It’s beginning to feel like 2020 again, as personal protective equipment (PPE) makes a comeback in the promotional products industry.

As the delta variant drives a surge in COVID-19 cases, mask mandates and recommendations have been reinstated throughout the United States. With people returning to school, the office and events, distributors are seeing demand for PPE rise after months of dormancy. 

“PPE interest, especially in masks, has spiked,” says Jeff Pinsky, co-founder and executive vice president at Top 40 distributor ePromos Promotional Products (asi/188515). “We’ve also seen a run on smaller sizes of sanitizer. Pen sprayers and 2-ounce bottles are becoming top sellers again, while 8-ounce pumps are available at amazing pricing.”

In August, face masks ranked third on the top 10 list of most-searched items in ESP, ASI’s database of products from around the promo industry. That’s the first time since April that face masks cracked the top 10. From July to August, searches for disposable face mask, face masks and mask skyrocketed 562%, 414% and 309%, respectively. Even hand sanitizer saw a jump in searches by 75%.

“We’ve seen a notable increase in calls, quotes and orders for hand sanitizer the last few weeks, especially for our 1-ounce 70% Hand Sanitizer Gel that is sourced here in the Midwest,” says Lindsey Davis, director of promotional sales at Cedar Rapids, IA-based Raining Rose (asi/80489). “Recent demand for hand sanitizer certainly isn’t what we saw in 2020, but we’ve still seen a significant increase lately.”

For Fremont, CA-based Fossa Apparel (asi/55141), Q1 2021 was the peak for mask orders, which dropped off by 40% in Q2. That picked back up during the summer. “The amount of cotton masks we sold in August was double the amount we sold in July,” says Michelle Chen, sales director at Fossa. “However, the recent uptick still doesn’t put us back to the level we saw in Q1 of this year.”

ESP data shows that searches for face masks rose sharply at the end of summer. Still, on Aug 31, 2021, search totals for face masks were only 19% compared to searches at the height of the PPE rush in April 2020.

According to Counselor State of the Industry data, PPE accounted for 25.6% of all industry sales in 2020 – a total of $5.3 billion. ESP data shows that on August 31, 2021, searches for face masks reached their highest totals since November 2020, but are still only 19% of searches from the height of the PPE rush in April 2020.

Distributors started the pandemic by sourcing blank PPE, but the tide shifted toward decorated pieces by the end of 2020. Over the past month, promo firms have received orders for both disposable and reusable masks – blank and decorated – depending on their clients’ needs.

“When the customer doesn’t know who the end-user will be, they tend to shy away from reusable options,” says Miriah Cassidy, vice president of sales support at Top 40 distributor American Solutions for Business (asi/120075). “Decorated masks are often requested by customers looking to protect their staff members. Production times for decorated product are longer due to lack of staffing.”

Due to constant mandate changes by municipalities, Pinsky says, all businesses need extra disposable masks for customers and employees that are either unaware or short-handed. “People are stock piling again, as disposable masks are at pre-COVID prices and incredibly cost effective,” Pinsky says. “As availability decreases and price spikes, we believe there will be more spot buys as people have already seen these incredible fluctuations and won’t want to buy high unless they absolutely have to.”

After last year’s mad dash to procure as much PPE as possible, many distributors were left with a stockpile of masks, sanitizer and neck gaiters collecting dust in their offices. The surplus has become a blessing in disguise, as PPE is one of the few product categories readily available while the industry endures historic supply chain disruption.

Top 40 distributor ePromos Promotional Products has created a video to explain the benefits of its health and safety products.

For example, Tucson, AZ-based Williams & Associates (asi/360450) has approximately 190,000 disposable masks in inventory after a canceled order from last year. “As we are well aware, there is value in having supply to ship and deliver to clients at a moment’s notice,” says Stephanie Rochow, sales assistant at Williams & Associates.

Other distributors haven’t been as lucky. Alicia Matthai, owner of Baltimore-based Haymaker Promotions (asi/222395), has had trouble finding masks for her clients, which are predominantly local, private schools. “I’m not sure anyone can find a stockpile of anything right now,” Matthai says. “Prices are increasing, too.”

As PPE orders started to surge, Boost Promotions’ Chris Faris appeared on a recent episode of Promo Insiders to discuss whether the product category will remain a staple of the industry.

With each surge in coronavirus cases, PPE sales tend to go up for STOPNGO Line (asi/57655) in City of Industry, CA. Over the past couple of months, face masks, sanitizer and antibacterial wipes have been in high demand. “We still have healthy inventory on many PPE SKUs, but there will be a supply chain crunch when many suppliers’ stock levels become depleted,” says Jeff Lee, vice president of STOPNGO Line. “Many suppliers had only stocked and sold PPE products for the short term.”

“Production times for decorated product are longer due to lack of staffing.” Miriah Cassidy, American Solutions for Business

To alleviate shipping woes stemming from port congestion and container shortages, Houston-based KTI Promo (asi/63776) has sought out alternative methods to remain competitive. “We’re utilizing air freight to ensure timely delivery of products from overseas,” says Steffany Rivera, marketing manager at KTI. “We also have plenty of local stock available in Texas.”

Fossa had also relied upon air freight for masks, making them part of a regular shipping schedule last year. With demand coming and going this year, it didn’t make financial sense to maintain that schedule. “We just have to be transparent with customers and give them the best lead time on direct overseas orders based on the logistical circumstances at that time,” Chen says.

Counselor 2021 State of the Industry

Top 40 supplier Evans Manufacturing (asi/52840) has gone against the grain. After repurposing its sewing capabilities last year to create its own masks, the company recently ceased mask production and is now selling through remaining inventory.

“This might seem contrary to the current situation, but I believe it allows us to pivot our internal capabilities once again toward production of more typical promotional items,” says Ron Williams, chief marketing officer at Evans. “Doing this has allowed Evans to distinguish itself from other suppliers during the current shipping/logistics conundrum by having inventory on hand and remaining on mostly a three, five or seven-day lead time period.”

Instead of stockpiling, Fossa has raw materials sitting at its factory ready to be assembled into masks to help cut down overall production time. “Now that consumers can purchase a variety of masks from Costco, Target and just about everywhere else, I don't think we will ever experience the demand we once did with a leveled-out, full of supply market,” Chen says.

However, Raining Rose is seeing PPE-related business holding strong at double what it was in 2019. “The last few weeks have been even better,” Davis says. “I anticipate that PPE product demand will remain where it’s at or grow in the coming months, as those products continue to be top of mind for our customers.”