Another New Year is round the corner. Really, already? Yes, that is how fast twelve months go by. It is no wonder with a year like 2025, where Europe has had to wave goodbye to many cherished beliefs and face rapid change. 2025 brought another year of struggle for the industry. Based on the many discussions eppi magazine held with industry professionals, as it does every year, we have identified five major trends. Buckle up, 2026 promises to be just as fast-paced.
Did you think things would soon calm down? Think again. “If you don’t like rollercoasters, you shouldn’t work in this industry,” the CEO of BIC Graphic, Marc Rugi, joked back in May and indeed when talking about the overall picture, promotional products players have been emphasising for years how uncertain, unplannable and unpredictable everything has become. “The past few years have seen more change than the previous four decades combined” (Carlo Nardini, Pro-Ad).
The promotional products industry is not a niche market, its players are right in the thick of today’s turbulences. “The geopolitical climate in 2025 with all the tariffs, unrest and crises for sure affects the industry, and not only in the USA” (Torsten Jansson, New Wave).
Although that is where a large part of it all started: In the USA, the inauguration of Donald Trump on January 20, 2025 triggered off a chain of events that made it painfully clear to the Europeans that the cooperation between Europe and the USA on a political and economic level is no longer a safe bet. While Vice President Vance signalised a turning away from the transatlantic partnership in his speech at the Munich Security Conference, one of Trump’s first acts in office included his horrendous tariffs, which plunged the global economy into chaos. The consequences were immediate for the globalised promotional products industry. “I haven’t slept since April, the impact is weighing heavily” (Heather Smartt, Goldstar). “The US additional tariffs of 39% for Switzerland, which came into force on August 8, 2025, are an extraordinary challenge for us” (Marion Quast, Victorinox). However, Trump’s tariff policies don’t just affect companies that export to the USA.
As if there weren’t enough disaster around the world – first and foremost the many devastating wars and conflicts, which not only bring unimaginable suffering to those affected, but also create economic upheaval. “Supply chains continue to experience disruptions due to conflicts such as the war in Ukraine and rising tension in the Middle East, leading to higher freight costs and longer lead times. Increasing raw material and energy prices, combined with currency fluctuations and inflation, have further driven up production costs and reduced marketing budgets” (Marcin Pawlowski, badge4u).
What is perhaps most disquieting for the Europeans is the fact that the times when economic relations could secure peace are over. This not only applies for Russia, but also for China. No one in the industry wants to imagine the consequences if China was to actually engage in an open conflict with Taiwan.
At the same time, China is more and more frequently overtaking Europe at many levels. Whereas Chinese companies were primarily considered to be “copycats” ten years ago, today they are setting the pace regarding technology, innovative power and trends.
Meanwhile, many of the European markets are stagnating – this applies for the economy and thus also for innovation and investment. Europe urgently needs to become more politically and economically independent, but is struggling with structural problems, weak governments, political divisions – and an economy that is flailing in large parts of the European economic area. “The economic situation in many European countries is, to put it mildly, not the best” (Maciej Mackowiak, PromoNotes).
No wonder the revenue curve that already plummeted in 2024, declined even further in 2025. Unfortunately, there was no sign of recovery this year. “The economic deterioration in Germany is evident and the promotional products industry is also faced with many challenges” (Holger Kapanski, DIE6). “Many regions have experienced significant economic strain over the last two years, with Germany and France being the most notable examples. This has placed extra pressure on pricing” (Alexandre Gil, Aodaci). “In Italy, the domestic demand is fluctuating and operating costs are still high” (Marco Brescia, Get Impressed).
Will these trends reverse? Will 2026 bring the desperately needed upswing? It seems impossible to make a forecast. “There has never been a period in which I have felt so uncertain about how the Dutch market is developing” (Andre Noordwijk, BeGlobal).
So, the motto is: Proceed cautiously and be flexible. Difficult when the day-to-day business is that demanding, when it takes forever for leads to develop into orders, when the margins are under pressure, good employees are scarce, whilst at the same time the administrative and legal demands are increasing constantly. Regulations, laws, bureaucracy are a huge obstacle that above all affect the much-discussed medium-sized companies. Which brings us to the next trend.
Didn’t we all want to become more sustainable? Seven years after the big Fridays for Future demos, the social debate on sustainability topics has changed dramatically. While Greta Thunberg has not only polarised the organisation she founded, but also shifted her focus towards political activism, Trump’s “drill, baby, drill” policies have unleashed a culture war against everything that remotely resembles “woke” or ESG. This in turn is making European companies and finance institutions nervous, causing them to discretely conceal or actually even abandon their previously ambitious and widely communicated climate and diversity goals. Sustainability is suddenly no longer a marketing buzzword.
European policy-makers are also in some cases reversing or significantly diluting sustainability directives – not least under the pressure from the USA or the oil supplier, Qatar. Finally, on the consumer side, a sustainable approach is giving way to price consciousness driven by inflation and the slump in consumption.
