From butterfly hair clips to fanny packs, ’90s styles are back – and one distributor capitalized on it this year.

Whitestone Branding (asi/359741) counts a number of millennials on its staff, who came of age during the last decade of the 20^th century. So, when the team’s trend-forecasting research showed that looks from the 1990s – such as oversized silhouettes, bold colors and color blocking – would be gaining traction this year, they knew it posed an opportunity to highlight their capabilities and services.

Whitestone’s ’90s-inspired self-promo gift bundle included a number of custom items with a nostalgic look.

For its 2023 annual self-promo campaign, Whitestone put together a custom “time capsule” of ’90s-inspired items, both custom-made and sourced from ASI suppliers, with modern features.

The kit – bundled in a JanSport backpack-inspired magnetic-closure box with custom-printed interior – included trendy Lululemon-esque fanny packs, composition notebooks from Denik (asi/49264), slap can coolers, pens from Numo (asi/74710) with sayings like “Ugh, as if!” (from the 1995 cult-classic film Clueless), reversible bucket hats and textured stickers evoking the logo of ’90s show Seinfeld and Ring Pop candy.

The team began working on the kit in late 2022, with the goal of launching it this past spring once Whitestone’s partnership with Liftoff Commerce and new e-commerce site was finalized. The distributorship has been working to build its e-commerce and enterprise business, and looked to this campaign to underscore its creative, technological and fulfillment capabilities.

Nikki Rampick, marketing and brand associate, says Whitestone had to be creative with sourcing, design, imprinting and logistics, figuring out the most cost-effective way to receive custom items from overseas. “Shipping an intact box can be super-costly,” she notes. “We altered the construction of the magnetic backpack boxes so they were flat-pack and could be constructed stateside.”

In April 2023, Whitestone sent several hundred emails to top-tier clients, with instructions on how to receive the kits, coupled with a social media campaign on LinkedIn and Instagram. In the first two weeks, 80 recipients had requested their boxes. By the end of the campaign, Whitestone had mailed 300. Now, several client projects inspired by the kits are underway.

As part of a social media push, Whitestone held a photoshoot in an arcade to show off the kits.

The creative team at Whitestone always looks to upcoming trends, even publishing a yearly Trend Forecast, says Lee Ann Mazzarisi, executive director of brand operations. “We come back from shows in January, sit down and talk about what we saw on the show floor, as well as what we’re seeing in retail, fashion, even restaurants,” says Mazzarisi. “We’ll determine top 10 trends, and then start ideating for that year’s gift.”

Normally, Whitestone unveils its yearly self-promo gift at the end of October, as a way to thank key clients and remind customers of the company’s capabilities ahead of the new year. The ’90s kit was part of a spring campaign to align with Whitestone’s new e-commerce site – now, they’re back to regular programming, with another custom gift to be launched in the coming weeks to mark the end of the year.

Mazzarisi says the bundle showed the team’s “soup-to-nuts capabilities,” as well as its attention to trends. “The younger generation has buying power, and they consider the ‘90s ‘vintage,’” she says. “It reminds us of simpler times, when we weren’t attached to devices. Now, we have computers on us 24/7. Millennials miss slap bracelets and Polly Pockets. Nostalgia is also why the Barbie movie was so popular. It’s a combination of buying power and demand for items that bring comfort and joy during uncertain times.”