A bag is much more than a bag for the team at Sacatelle (asi/84294). Each bag the supplier creates becomes a canvas for custom branding and unique design features. After all, a bag only becomes a “walking billboard” gathering countless impressions if the recipient likes it enough to tote it around town.

“Everything in this industry is very similar,” says Ikey Bensimhon, co-founder of Sacatelle. “How do you incentivize people to become sustainable and want to carry a bag around? You have to make it creative and unique. … 95% of our work is custom. We’re known for making really creative designs that are incorporated into the handle.”

Before he founded Sacatelle with Isaac Schwerd three years ago, Bensimhon was working as an investment banker. His dissatisfaction with the selection and process of ordering promotional bags led him to start his own custom bag firm.

Sacatelle can create bags in more than 3,000 colors and is open to working with just about any material, from denim and PVC to cork and ripstop nylon. The supplier has even fashioned bags from fabric remnants sent to them by an upholstery company. “The only material we won’t deal with is disposable plastic,” Bensimhon says. “We’re very against that.”

Attention to detail is paramount for Sacatelle. For example, the American Kennel Club wanted dog bags once it was legal to carry pet pooches onto the New York subway. The bag went through extensive testing to ensure nothing would be harmful to the dog being carried. “So much work went into it,” Bensimhon says. “Every little bell and whistle was very, very unique and customized.”

Another winner was a bag created for Fiat Chrysler to give out during an AutoMobility tradeshow. The bag looked like a tire, and was designed to fit on the back of the vast majority of wheelchairs. “It was a huge success,” Bensimhon says. “There was a line just to get the bag, and they ran out after the first day.”

The design and product process is fairly quick, with design turnaround ranging from 24 hours to four days. A physical sample can be built in less than two weeks and full production can begin in 25 to 30 days, Bensimhon says. Sacatelle is able to keep costs comparable – and sometimes lower – by relying heavily on technology throughout its workflow. For example, Sacatelle has been developing a proprietary portal that employs artificial intelligence and smart algorithms to allow customers to easily track and approve projects and view their portfolios.

“We’re always thinking miles ahead of everyone else,” Bensimhon says. “Let’s say someone tells you we don’t need bags anymore because we’ll have drones carrying everything. Then we’ll be the first company to create drone bags.”

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