As part of Print & Promo Marketing’s 2023 Top Suppliers list, we asked some of the top-ranked suppliers about how they managed to continue their growth throughout the uncertainty that has still loomed over 2021 and 2022.
Read on for our conversation with Brandon Brown, vice president of marketing for Snugz USA, the No. 8 supplier on our list. Or, download the full Top Suppliers resource for the complete interviews, detailed stats and analysis for the Top Suppliers list, and results of our 2023 Supplier Excellence Awards
SnugZ USA – No. 8
2022 sales: $112,474,978
West Jordan, Utah
1,000 employees, three locations
Established in 1989
SnugZ USA started the year with a statement of intent, producing a video called “We’re Ready,” which detailed the company’s primary focus for the rest of 2023: getting back to serving customers and improving the overall experience. At the beginning of last year, the company acquired Sweda Company, which was a huge move and combination of two top suppliers. Naturally, that caused a few growing pains, but SnugZ had a lot to show for it, jumping into the 8th position from 12th last year.
Brandon Brown, vice president of marketing for SnugZ USA, looks forward to the beginning of each year as a clean slate and a chance to make a big push professionally. After acquiring Sweda at the top of 2022, there weren’t many bigger chances to grow as a company throughout the year.
“I think the beginning of every year brings optimism and excitement to start fresh and get in front of customers to see their excitement for new items during those first few shows,” he says.
Once that excitement dies down, though, he says it’s back to work. No time to rest on laurels or keep their heads in the clouds for too long. “More or less, we are just continuing to focus on our customer experience and making sure we are getting better every day to elevate the industry with service, speed, quality mixed with a little crazy, and keep having fun providing solutions to our customers,” Brown says.
What’s Made the Difference: “In addition to shipping fast, we also recognize the shift in overall demand for budget-friendly items, and have expanded our new products with many new and on-trend items that fit any budget, but are still unique and exciting to the buyer,” he says.
What They’re Looking Forward To: 2024 is set to be a big year not just in the industry, but in the country and the world.
“With it being a presidential election year and the Olympics in Paris, we are likely to be seeing an uptick in those types of items as opportunities open up,” Brown says. “Also, we should continue to see an uptick in AI, and what we can do to utilize that technology in our products and services to make it easier and more efficient to come up with ideas and help sell products better.”
