turmoil, another massive industry merger and more.

Click through this year’s top industry news articles to see what stories PPAI Media published this year that made the biggest splashes.

The Promotional Products Industry’s Greatest Companies To Work For In 2025

This year, 116 industry companies earned a coveted spot on PPAI’s annual Greatest Companies To Work For list, up from last year’s record of 106. Sixty-three companies were also named to the list for the second consecutive year.

Among the winners are some of the industry’s newest and oldest, smallest and largest, family-owned and equity-owned suppliers, distributors and business service companies with employees numbering between six and nearly 1,200. Despite the diversity, they share a common denominator: All of them won placement on this list solely due to the results of an employee survey where they rated their company in key areas.

The challenges companies have faced over the past five years have brought forth remote and hybrid work options that prioritize a work/life balance. As a result, employees in this survey appear to be more appreciative of benefits as a whole, especially flexible work solutions. Factors like a positive company culture and opportunities for personal growth and development are also called out in the employee comments.

Former ‘Shark Tank’ Contestant Wins The Pitch With Hit Product

The PPAI Expo Conference, the official kickoff of The PPAI Expo 2025, also marked the return of The Pitch, promo’s version of a hybrid between Shark Tank and The Voice. In front of a packed audience full of promo professionals, seven contestants were given three minutes each to pitch their product to a panel of judges.

Every contestant had the benefit of bringing great promo products to the table, and they all came prepared to make the sale, but there could only be one winner.

  • It’s perhaps only fitting that The Pitch winner for 2025 was a former Shark Tank contestant. Jason Lucash, CEO and co-founder of Rupt, won both the audience vote and impressed the panel of judges.
  • The Austin, Texas-based supplier triumphed with “Trinifty,” a product with a removable charger power bank that can charge three wireless devices at once. The Trinifty folds easily, making it a travel accessory for anyone who doesn’t want a tangle of wires in their backpack.

Trump’s Executive Orders: What Should Promo Look Out For?

If we only knew then what we know now…

President Donald Trump signed 26 executive orders on Day 1 (and many more since then), kicking off a number of legal and regulatory changes affecting the promo industry.

“With up to 100 executive actions pending, it’s vital for the industry to navigate the upcoming changes with strategic foresight,” said Alok Bhat, PPAI’s market economist and research and public affairs lead. Easier said than done.

SAGE Reports Promo’s Highest-Rated Suppliers And Decorators

PPAI technology partner SAGE announced that 1,128 supplier and decorator companies have earned A+ and A rating awards for 2026 based on an aggregate of their distributor ratings collected through SAGE Workplace, the company’s product management and business management solution.

  • This year, 959 companies received SAGE’s A+ rating, an increase of 2% from the prior year, while 169 earned an A rating.
  • These suppliers and decorators represent more than half (54%) of all active Advantage or Decorator Members in the SAGE database.

PPAI Sales Volume Estimate: Modest Growth In 2024, But Reasons For Optimism Remain

U.S. distributor sales reached $26.8 billion last year, according to the 2024 Distributor Sales Volume Estimate.

The latest version of PPAI’s long-running study showed another year of only modest growth for the industry as it continued to navigate macroeconomic headwinds, such as supply chain disruptions and high interest rates. While 2024’s growth rate of 2.63% was slightly higher than 2023’s rate of 2.24%, it still failed to outpace 2024’s annual inflation rate of 2.9%, according to the Consumer Price Index report.

More Trending Industry News Articles From 2025

US And China Reach Short-Term Deal, Lower Tariffs For 90 Days

Koozie Group Merging With Garyline Following Private Equity Acquisition

Pharrell Williams Sues Promo Company For $14 Million

Ross Silverstein Launches Association Of Promotional Products Salespeople

Promo Loses Respected Distributor With Passing Of Fred Albrecht