Brand Swag

Swag has always been part of Baldor's DNA, both internally as a source of employee pride and externally as gifts for our chef customers. But I elevated it from a nice-to-have into a strategic brand-building tool by partnering with noted chefluencer Eli Sussman—James Beard nominee, owner of Gertrude's in Brooklyn and the person behind the industry meme handle @thesussmans (103K followers)— to create limited-edition collections that our customers actually wanted to wear and share. I conceived of the collaboration, launching with a two-item LTO that generated immediate demand, followed by a winter collection that together sold 1,500 pieces and created organic social buzz when industry influencers including Chef JJ Johnson, Fairyal Abdullahi, and Caroline Schiff posted themselves wearing the gear. This wasn't just swag—it was a low-cost, high-impact brand play that turned our customers into walking ambassadors, reinforced our credibility within the culinary community, and proved that a wholesaler could compete on culture and cool factor, not just price and product.