Custom branded shoes, bundled kits and sustainable everything were among the hottest trends at ASI Orlando, held Jan. 4 to 6 at the Orange County Convention Center.

Suppliers have been putting an emphasis on the feet since logoed socks came into vogue a few years back. Shoes are just the logical next step, said Santana Fulp of Sports Solutions Inc. (asi/88876). “Socks are still wildly popular, and I feel like shoes will be the same way. It’s the natural product evolution,” she added.

Custom shoes, like these available from Sports Solutions, were all over ASI Orlando.

Sports Solutions partnered with Sock101 (asi/88071) to offer five different styles of customizable shoe, including slip-ons and sneakers. The shoes can be packaged in branded boxes or even bundled with matching promotional socks for extra promo punch. Custom sneakers are popular with tech companies in particular, but Fulp notes they also have potential in the team uniform market or as trade show booth attire.

Bundled items were also a popular offering in Orlando. Pinch Provisions (asi/78111), for example, had an array of small pouches, stocked with themed items, that could easily be stowed in a purse, pocket or luggage. The minimergency kit includes items like travel-sized nail clippers, sewing kit, lip balm, breath freshener, shoe shine and deodorant. The tech kit was filled with various cables and plugs, earbuds and a screen cleaning cloth.

Pinch Promotions offers bundled kits of useful items, stored in convenient pouches.

Paul Kilian, a senior account rep at Pinch, said the company has been around for about 15 years at retail, but only entered the promotional market about a year-and-a-half ago. The beauty of the kits, he said, is their versatility – there’s a theme that works for just about everyone. Plus, end-users often will hold onto the pouch long after the items inside are depleted. “We get calls a couple of times a month from people wanting to restock their kits,” Kilian said. “People really like these little pouches, and they keep them.”

My Green Bag showed off an array of reusable custom snack and sandwich bags.

By far, the biggest trend at the show was sustainability, with items ranging from seed paper and “seed pens” to 100% recycled T-shirts – plus, reusable bags of all shapes and sizes. Lotus Trolley Bag (asi/57669) introduced reusable mesh-bottom bags that hang from poles and balance across a shopping cart, for easy item organization. The company also offered smaller mesh bags that can be used for produce. Quebec-based company My Green Bag (asi/72679) showed off an array of reusable sandwich and snack bags.

Several apparel companies, including Threadfast Apparel (asi/91163) and Top 40 supplier SanMar (asi/84863), debuted T-shirts made from recycled materials. The new Re-Tee from SanMar’s District brand is 100% recycled, made from plastic bottles and cotton scraps. “It takes cotton scraps, combines them with recycled polyester, and creates a new yarn and a new T-shirt that doesn’t use water (or) new dyes. It’s one of the most environmentally friendly T-shirts that you can have, and it feels really great, soft and easy to wear,” said Jeremy Lott, SanMar president.

Another interesting product came from Posh Xessories Inc. (asi/79028), which suspended a logo inside a “logopop.” The FDA-approved sugar solution Posh Xessories uses is “crystal clear as glass” and creates a doming effect that magnifies the logo at the center of the sweet treat, said Posh pro Daniel Zhu. It took the supplier about two years to develop the product, which comes in seven flavors and lasts about an hour. The benefit of the logopop, Zhu added, is that end-users aren’t throwing away a branded wrapper and forgetting the company that handed them out. The branding is incorporated into the product itself. Posh Xessories expects the logopop to be a hit with younger generations, but also believes it has universal appeal. “Who doesn’t like candy?” Zhu asked.

Posh Xessories debuted a lollipop with an embedded, edible logo.