At a trade show, the merch people keep is the merch they use on the spot: the tote bag, where visitors store their brochures while carrying your logo down the aisles, at about 2 euros excluding VAT from 250 units. Keep a stronger gift, a t-shirt or a cap, for your meetings.
| For whom | The merch | Indicative price excl. VAT, decoration included |
|---|---|---|
| Every stand visitor | Tote bag, one-colour screen print | about 2 euros from 250 units |
| Visitors who stop to talk | T-shirt, one-colour screen print | about 3 euros from 250 units |
| Your meetings | Embroidered cap | about 6.50 euros at 100, 6 euros at 250 |
| Your best clients | Embroidered hoodie | about 19 euros at 25 units |
| The stand team | Embroidered polo shirt | about 9.50 euros at 25 units |
| The team outdoors | Embroidered windbreaker or fleece | about 14 to 20 euros at 25 units |
A trade show visitor goes home in the evening with a full bag. The question isn't what you slip into it, but what comes out of it the following Monday, on their desk or on their back.
The prices in this article were taken from tknp.io product pages on 10 October 2026: unit prices excluding VAT and shipping, in the most affordable colour, with one decoration position. They are indicative and may change.
What merch should you give trade show visitors?
Start with a tote bag: it's the only gift visitors use during the show itself, to carry the catalogues and samples they pick up from stand to stand. Westford Mill's Bag For Life, screen printed in one colour, costs about 2 euros excluding VAT from 250 units, decoration included.
Your logo then travels the aisles all day, carried on the shoulder of visitors who haven't reached your stand yet. At a trade show, it's the only advertising that walks over to the neighbouring stands on its own.
The t-shirt comes next. B&C's #E150, screen printed in one colour, costs about 3 euros at 250 units. It gets worn after the show, but it means handling sizes behind the counter: keep it for visitors who take the time to talk.
If your audience prefers an object, the tknp.io catalogue also offers personalised products, from water bottles to badge lanyards.
The walk-by gift and the meeting gift
A trade show mixes two audiences, and they don't deserve the same gift. The walk-by visitor gets the tote bag, handed out widely; the qualified contact, the one who booked a meeting or left their details, leaves with a garment they will wear.
For that second gift, the embroidered cap can be handed over right at the stand, without asking the visitor anything; our client gift guide covers gifts to clients more broadly. Beechfield's Ultimate 5 Panel Cap, embroidered, costs about 6.50 euros at 100 units and 6 euros at 250. For your very best clients, an embroidered College Hoodie, at around 19 euros for 25 units, turns the meeting into a keepsake.
One rule avoids waste: the good garment never sits on the counter for people to help themselves, it is handed over in person, at the end of the conversation.
A seminar follows a different logic, since every attendee receives the same kit: our seminar merch guide covers it.
How many units should you plan for a trade show?
Start from the number of visitors expected at your stand, not the attendance announced by the organiser: the figure from your last edition, badges scanned or contacts collected, is the one to trust. The tote bag is sized on that figure, the meeting gift on your meeting schedule, with a small reserve for each.
The price tier helps you decide. On the screen-printed Bag For Life, going from 100 to 250 units brings the bag down from about 2.50 to 2 euros. And if the design carries no date, the leftover bags are ready for the next show.
Each product can be ordered from 10 units, with any technique, mixing sizes and colours freely.
What should the stand team wear?
Dress the whole stand team in the same colour, logo embroidered on the chest: a visitor should know in one second who to talk to. B&C's embroidered Polo Id.001 costs about 9.50 euros at 25 units, and Stanley/Stella's organic cotton Crafter t-shirt, embroidered, about 10 euros.
Plan two outfits per person if the show lasts several days: a polo shirt worn three days in a row under the spotlights ends up showing it. At the welcome desk, the same polo in the stand's colour keeps the team easy to spot from one end of the aisle to the other.
Our events page brings together the garments that equip a stand's staff.
Outdoor shows: dressing the team for rain and cold
At an open-air event, a fair, a boat show or an agricultural show, the team's outfit works in layers: the polo shirt stays underneath, and the outer layer carries the logo as soon as it rains or turns cold. Embroidered on the chest for a team of 25, B&C's water-repellent #RESET Windbreaker costs about 14 euros, and JHK's Polar Fleece, a 300 g/m2 fleece, about 20 euros.
For long, damp days, B&C's Reset 3L Softshell adds a waterproof, windproof membrane lined with microfleece, at around 35 euros embroidered. The Reset Bodywarmer, a padded water-repellent gilet, leaves the arms free for setting up, at about 24.50 euros. In real cold, our custom puffer jackets take over, and an embroidered Fisherman Beanie, at around 13.50 euros, covers the early setup mornings.
Embroider the logo in the same place on every layer, on the chest: when the jacket closes over the polo shirt, the team stays recognisable from a distance.
Screen printing for volume, embroidery for the team
For a trade show, the split fits in one line: screen printing for the volumes handed out to visitors, embroidery for the team and the meeting gifts. On the #E150 t-shirt, one screen-printed colour costs about 7.50 euros at 25 units, 4.50 euros at 50 and 3 euros at 500.
Our textile printing guide compares every technique in detail. In both cases, a simple one-colour logo costs less and often looks better than a busy one.
The show date won't move: order six weeks ahead
For a trade show, confirm the merch order six weeks before opening: the date is fixed, and that head start lets you pick the 4-week production, which takes 5% off the base price on tknp.io product pages (the standard 2-week lead time). The remaining two weeks cover delivery and checking the boxes.
The 1-week express exists for latecomers, at 10% more. Have it delivered to your office rather than to the venue: you can open the boxes calmly before the stand goes up.
Next year's show, already set up in your account
If you exhibit at the same show every year, this year's work serves the next one. On tknp.io, the stand's tote bag and polo shirt stay in your account's wardrobe, design included: next year, you reorder the same items in a few clicks, without redoing the file or going through a quote again.
Frequently asked questions
What gift should you give trade show visitors?
The tote bag is the most useful: visitors use it during the show to carry their brochures, and your logo travels the aisles. Count about 2 euros excluding VAT per bag screen printed in one colour from 250 units at tknp.io, then keep an embroidered garment, a cap or a hoodie, for your meetings.
Should you put a date on trade show merch?
No, unless it's an edition keepsake. Without a date, the leftover bags and t-shirts are ready for the next show; keep the date for the team's outfits or for anniversary editions.
What should a trade show stand team wear?
A matching outfit for the whole team, in the stand's colour, with the logo embroidered on the chest. At tknp.io, an embroidered polo shirt costs about 9.50 euros excluding VAT at 25 units; plan two outfits per person for a multi-day show, and an embroidered windbreaker or fleece layer if the stand is outdoors.
Screen printing or embroidery for trade show merch?
Screen printing for the volumes handed out to visitors, tote bags and t-shirts, because its price drops sharply with quantity. Embroidery for the team's outfits and the meeting gifts, more durable and more upmarket.
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