All of this is also having an impact on the B2B sector, as Marcin Pawlowski, badge4u, reported: “Sustainability was a strong trend a few years ago and used to be very important, but over the last two years customers have been choosing more ‘regular’ items instead”. Marco Brescia, Get Impressed, talks about an increased polarisation: “The major players are focusing increasingly on quality and sustainability, while a portion of the market has shifted back towards price sensitivity”.
This is a major problem, because sustainability costs money. Environmentally-friendly alternatives are inevitably more expensive to produce than conventional materials – auditors and testing institutes that credibly verify and certify the CSR, don’t work for free – and above all the current EU regulations on sustainability and its documentation also pose enormous challenges for companies from the promotional products sector. The abbreviations such as CSDDD, EUDR, ESPR or DPP in themselves are already a good indication of the complexity of implementing the directives.
Many of the market players are indeed well-prepared and there is generally a high acceptance of Brussel’s efforts to make the EU market more sustainable. “We are not only very much aware of the upcoming EU regulations such as EUDR, CSDDD, and ESPR – we also feel exceptionally well-prepared for the changes they will bring” (Olaf Dabrowski, Goldenberry). “In the long term, these rules will reward companies that integrate sustainability strategically. We see them not as a burden, but as a competitive advantage for responsible European manufacturers” (Joan Pera, Arpe).
However, the directives don’t take the industries peculiarities into account, namely their huge product diversity or their special distribution channels. Whether the Omnibus Package proposed at the end of February 2025 to simplify EU regulations will actually provide relief for the sector remains to be seen.
Up until now, at least, anyone directly or indirectly affected by one or more of the directives faces a huge among of work. Sustainability is becoming a competitive factor, which is why many players are joining forces or seeking external sponsors (see next chapter).
In the process, one might assume that the true purpose of sustainability is almost forgotten: to curb the devastating effects of exploitation and climate change. Even though these pose a much greater threat than economic crises.
This year the “M&A carousel” picked up speed again. More than a dozen high-profile transactions (see box) took place in 2025 alone. On the distributor side, giants like IDÉ House of Brands and Wackes, who declared in October that they intend to join forces, are forming new “Superclusters” with the corresponding market power, on the supplier side Platinum Equity’s penetration of the market after acquiring no less than two major players – the Solo Group and XD Connects – is no doubt making many market players nervous – to put it mildly. The Dutch group, Favourite Gifts, added Clipper Interall, a further supplier, to its portfolio, whilst textile giants like New Wave or Gildan are setting the course for further growth and increased delivery capacities with the aid of strategic take-overs. In other cases, the goal is vertical integration, for example with Antalis’ entry onto the textile market after acquiring TTS.
Consolidation on this traditionally strongly fragmented industry is not a new trend. Ultimately, suppliers or distributors have been merging for years to attain more power, increase their reach and expand their customer base and market share. Some even specialise in acquiring colleagues, who want to sell their businesses, for example because they are retiring – a win-win situation. “We have developed a concept for smaller, often family-owned companies that may currently struggle with challenges such as limited operational tools, lack of warehousing or production capacity, etc. For such partners, joining forces with us could make sense” (Olaf Dabrowski, Goldenberry).
The many small or medium-sized family businesses in the sector have had to ask themselves for a long time whether they really want to compete against the giants, or whether they want to specialise or streamline their businesses in a positive sense of the word.
New Wave’s CEO, Torsten Jansson, explained why: “It is becoming more and more complicated for smaller companies to afford and handle all the new laws and regulations regarding sustainability. Being competitive today requires synergies in production and bigger production volumes. You also need more cash than ever before in the business to keep up a good service and good delivery capability from stock.”
Whilst it is becoming more and more difficult to obtain these resources through organic growth alone, the market players in pole position are increasingly setting the pace. “The trend towards consolidation will inevitably reshape the competitive landscape, raising the bar for efficiency, innovation and sustainability. Larger, more integrated companies will be better placed to invest in technology, responsible sourcing and supply chain resilience — all of which are critical factors for long-term success” (Lasse Lauritzen, IDÉ House of Brands).
The increasing involvement of external sponsors is taking on a special role here. While the interest of private equity firms in the industry demonstrates its attractiveness as an investment industry, when private equity investors take over control, the strategy is inevitably tied to growth, profit and exit planning, which transforms the market dynamics. Therefore, many view the private equity sector’s current “shopping spree” just as critically as the progressive consolidation based on mergers and acquisitions. “Consolidation is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it delivers scale and access to capital. On the other, it places pressure on the smaller, specialist distributors, who provide service, flexibility and creativity, the bedrock of our industry” (Carlo Nardini, Pro-Ad).
However, as Ella Long, Sourcing City, pointed out, there will still be a place in the market in the future for the many traditional industry players: “There remains enormous opportunity for SMEs to thrive – particularly those who lead with creativity, personal service and agility.“ One thing is certain: Companies that don’t give 100%, accentuate their USPs and stay up-to-date in terms of technology, will struggle to survive in future. Or according to a popular saying: Those, who don’t move with the times, disappear with time – which brings us to trend no. 4.
