When it comes to performing at our jobs, it seems we don’t necessarily have to maintain a physical presence in the workplace to work effectively. Zoom conferences have become the norm, and our kitchen tables have become our workspaces. Even as people become vaccinated, many companies remain uncertain about when—if ever—employees will physically return to the office. For this reason, power banks, chargers, drinkware, journals, and pens are currently high performers in this lucrative market segment.
Dan Jellinek of The Magnet Group acknowledges that there is a “new office” as we know it “Whether it be a home office or someone virtually, with that in mind, you need to have that phone charger/powered up; but, with a wireless charger, you just grab your phone off the charging pad and go,” he comments. “In many cases, we have to break down our office every night and be flexible with the products we use.”
As is the case with so many remote office spaces, the kitchen table currently serves as Jellinek’s home base. “At my kitchen table office, I see one of our top-selling drinkware tumblers, a journal that is open to the notes I took earlier during one of our team calls, a pen, and a wireless charger,” he states. “Today, when I think of the office, I go right to the home office, which is different from the regular office. These items sit on my kitchen table desk every day. I stare at them 10 hours a day, five days a week—and also use them daily. The cost-per-impression would be close to nothing.”
Power banks, which had their run several years ago, are popular again, and wireless chargers are coming back into play as the office shifts from the kitchen to the patio or a nearby park, Jellinek continues. “If I’m quickly changing from one location to the other, I need a power bank to come with me,” he comments. “The office needs to be mobile and able to be broken down quickly. At the end of the workday, a home office can be transformed back into a kitchen, playroom, or bedroom.” Power banks, wireless chargers, and wireless mousepads are tech standouts, he adds.
Sunjoy is also seeing a rise in interest in power banks as well as TWS earbuds and USBs. “Distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine and reopening cities and states seems to be signaling a return to normalcy,” Jake Swift notes. “Working from home brought into focus for many the need for high quality tech items. We don't think customers will be satisfied with lower grade products moving forward. While demand was shaky in the beginning of the year, it has increased each week.”
Over at Sweda Company, drinkware/hydration is the company’s top-selling product category in office products. “With innovative imprinting, telling a story on a bottle is key to this demand,” Kellie Claudio explains. “Word clouds, mission statements, key core value words, words of appreciation, and care are in high demand for full coverage stories on best-selling styles. Doubly pleasing for the client is our partnership with the Wounded Warrior Project with our Basecamp brand. Our minimum donation of 115K to the WWP on every Basecamp purchase is important for many corporations who want to support Veterans. Basecamp drinkware is driving this trend.”
Sunjoy has a combination UV Sterilizer and power bank that has generated a lot of interest, Swift points out. “We expect it to be a popular gift moving forward,” he says. “PPE is still king, but TWS earbuds, power banks, and USBs will soon overtake it, barring another spike in COVID cases.”
The Magnet Group’s Catelli Q2425 journal is a best seller, Jellinek maintains. This medium-sized note taker has a smooth-soft texture that is often mistaken for leather, contains a pen loop elastic closure, 224 lined ivory pages, back expandable pocket, and gold ribbon marker. It come in an array of colors, including black, beige, brown, blue, red, purple, green, and gray. The company’s best-selling DT26 Perfect Temp 20-ounce Stainless Steel Vacuum Tumbler features a sleek double wall, vacuum-insulated stainless-steel construction to keep hot drinks warm and iced drinks cold. The clear lid design includes a slide function to allow easy access to your drink. The lid also sports a rubber seal to fit snugly and securely. It comes in black, blue, copper, gun metal, silver, and white.
New at Sweda Company is the Lite Ring, which Claudio explains has three settings to make sure every video call, vlog, and selfie has the perfect lighting. “This clip-on item features 36 led light bulbs with three levels of brightness, just press the button to adjust to the environment,” she details. “It is crazy how something like this can be an overwhelming success in this environment of Zoom/Teams meetings. Customers are fitting their entire teams with this Lite Ring.”