Product Hub July 24, 2026
ASI Chicago 2026: Show Floor Trends Across Wellness, Headwear Decoration & More
Exhibitors’ products at ASI Show Chicago point to new areas of the health and wellness sector, as well as trendy ways to add pops of color to headwear pieces and more.
Key Takeaways
• As demonstrated at ASI Show Chicago, emerging lifestyle trends like martial arts, wellness and pickleball are creating new opportunities for promotional products distributors to target growing niche markets.
• Suppliers are introducing products that emphasize versatility and sustainability, such as interchangeable branding accessories that extend the life and functionality of existing items.
• The most effective promotional products support an end-user’s broader lifestyle, helping brands build stronger connections by complementing hobbies, routines and everyday experiences.
Sometimes the most productive use of your time at ASI Show Chicago is when you’re wandering the aisles without a specific goal in mind. You don’t have to get to a meeting, you’re not looking for anything in particular, so you can slow down and just observe.
This is often how you spot trends and products that cut through the noise, and you can start thinking about what new ideas you’d like to bring into your promotional products sales.
Here are a few standout trends and pieces from the first day on the show floor at ASI Show Chicago.
The Martial Arts Boom
According to Gymdesk, the U.S. martial arts market reached $21.2 billion this year, growing 3.7% over the last five years. There are currently more than 76,000 martial arts studios in the country – up almost 50% from just over 39,000 in 2020.
With this surge in sports like boxing, Muay Thai, jiujitsu and others, these studios and practitioners will be looking for products they’ll use while they train.
As martial arts participation grows in the U.S., there’s an opportunity for related products, like those from Impact Mouthguards (asi/62275).
Brands like Impact Mouthguards (asi/62275) were onsite in Chicago to show their branded mouthguards, which can match a studio’s branding color scheme and include their imprint on the front.
Interchangeable Branding
In the quest for sustainability, people want to make their products work in different ways, rather than needing a bunch of different products. Think of a multi-tool, but across other product categories.
In headwear, simple solutions like Anyrope use a simple design to make any cap a rope hat, and with a variety of different colors, it can match almost any branding and imprint.
Mike Musgjerd, brand manager for Anyrope, demonstrated how it works.
Wellness Everywhere
“Wellness” is a term that most people might associate with a spa or a health club, but wellness can be a part of every minute of the day. Anything that makes an end-user’s life a little bit easier or more enjoyable qualifies as wellness.
This can include items like journals for mental clarity and organization. Papier (asi/75829) had a collection of journals and recipe books on display at the show, all of which were designed with very muted tones for a modern look that felt simple and tranquil, rather than scholarly.
Papier (asi/75829) had a collection of journals and other books for end-users to organize their thoughts and notes, including the A5 Wellness Journal (34265).
Beyond products that end-users engage with like journals, wellness could apply to things that make one’s surroundings nicer.
Botanical PaperWorks (asi/41273) featured products that let end-users grow wildflowers simply in their homes and gardens. Colorful seed bombs came packaged in a simple plastic bag with a brand card at the top, meaning the end-user will always associate the blooms with the brand that gave them the product.
Seed bombs (SBC3374) from Botanical PaperWorks (asi/41273) let end-users enhance their environment with flowers, and associate that simple beauty with the brand that gifted them the seeds.
Pickleball Is Still Popular
Pickleball took the world by storm, and it doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. It might even be in the Olympics one day (don’t bet against it).
Pickleball sets are one thing, but there are plenty of products associated with and adjacent to pickleball that distributors can look at, similar to golf or tennis.
Diamondback Branding (asi/49546) showcased its new bags from Kanga, which are specifically designed with pickleball players in mind for carrying snacks, water and equipment in one convenient piece.
The Kanga Pickleball Cooler (KANG-CS12PB) from Diamondback Branding (asi/49546) is designed with pickleball players in mind, and supports the lifestyle of the players rather than just providing equipment.
This sort of idea can carry over to any subculture or activity, whether it’s wellness, sports or social clubs: Providing products that help the user accomplish a specific task is one thing, but then it’s smart to fill in the gaps and provide a suite of products related to the lifestyle and make them feel like their lives have improved because of those gifts.
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