Team onboarding kits.
A welcome kit is the first thing a new hire holds with the company's name on it. This guide prices three tiers, $27.87 to $73.27 for each hire, and shows how to run the program so every hire after the first order is a reorder from the design on file.
A new hire decides how they feel about the company in the first week, and the kit is the only part of onboarding they can hold. It says either "we were ready for you" or "this was in the supply closet". Which one it says depends on how the box was edited and when it arrived, far more than on the budget.
The kit we'd build is a zip hoodie at $25.22, a tee at $17.02 and a cap at $10.85, each with one DTF print, name-sleeved and at the new hire's home the week before they start. That's $53.09 at list, and the rest of this guide explains the choices.
Three good things beat seven.
The common mistake is padding the box with a thin tee, a pen, a sticker sheet, a stress ball and a water bottle. Each costs a few dollars and together they say nothing, because the weakest item sets the tone for the box. A $2 pen next to a $25.22 zip hoodie drags the hoodie down.
Edit to three and stop:
- One hero piece. This is the garment in the first-day photo. Make it the zip hoodie ($25.22) or the pullover hoodie ($23.96), in 330 GSM fleece with a small tonal mark. Both are cut roomy, and sizing down gives a closer fit.
- One everyday piece. That's the 220 GSM tee ($17.02), or the polo ($20.18) for anyone who meets customers. Both run true, though anyone between sizes should size down on the polo.
- One accessory. The cap ($10.85) comes in one size that fits 54 to 61 cm, and it's the item most likely to be photographed.
What each kit tier costs
| Tier | Contents | List per kit | Past 50 pieces (−12%) | Past 150 pieces (−22%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | Tee and cap | $27.87 | $24.53 | $21.74 |
| Core | Starter plus the zip hoodie | $53.09 | $46.72 | $41.41 |
| Executive | Core plus the polo | $73.27 | $64.48 | $57.15 |
The tiers count pieces across the whole order, and a Core kit is three pieces, so 17 kits cross 50 and 50 kits cross 150. Most companies should land on Core, which comes to $46.72 for each hire once the order is past 50 pieces, for a kit that competes with retail. All of these prices assume one DTF print per piece, and a tonal embroidered mark gets quoted within one business day. Nothing on the table is filler. If there's budget left over, spend it on the box before you add a fourth garment.
The name on the sleeve
Scroll any first-day post and the photo usually shows the name as well as the garment. Every piece we ship comes in a paper band with the wearer's name on it, and the rest of the personal details build on that.
- Name on the packaging. The sleeve is included in the price, and a printed card costs almost nothing more.
- The right size, asked once. Collect size and cut when the offer is accepted, because a kit in the wrong size is worse than no kit. Our sizing guide covers XS to 4XL and the cuts.
- A human note. One handwritten line from the manager beats any printed welcome letter.
When should the kit arrive?
The same kit that makes a first impression before day one is desk clutter by week three.
- Remote and hybrid hires get the kit at their home address, timed to arrive a few days before the start. We ship within the US, and home is also where the unboxing photo happens.
- In-office starts find the kit on their desk the first morning, with the name showing.
- The order trigger is the accepted offer. Once you approve the order, we need three weeks to make it and two more to ship it, so an offer signed six weeks before the start date lands the kit on time and in the right size.
How to run kits as a program
A kit program works if it still exists in month eighteen, and three rules keep it alive.
- Lock the design once. The Design Studio designs the collection across all eight products and a designer on our team finishes it. To check the kit in hand before the first cohort, order a paid sample set, which takes about two weeks.
- Reorder per cohort or per hire. Your artwork and size history stay with us between orders, so a whole cohort and a single senior hire are the same email with a quantity in it, and nobody has to keep a closet of guessed sizes.
- Refresh a colorway each year. Swap a color or the hero piece and leave the design alone. Long-tenured people end up with a visible history, and the year-two colorway becomes a tenure marker people care about.
Budget it as a per-hire cost in recruiting instead of a lump merch spend. At $21.74 to $73.27 depending on tier and volume, it's a rounding error against cost-per-hire.
What the collection does after day one
The same collection serves the rest of the employee's time with you. It supplies a cap at year one, a hoodie in the alternate colorway at year three, offsite capsules and promotion gifts. Teams in tech tend to build around the hoodie, while finance and hospitality lead with the polo.
For a worked example, read Anatomy of a New-Hire Kit People Post About on the blog.
How kit programs die
- The champion leaves. The program lived in one head and the successor inherits a mystery. Write a one-page runbook with the supplier contact, the design files, the reorder trigger and the budget code, and store it where the role can find it.
- The design was a campaign. A kit stamped with a launch year expires, because nobody hands a 2025 kit to a 2027 hire. Design on the permanent brand pattern and rotate colorways, and keep dates off the garment.
- Quality drifted. A budget review swaps the 330 GSM hoodie for a thin blank, and within two cohorts the posts stop and the kits pile up in a closet. Defend the line with per-hire math and keep it out of merch-budget framing.
Questions we get.
How much should a new-hire welcome kit cost?
Starter is a tee and a cap, $27.87 at list with one print on each. Adding the zip hoodie makes it $53.09, and the four-piece executive kit is $73.27. Orders past 50 pieces take 12% off, and past 150 they take 22% off.
What goes in the kit?
One hero garment, one everyday piece, one accessory and one human note. Leave out the filler, because the weakest item sets the tone for the whole box.
How do kits work for a growing team?
Lock the design once, then reorder per cohort or per hire by sending us the quantity, since the design and sizes are already on file. An order placed when the offer is signed, six weeks before the start date, lands by day one.
Ship to home or hand over in office?
Ship it home for remote and hybrid hires so it arrives before day one, and leave it on the desk for in-office starts. Either one beats a kit that only shows up in week three.