Why San Diegans can't stop buying local business merch
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Merch champions. Photos: Courtesy of San Diego Zoo, OB People's Food Co-op
We recently asked our readers to vote on the best merch in the city, and the San Diego Zoo won. That got us thinking about what it takes to make good merch that people would want to rock.
The big picture: Turns out it requires a bit more care than just slapping a logo on something.
- While it seems like every coffee shop and brewery these days has its own branded T-shirt, some local businesses put extra thought and care into their merch.
It came as no surprise that the zoo won, given that it is such a goliath in the merch world.
- And it does have really cute clothes. Who can resist the "Save the Chubby Unicorn" tees with pictures of rhinos on them?
What they're saying: Zoo spokesperson Meghan Breen said in a statement that the zoo gets merch inspiration from its animals, along with pop culture and trends.
- "We are constantly on the lookout for trends and are not afraid to test the waters with new suppliers if they are offering differentiated products that fill a void," she said.
- Recently, the zoo has collaborated with hand-painted clothing designer Reyn Spooner and the Padres.
Meanwhile, the runner-up in our merch poll, OB People's Food Co-op, has been designing merch since the 1970s when the co-op debuted its iconic logo.
- "We have always carried merch that featured our very colorful logo, since the beginning of time, and our customers really love this logo," Mariah Ortiz, marketing and membership coordinator, told Axios.
What they did: The T-shirts, hoodies and tote bags are meant as a service to the very loyal customer base, Ortiz said.
- Plus it's a way to show the rest of the city that people love their store.
- "It's really fun getting to see our customers wearing our products," she said. "Of course, we see people shopping with our tote bags in the store, but I've also definitely been out in OB and been like, 'Oh my gosh, someone's wearing the tee that I designed.' That's so fun that they are proudly representing our little community-owned food co-op."
Yes, but: The colorful logo is really hard to screen print, Ortiz said.
- They work with local retailer Big Frog Custom Apparel & Printing to create water-based screen-printed clothing that doesn't feel "crunchy and plasticky," she said.
To the surprise of no one, co-op customers are particular about the kind of merchandise they want, Ortiz said, meaning 100% organic cotton made in the U.S. whenever possible.
- "We do a lot of work internally to try and find a product that people like across the board, which is a challenge, but it's worth finding because our customers know what they like and we want to be able to satisfy them."
Context: Local business merch is the new band tee, as customer loyalty and pride have grown since COVID, small business experts told Axios.
- Small businesses got creative during the pandemic to reach customers, and that included merch. So much merch.