The 67th annual Promotional Products Professionals of Canada (PPPC) National Convention (NATCON) wrapped this week after three days that included supplier tours, networking opportunities, a bustling show floor and the PPPC Awards. Held at the International Centre in Mississauga, ON, on Sept. 9 and 10, the theme was “Innovate. Connect. Succeed.”

The day before the show opened, PPPC hosted its second Supplier Sip & See, a day of factory tours at area suppliers. Attendees celebrated the 50th anniversary of Trimark Canada (asi/92122), part of Counselor Top 40 supplier PCNA (asi/66887), with decoration demos; got a first-hand look at the production floor at Top 40 supplier SRG (asi/84592; Canada, 84595); walked the brand-new distribution center soon to be opened by Top 40 supplier Stormtech (asi/89869); and enjoyed a fashion show at Cutter & Buck Canada (asi/47967), part of Top 40 supplier Cutter & Buck (asi/47965), featuring “models” from the executive and sales teams.

A bird’s-eye view of the production floor at SRG (asi/84592; Canada, 84595).

“It was a wonderful experience,” said Rose Fitzgerald, founder and president of IICON Creative Strategies and a photographer recently featured in a documentary called 36 Xposures. “It was insightful to learn more about the products and to see firsthand the extensive process behind decorating and branding. I have a new appreciation for the amount of work that goes into it all.”

Day 1 of the trade show began with an education session with Kyle Romaniuk, titled “Escape the Quicksand Phase: Follow the Refraction Pathway to Scalable Growth.” The serial entrepreneur discussed red flags in a company looking to grow, such as resistance, mistakes, fear and defiance among team members, as a result of mental challenges like frustration, overwhelm, imposter syndrome and analysis paralysis. Romaniuk said instead, leaders should focus on five areas in order to thrive: contribution, growth, wellness, purpose and mindset.

Serial entrepreneur Kyle Romaniuk presented an inspiring education session to kick off the first day of the trade show.

“People are like rainbows,” he said. “They show up in the right environment. Instead of playing the hero and stepping in to help all the time, become a coach – empower others to get things done. Leadership starts with you.”

The first trade show day wrapped with the 44th annual PPPC Awards and Networking After-Party at the Royal Woodbine Golf Club, co-hosted by Paul Wieleba, owner of multi-line agency {WE} Promotional Advertising and outgoing PPPC board chair, and Michèle Boucher of distributor Créapub.

Among the honorees were Momentum Award winners Coretea Anthony of SRG and Amzed Begg of Full Line Specialties (asi/199688), which was also named the National Distributor of the Year; Customer Service Representative of the Year Patricia Ortiz of Debco, part of Top 40 supplier HPG (asi/61966); Sales Representative of the Year Cindy Puritt, also of Debco; and Botanical PaperWorks (asi/41273), FIEL – Fairdeal Import & Export (asi/53509) and Trimark/PCNA, named the Small, Medium and Large Suppliers of the Year respectively.

Attendees take their seats for the PPPC Awards, held at the Royal Woodbine Golf Club.

In addition, Rob Spector, chairman of the board at Spector & Co. (asi/88660) was inducted into the PPPC Hall of Fame. “I can’t put into words what this industry has meant to me,” he said during the ceremony. “You all have made me feel welcome in your offices and homes, and I’ve made friends across the country. It’s been an absolute pleasure getting to know all of you. The promo industry picked me and has given me so much.”

Trends From the Show Floor

NATCON 2025 marked the first national promo show for Spencer Leiske, co-founder of KNKT (pronounced “connect”), which Leiske said stands for “Knew Nothing, Kept Trying.” About 12 years ago, Leiske was playing amateur volleyball overseas for Canada and found hole-less track belts in Indonesia. Back in his home province of Alberta, Leiske couldn’t find similar options.

“I couldn’t get one here, so I tried to make my own,” says Leiske. “My buddy Tanner Nault and I went on to found the first track belt company in Canada – we’re now in 150 pro shops and we’re new to promo. They fit perfectly every time because there aren’t any holes.” The leather belts in men’s and women’s styles have both metallic and ceramic buckles with laser-engraving – Leiske says they’ve been popular as corporate gifts in industries like oil and gas.

KNKT offers leather track belts in men’s and women’s styles with laser-engraved buckles.

Canadian-made promotions were front-and-center at the show, after a year of shifting sourcing practices in the face of trade wrangling, mainly with the U.S. Thunderstorm Snacks offers certified Ontario-made popcorn in unique flavours like Maple, Ketchup, Dill Pickle and Spicy Caramel, while My Green Bag gave out durable shopping totes with “Made in Canada” and “Fabriqué au Québec” messaging. Payne Manufacturing (asi/76576) specializes in copper and recycled aluminum barware made in Canada. “We’ve seen an uptick in demand this year,” says owner Sandra Edmonds.

Meanwhile, Wood Hill Boards carries made-in-Canada cutting boards in custom shapes and sizes, made of American walnut or cherry and Canadian maple, and Outlook Eyewear Canada showed off Canadian-designed sunglasses at an affordable price-point.

“Vigor is our athletic collection, which includes six styles,” said Rohit V.R., sales coordinator. “Cake is our designer line, which also has six styles that are great for corporate gifting and incentive trips. These aren’t cheap glasses that people throw away – they’re durable and high-end.”

Outlook Eyewear Canada has 12 high-end sunglasses, including six in its Cake designer-inspired line.

Ecorite (asi/51654), part of Canada Sportswear (asi/43682), highlighted its edge-to-edge DTF printing on recycled totes, which is done in-house and offers more detail and more imprinting locations than screen-printing. “We oversee all decorating for quality control,” said Maia Roberts, bilingual customer service rep. “We’re also getting into affordable luxury, like soft blankets.”

ATTRACTION (asi/37442) had an extensive display of its hyper-personalized apparel, as part of its acquisition of the Jameo customization platform last fall, and SRG showed tech-enabled drinkware from brands like HidrateSpark, LARQ, Water H and Kor.

HidrateSpark and Water H tumblers from SRG feature built-in tech to remind users to stay hydrated.

“It’s the next phase of drinkware,” said Krista Filice, part of the product development and purchasing team at SRG. “Clients want tumblers with tech built in – HidrateSpark and Water H, for example, have indicators to let recipients know when they need to drink more.”

An assortment of samples from the Supplier Sip & See tours and show exhibitors: charging cable kit (O902), recycled aluminum pen (SFP111-B), journal (TBC501), canvas bag (B614) and tumbler (D148-RB) from SRG (asi/84592); ketchup-flavoured popcorn from Thunderstorm Snacks; Ahead headwear and T-shirt (LCK00198) from Cutter & Buck Canada (asi/47967); FEED tote bag (9009-06) and T-shirt (97879) from Trimark Canada (asi/92122); and square shopping tote (PETL-401) from My Green Bag.

Mike Yager, president of Spotlight Sport & Corporate Wear, traveled from Humboldt, SK, with his wife and business partner, Shannon, to their first NATCON this week. They had plans to extend the trip and explore the Toronto area, after finding ideas for their clients, mostly schools, sports teams and local businesses, during the Supplier Sip & See and on the show floor. “We decided to come to see suppliers we haven’t worked with yet,” said Yager, who added that they’re looking forward to strategizing for the coming year.

“NATCON 2025 in Toronto was a tremendous success, from the Supplier Sip & See Tour and Kyle Romaniuk’s inspiring education session to a memorable PPPC Awards & After-Party and an energizing Client Day to close out the show,” said Jonathan N. Strauss, CEO and president of PPPC. “Our members continue to make NATCON a standout event.”