The 68th NATCON was one for the books.

The annual three-day Merch Canada | Promo Canada event, held from Sept. 15 to 17 at The International Centre in Toronto, included networking, supplier tours, a long-anticipated association rebrand and a new Hall of Fame inductee. According to the association, the show featured approximately 20% more exhibitors than last year.

Items spotted on the NATCON show floor: cotton/cork tote (E6012) from Debco, part of HPG (asi/61966); pens from ADG Promotional Products (asi/97270; WC401995) and Debco (PE207); provincial lapel pins (CL4) from BCG, part of HPG; seed bombs from Botanical PaperWorks (asi/41273); Belgian milk chocolate from Atelier88; Canadian stickers from StickerYou (asi/89791); wristlet from NUMO (asi/74710); Merch Canada | Promo Canada pin from Faro Products (asi/53697); and locator tag from ReturnMe Lost & Found (asi/82261)

“This was my second NATCON, and I had an amazing time,” said Alicia McQuaig, general manager of Sportswear Plus in Grande Prairie, AB. “I come for the connections and the opportunities to learn and explore the industry.”

Supplier Tours & a Rebrand

Kicking off the first day, McQuaig and fellow distributor attendees toured area suppliers Delite Promotional Products (asi/98766), Justin Case (asi/63698), FIEL – Fairdeal Import & Export Ltd. (asi/53509) and Debco, part of Counselor Top 40 supplier HPG (asi/61966).

“We do a lot of in-house decoration at SWP, so being able to see what happens behind the scenes is super impactful,” said McQuaig. “I wouldn’t have known their value as a supplier partner without coming to events like this.”

The first trade show day on Sept. 16 began with a major announcement: The association, formerly known as Promotional Product Professionals of Canada, will now be called Merch Canada | Promo Canada. The rebrand, which includes a new bilingual identity, logo, colour scheme and brand strategy, followed months of research, consultation and member feedback in an effort led by Paul Wieleba, owner of multi-line agency {WE} Promotional Advertising and chair of the Rebranding Task Force. “Our long-standing history gave us a strong foundation,” said Wieleba, “and member voices helped shape where we go next.”

The Canadian association’s Rebranding Task Force unveiled a new logo and brand identity for the organisation at the start of the first show day at NATCON.

To celebrate the announcement, attendees could pick up newly branded cotton/cork totes from Debco (which also offered a heat press brand activation for personalising the bags), pens from Debco and lapel pins and keychains from Faro Products (asi/53697).

“To unveil Merch Canada | Promo Canada surrounded by the people who helped shape it made this milestone even more meaningful,” said CEO Jonathan Strauss. “We’re building on 70 years of history with a renewed identity and a clear focus on the future, and the response this week reinforced that our industry is ready for what’s next.”

Trends From the Show Floor

Recent trade news didn’t put a damper on the show floor energy – exhibitors leaned into Canadian pride with themed stickers, pins and pens, and “domestically made” messaging. In addition to personalising show totes with heat transfers, Debco also had province-specific lapel pins and a keychain bar with Canadian enamel charms, like flags, hockey sticks and poutine.

“I liked the interactive brand engagement activities,” said Melissa Bevins, account manager at Muldoon Marketing in Aurora, ON. “It was fun to see so many distributors gathered around booths, genuinely enthusiastic about the products we sell.”

The Spector & Co. (asi/88660) booth also encouraged gathering – the cozy lodge theme featured wood grain accents, a crackling log fire (on a TV screen) and high-top tables to highlight premium lifestyle gifts, like Dutch ovens, nesting bowls and candles. Indeed, attendees both admired the products and networked at the same time.

“Everyone is loving these products,” said Jade Alcorn, strategic account manager for Spector. “It’s easy to do my job when the items are so nice.”

Spector & Co.’s (asi/88660) gifts collection included soft blankets, Dutch ovens, serving platters, nesting bowls, patterned glass candles and a stoneware tea set.

“Home products and rich colours are on the rise,” said Tonja Zander, bilingual account manager at TPS Promotions & Incentives (asi/341409) in Markham, ON. “I love items that incorporate into life outside of the office and celebrate downtime while keeping the clients’ brands front and center.”

New-to-NATCON exhibitor Atelier88 was on hand with samples of its dark and milk chocolate – owner Ashley Mosca, a professionally trained chef from Quebec, has been making chocolate for 20 years. Recently, she decided to go into business with her mother and turn her confections into gifts with different branding options, including belly bands, printed boxes, engraved wooden boxes and more.

“We source our chocolate from Belgium,” said Mosca, “and we do our own molding and printing in Canada. Clients love our Advent calendars and engraved gift boxes.”

Ashley Mosca of Atelier88, a Quebec-based chocolatier, was a first-time exhibitor at NATCON.

Also new to the event: Porter Green, an Australian-based, woman-owned supplier of silicone drinkware, vases and containers. Natalie James, who leads the new Canadian office, said the vessels have been a hit.

“They’re made of food-safe silicone, so they don’t break, and they can be PMS colour-matched,” she said. “They have a really interesting look that catches people’s eyes.”

Bevins also noted the tartan blankets, scarves, hats and bags on display at the Patrick King Woollen Company booth; the supplier creates patterns for schools, national parks and sports teams, among others. “I absolutely loved that booth,” she said. “I liked the concept of creating a custom tartan where the colour bands indicate meaningful dates and milestones.”

McQuaig noticed that the industry’s emphasis has shifted in recent years, from novel items to unique uses. “The ‘why’ of a specific product is important,” she said. “I think the new ‘Merch Canada’ brand is going to have so much more impact beyond the stuff that so many equate this industry with. I’m excited to see what people do with the excitement and momentum of the Q4 season, like cool designs that are more fun than just a logo on something.”

A Night of Recognition

The annual Merch Canada awards ceremony on the evening of Sept. 16 honoured a number of suppliers and distributors for their client projects, self-promo campaigns and sales performances. Full Line Specialties (asi/199688) was named the National Distributor of the Year (President and CEO Sam Singh also received the Humanitarian Award), and Debco was named the Large Supplier of the Year.

Laura Hansen, former president of Image Group (asi/230059), was the 40th inductee into the Merch Canada | Promo Canada Hall of Fame.

Capping off the night, Laura Hansen, former president of Vancouver, BC-based Image Group (asi/230059), who retired in July and sold her company, was named the 40th inductee into the Hall of Fame. Hansen, who bought the company in 1992, remembered a time when supplier catalogues were the only source of product information and orders were called in by phone “and you hoped they wrote it down correctly,” she said. “There was lots of legwork in sales, but one thing hasn’t changed – the importance of taking care of our suppliers.”

CEO Jonathan Strauss called the event “an incredible reflection of the strength, energy and momentum of our industry. Our members showed up as exhibitors, attendees, partners and leaders, and demonstrated exactly what makes this community so strong. I couldn’t be prouder of our members and more excited about where we’re headed together.”