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Insights & Guides

Strategies, trends, and practical guides from Brikl for promotional product distributors and decorators.

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A Store in Ten Seconds: What Turbo Store Changes

When a store took eleven hours to build, only the biggest accounts got one. Turbo Store changes the math — and who gets a store at all.

October 2, 2026 · Maarten Boone

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Product

Brikl v3.0: Bulk Orders and On-Demand Stores in One Place

v3.0 is the release where the two halves of a distributor's business — bulk orders and on-demand stores — finally run on one platform, one catalog, one login.

October 1, 2026 · Maarten Boone

Press release

Brikl has been nominated for Deloitte’s 2026 Technology Fast 50

Brikl has been nominated for Deloitte’s 2026 Technology Fast 50, the ranking of the fastest-growing technology companies headquartered and founded in Belgium.

October 1, 2026 · Brikl Team

Education

On-Demand vs Bulk: Which One Fits Which Order?

On-demand and bulk aren't rivals — they're two tools for two jobs. Here's how to tell which order belongs on which, and why you no longer have to choose a platform for it.

September 18, 2026 · Maarten Boone

Guide

What Does an Employee Swag Store Cost, and How Long Does Setup Take?

An employee swag store shouldn't need a budget line or a project plan. Here's what it costs to run one on demand — and how fast it goes live.

September 15, 2026 · Luana Desouza

Perspective

The Dashboard Isn't Dying. It's Changing Jobs.

A software founder posted that his users had stopped visiting his dashboard. The replies were more interesting than the observation — and they describe exactly what happens to a promo platform when agents start doing the daily work.

September 7, 2026 · Maarten Boone

Industry

A Thousand Suppliers, and About a Dozen Can Tell You Where the Order Is

We tried to solve order status for our largest distributor customers and failed. Working out why took us somewhere more useful than another integration: the industry has been standardizing the wrong layer.

September 7, 2026 · Maarten Boone

Industry

Your Platform Should Meet You Inside the AI You Already Use

The third piece in this series. Intent only becomes a real interface if a platform's actual operations are reachable — and the open standard that makes that possible has already arrived.

September 4, 2026 · Maarten Boone

Perspective

Your AI Should Reach Your Systems

The industry spent a decade arguing about data formats and almost none on whether anyone's tools can actually reach each other. Buyers now arrive with an AI client of their own — and the question has changed.

September 1, 2026 · Maarten Boone

Industry

AI as the New Interface — For Those Who Want It

For decades, using software meant learning where the buttons are. What changes when you can just say what you want — and why the screens still stay.

August 22, 2026 · Maarten Boone

Industry

Everyone in Promo Is Using AI. Almost No One Is Using It Natively.

Promo has adopted AI almost universally — and integrated it almost nowhere. Why bolt-on AI hits a ceiling, and what AI-native actually means for our industry.

August 11, 2026 · Maarten Boone

Operations

The Hidden Cost Per Order in Promo and Merch

Most promo companies miss their real cost per order — the manual labor to make each order production-ready. Here's how to measure it, and what actually lowers it.

August 11, 2026 · Maarten Boone

Industry

PPAI Is Embracing “Branded Merchandise”

PPAI is moving the industry's language from 'promotional products' to 'branded merchandise.' A 15,000-member Facebook group has already renamed itself to match — here's what's changing, and why the word fits.

July 30, 2026 · Maarten Boone

Industry

Branded Merch vs. Promotional Products: Why the Words You Use Decide Who Finds You

Buyers search for 'branded merch.' The industry sells 'promotional products.' That gap in language is quietly deciding who gets found — here's how to speak the buyer's term without losing the trade's.

July 16, 2026 · Maarten Boone

Platform

Business Cards, On Demand: Adding Personalized Print to Your Merch Stores

Business card programs have always been a separate, manual exercise. Now you can add personalized, on-demand business cards to the same store your clients already use for apparel and hard goods.

July 15, 2026 · Brikl Team

Guide

How Creators and Influencers Earn From a Branded Merch Store

Your audience already wants to represent you. A branded merch store turns that into revenue — with no inventory, your own margin on every sale, and coupons to launch the drop.

July 14, 2026 · Joe Edmunds

Guide

Flat vs. Percentage: How to Run a Merch Fundraiser That Scales

A merch fundraiser can raise a set dollar amount per item — or a percentage of the price that scales with every sale. Here's when to use each, and how to run a drive that funds itself on demand on Brikl.

July 11, 2026 · Joe Edmunds

Operations

One Store Per Department: Running Multi-Team Merch With Sub-Organizations

Big organizations don't need one giant merch store — they need many small ones that stay on brand. Sub-organizations give every department its own store while central admins keep control.

July 9, 2026 · Luana Desouza

Growth

Coupons That Actually Move Merch

A coupon code is more than a discount — it's a reason to buy now. Here's how to use percentage and fixed-amount coupons to launch drops, reward audiences, and clear seasonal merch.

July 8, 2026 · Brikl Team

Industry

Printful Enterprise's Full Catalog Is Now Live in the Brikl Marketplace

Brikl launches its Printful Enterprise integration — 1,000+ on-demand products across apparel, drinkware, home goods, pet products, stationery, and more, now available directly inside every Brikl-powered distributor store.

June 2, 2026 · Maarten Boone

Guide

The Case for a Permanent Employee Swag Store (Instead of Quarterly Bulk Orders)

Most companies run branded swag through a combination of bulk orders, agency drops, and ad-hoc requests. A permanent branded store changes all of that — here's how corporate teams are using Brikl.