Three years after the launch of ChatGPT, artificial intelligence has firmly established itself in the industry’s day-to-day operations and is now indispensable in many areas. “AI is helping us deliver consistent, high-quality experiences globally and driving greater operational efficiency across the business” (Heather Smartt, Goldstar).
Whether for responding to tenders, optimising quotation processes or putting together content for the social media and newsletters, whether for creating catalogues or product design support, in supply chain management or to support customer consultants in choosing the right products for the customer: AI tools are omnipresent and will become even more widespread in 2026. The corresponding applications will enable even further extensive automation in marketing, target and customer group analysis and logistics.
It is without doubt also partly due to AI that the industry has made a further huge leap forward on the social media front. A high number of industry players, especially at executive level, joined the LinkedIn Game for the first time in 2025. Overall, the companies active on LinkedIn, Insta & co. are presenting themselves much more professionally compared to the start of the decade. In the meantime, many of them routinely use video and platform-appropriate content, posting it regularly according to well-defined schedules.
Too frequently, some might say. As is the case everywhere in the social media, a certain arbitrariness also prevails in the promotional products bubble, since algorithms long since have the final say over most accounts. The umpteenth AI-generated post offering either “personal insights” or pseudo-scientific business platitudes eventually leads to a certain weariness.
Opposition to progress would be misplaced, but where more and more people are learning how to use AI and co. and the initial euphoria is giving way to routine, the awareness of the limitations of the technological advances is also growing too. Therefore, Ella Long, Sourcing City, anticipates that “2026 is set to be shaped by smart technology and meaningful connections. The industry is moving beyond transactional relationships toward partnerships built on trust, data insight and shared purpose.” In other words: AI is for operations, not for relations. To use a well-coined phrase perhaps more people with AI will replace people without AI in the future, but the industry will continue to retain its core asset as a people business. Tech should be understood to be a support, not a disruptive threat, in the same way that the increasing digitalisation in marketing represents a huge opportunity for haptic advertising. Trend no. 5 shows why despite all the challenges the industry has good reason to look ahead to the future with optimism.
Those, who have read this far, can now breathe a sigh of relief: This trend report doesn’t end as bleakly as it began. That wouldn’t completely do justice to the mood that prevails within the industry. Anyone, who attended trade fairs and conferences in 2025 noticed that many decision-makers are indeed concerned about the geopolitical developments and the economic situation, there is no shortage of topics of conversation regarding regulations, bureaucracy or the lack in skilled workers either. However, there is one topic where joint enthusiasm reigns: their own products. After all, in terms of design and quality, the industry can pat itself on the shoulder and certainly knows how to arouse desire.
There is no shortage of target groups here either – quite the opposite: While the marketing world’s increasing shift towards the digital may pose a problem for classic disciplines such as TV or radio – it presents a huge opportunity for haptic advertising. In a digital world where the relationship between brands and target groups is becoming blurred, where messages are going under in algorithms, the physical connection will become the superpower that generates credibility and establishes relationships. “Haptic experiences have not lost any of their power in the digital age – on the contrary. For us it is about building bridges between data and emotion, clicks and contacts, digital reach and real impact,” stated Jan Breuer, mbw, whose company together with twelve other firms from the industry was part of The Hapticologist initiative in May 2025. The latter presented the topic of merchandise to the visitors of the OMR, the biggest marketing show in the Germany-speaking zone – veryy successfully one might add.
Merch and everything related to it is currently experiencing a veritable boom. Who would have thought that CDs come back in fashion – namely on the K-Pop scene – and together with exclusive merch items actually trigger off a frenzy? Examples like this one are occurring frequently around the world.
Against this backdrop, the fact that the industry is rejuvenating itself is good news. Young aspiring talents are bringing new mindsets and a fresh breeze into the companies, are not interested in the long-established structures and are approaching the topic of haptic advertising in a creative, innovative albeit thoroughly critical way.
“The younger generation is asking questions, demanding action and wants to understand why brands are doing what they are doing. This forces us to communicate more clearly and more authentically. This doesn’t make haptic advertising any less relevant, on the contrary: It creates genuine connections in an increasingly digital world“ (Breuer).
The industry now has the opportunity to be recognised as a future market. To achieve this in some cases it has to reposition itself and develop more self-confidence. It has to get away from the vendor’s tray image and position itself as creative specialists. “Promotional products”, “give-aways” and “on-packs” don’t sound very sexy – but merch is magic.
There will be plenty of opportunities in 2026 to spread this magic. The Football World Championships, a mega event for the merch world, is just round the corner and the industry has already demonstrated at previous tournaments that it doesn’t need licensing agreements to come up with successful and creative merchandising campaigns related to the World Cup. Anyone, who wants to learn first-hand and in detail, how the European industry professionals are feeling at the end of 2025, can find a broad range of opinions in the following Industry Monitor.
// Till Barth
