Branded fitness merchandise might not be the first thing that comes to mind if you don’t work in the fitness or sports industry…
But with health, fitness and wellbeing becoming an increasingly important part of everyday life, there are plenty of opportunities for other organisations to use it too – particularly if you’re looking for a useful gift that people will genuinely appreciate.
Whether you’re a business planning an employee wellbeing challenge, a charity organising a fundraising event, or a school, university or community organisation bringing people together, fitness merchandise can be used to support events, bring teams together, reward participation and encourage a more active lifestyle.
From branded sportswear and water bottles to towels, bags and fitness accessories, there’s now a huge choice of products available to suit different activities, audiences and budgets.
Explore our range of Promotional Fitness Merchandise
4 Ways to Use Branded Fitness Merchandise
1. Employee wellbeing & charity challenges
Walking challenges, running events, cycling challenges, charity fundraisers – there are so many ways teams and organisations can get involved. They can be a great way to unite staff, and create a real sense of camaraderie and positivity.
Adding your company’s branding to clothing and accessories can help create a sense of team spirit, while showing others that you’re backing your team and the cause they’re supporting.
Technical T-shirts, running vests, hoodies and even swimwear can all be branded depending on the challenge. If it’s an organised charity event, it’s worth checking their guidelines around dual branding first – although many are happy for companies to show their support.
Branded water bottles will keep your team hydrated, and accessories like towels, snoods, caps and drawstring bags will give people something useful for the activity.
If you are hosting your own charity event, you may find our charity page helpful.
2. Sports days, clubs & team events
If you’re organising a company sports day, golf day, running club or team-building activity, branded merchandise can help bring everything together and make the event feel a little more organised and professional.
Branded clothing is an obvious place to start. It can help create a sense of team identity through different colours or designs, as well as making staff, organisers and participants easy to spot on the day.
Then think about what could be genuinely useful for the activity itself. Depending on the event, that might include branded golf umbrellas, footballs, water bottles, caps or other sporting accessories. Flags, banners and bunting can also help brand the event space and make your company or event logo more visible.
And don’t forget the finish! Branded goodie bags can be a nice way to thank people for taking part, while medals or trophies give you something to recognise the winners – or simply celebrate everyone getting involved.
3. Active gifts people will actually use
The obvious place to start is a sports bottle – one of the most popular promotional products and something that’s likely to be used regularly.
There are plenty of ways to make a bottle more interesting too. One idea we particularly like is adding a daily hydration scale down the side, encouraging people to keep track of how much they’re drinking throughout the day.
Sports bags are another popular choice. Drawstring bags work particularly well as a lower-cost giveaway or goodie bag for sporting events, charity challenges and educational settings.
If you’re looking for an employee gift, it’s worth investing a little more in a quality sports or duffle bag that’s likely to be kept and used for months or even years.
We’ve also seen some interesting new styles coming through recently, including waterproof dry bags for water sports and wild swimming, running belts and cross-body bags, and bags designed specifically to carry yoga mats.
And don’t overlook the towel!
We’ve been really impressed with some of the branded towel samples we’ve had in the office recently. They’re useful for the gym, swimming, running, golf, holidays and weekends away, so they can appeal to a much wider audience than you might initially think.
Choose a good-quality towel with the right branding and it can feel much more like a premium gift than a promotional giveaway.
4. Health & wellbeing campaigns
National awareness days can provide a useful starting point for your own health and wellbeing activities.
National Fitness Day, for example, could be an opportunity to organise a team walk, step challenge, lunchtime activity or something else that encourages people to get away from their desks and be a little more active.
Branded merchandise can support the activity rather than being the focus of it – perhaps a water bottle for everyone taking part, branded clothing for a team challenge or a useful fitness gift as a reward.
But you don’t need to wait for a national awareness day. Whether you’re supporting an ongoing employee wellbeing programme, encouraging active travel or simply looking for a useful gift that fits with a more active lifestyle, there are plenty of ways fitness merchandise can form part of it.
What branded fitness merchandise should you choose?
With so many options available, the right product really depends on what you’re trying to achieve. Before you choose, think about who it’s for, how they’ll use it and what you want the finished product to feel like.
Who is it for?
Start with the people who’ll actually be receiving it.
If you’re kitting out a team for a charity run, technical T-shirts or running vests make sense because they’re useful on the day and help everyone look and feel part of the team.
For a company-wide wellbeing initiative, however, you’ll probably want something with broader appeal. A good-quality water bottle, towel or sports bag can be used for everything from walking and swimming to the gym – or simply everyday life.
How will they use it?
Think about the activity and what would genuinely be useful before, during or after it.
If you’re organising a golf day, for example, umbrellas, golf towels or caps all have an obvious purpose. For a walking or running challenge, a sports bottle, technical top, sports socks or lightweight bag might be more appropriate.
And think beyond the event itself. A product that’s still useful afterwards is much more likely to be kept and used, giving your brand greater visibility over time.
What’s your budget and quantity?
You don’t necessarily need to spend a lot to choose something useful – but the quantity and purpose will influence where it’s worth investing.
If you’re putting together 500 goodie bags for a large charity event, a lower-cost rPET bottle or drawstring bag might make sense.
If you’re buying 30 gifts to reward employees for completing a wellbeing challenge, you could invest more per person in a premium towel, sports bag or garment they’ll continue using afterwards.
It’s about matching the product and budget to the occasion rather than simply choosing the cheapest option.
How should you brand it?
The same product can feel completely different depending on how you brand it.
For a charity run or sports day, you might want a bold logo or colourful design that’s easy to spot and helps create a strong team identity.
For an employee gift, you might take the opposite approach. A smaller embroidered logo, tone-on-tone branding or a more subtle print can make a premium bag or garment feel more like something they’d choose for themselves.
The product and material will also influence which branding methods work best, so it’s worth considering the finished look you want to achieve rather than choosing the branding method in isolation.
Looking for fitness merchandise ideas?
We’ve brought together our fitness and active lifestyle products in one place, from bottles and towels to clothing, bags and accessories.
Explore our Promotional Fitness Merchandise
Or get in touch with us and let us know who you’re buying for, what you’ve got planned and your budget, and we’ll recommend some ideas.