May 31, 2026 · Maarten Boone

Guide

Gym Apparel Without the Inventory Risk: How Fitness Studios Are Running On-Demand Merch

Most gyms carry boxes of unsold shirts in the back room. Here's how fitness studios are switching to on-demand branded stores where members order what they want, when they want it.

May 31, 2026 · Maarten Boone

Guide

How Nonprofits Launch a Branded Merch Store Without the Overhead

Most nonprofits run merch campaigns that open, close, and disappear. Here's how to run an always-on branded store that funds your mission without touching inventory.

May 31, 2026 · Maarten Boone

Guide

Running a Club or Team Store Without Bulk Orders or Box Logistics

Sports clubs have been running kit orders through spreadsheets and bulk orders for years. Here's how clubs are switching to on-demand stores where every player orders their own size.

May 31, 2026 · Maarten Boone

Guide

Running Spirit Wear, Athletics, and PTA Stores on One Platform

Most schools run spirit wear, athletic uniforms, PTA fundraisers and faculty stores on spreadsheets, bulk orders and separate vendors. There is a better way, and it fits on one platform.

May 29, 2026 · Maarten Boone

Growth

Why Personalization Matters for Promotional Product Distributors

Team stores, corporate programs, and school spirit shops all share one need: every item should feel like it belongs to the person wearing it. Without built-in personalization, distributors lose hours to spreadsheets, typos, and re-keyed orders. Here's why personalization belongs inside the product on Brikl, not in an inbox.

May 5, 2026 · luana-desouza

Industry

What's New in the Brikl Marketplace: January → April 2026

The marketplace grew from 3,799 to 4,677 products between January and April 2026 — adding a new fulfillment partner and significant depth across apparel, drinkware, and tech.

April 28, 2026 · Maarten Boone

Industry

How to Find Made-in-USA Products in the Brikl Marketplace

From American Apparel jersey tees to Cap America beanies, Bayside hooded sweatshirts to SOCCO crew socks — the Brikl marketplace carries an explicitly USA-made shelf you can curate for clients who require it.

April 28, 2026 · Maarten Boone

Growth

The Fastest Way to Launch On-Demand Stores

From blank page to live, branded storefront in roughly 22 minutes — without inventory, without bulk minimums, and without writing a single line of code.

April 28, 2026 · Maarten Boone

Industry

How to Find Sustainable Products in the Brikl Marketplace

From organic cotton to recycled polyester to bamboo and hemp — the Brikl marketplace carries sustainable products across four distinct categories. Here's how to recognise them and build a curated shelf for your clients.

April 27, 2026 · Maarten Boone

Platform

Five Things Brikl Replaces for Distributors

Order emails, artwork ping-pong, blank sourcing, invoicing, and sales tax — here's what goes away when you move to Brikl.

April 22, 2026 · Maarten Boone

Growth

More Stores Should Mean More Revenue — Not More Work

Most distributors hit a ceiling — not because they run out of clients, but because every new store adds more admin. Here's how to break the linear scaling trap.

April 22, 2026 · Maarten Boone

Growth

Hoodies, Business Cards, and Tumblers — in One Store

Print and promo have been separate industries for over a century. Mixed stores — where a client orders apparel, print products, and hard goods from one storefront — are changing that.

April 13, 2026 · Maarten Boone

Operations

On-Demand Isn't About Minimums — It's About Eliminating Every Manual Touchpoint

The industry equates on-demand with no minimums. But the real breakthrough is end-to-end automation — and the minimum of 1 is just a byproduct.

April 13, 2026 · Maarten Boone

Growth

8 Features Every On-Demand Company Store Must Have in 2026

A checklist of the capabilities that separate real on-demand store platforms from adapted e-commerce tools — based on what promotional product distributors actually need.

March 22, 2026 · Maarten Boone

Operations

The Real Cost of Selling Promo: A Margin Breakdown

A transparent breakdown of what it actually costs to sell promotional products on-demand — with real numbers, real fees, and real profit margins.

March 20, 2026 · Maarten Boone

Education

What Is Print on Demand? A Complete Guide for Promotional Product Distributors

Print on demand lets distributors sell custom products without holding inventory. Here's how the model works and why it's reshaping the promo industry.

March 18, 2026 · Luana Desouza

Growth

How to Build a Company Store That Employees Actually Use

Most company stores fail because they're treated as catalogs, not experiences. Here are the practices that drive repeat purchases.

March 15, 2026 · Maarten Boone

Industry

The Complete Guide to B2B Merchandise Programs in 2026

Everything promotional product distributors need to know about building, managing, and scaling B2B merchandise programs for corporate clients.

March 10, 2026 · Luana Desouza

Education

Screen Printing vs. Embroidery vs. DTG: Choosing the Right Decoration Method

A technical comparison of the six most common decoration methods in promotional products — when to use each and how they affect cost, quality, and turnaround.

March 5, 2026 · Brikl Team

Education

How On-Demand Fulfillment Works in Promotional Products

A step-by-step breakdown of the on-demand fulfillment process — from order placement to delivery — and why it's replacing traditional inventory models.

February 28, 2026 · Maarten Boone

Industry

PPAI Expo 2026: What We Learned at Booth #3508

Key takeaways from PPAI Expo 2026 in Las Vegas — on-demand adoption is accelerating faster than anyone expected.

January 20, 2026 · Brikl Team

Operations

How to Scale One-Off Orders Without the Sourcing Headache

Single-piece orders are where distributors lose money — sourcing, decoration, and shipping costs eat the margin. Here's how an on-demand network changes the unit economics.

April 15, 2024 · Maarten Boone

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